TOP 10 Solomon Islands Artists/Bands on Spotify in January (2022)

Who makes the Top 10 Solomon Islands artists/bands on Spotify in January (2022)?

In 2021, Spotify announced the launching of the platform in additional territories, one of which was the Solomon Islands. For musical artists across the archipelago, the news was embraced with a lot of excitement with hopes that the new streaming platform would open up new ways to benefit monetarily from the art of music production.

As a matter of interest, TSR has in the past few days embarked on a quest to identify the most popular Solomon Islands artists/bands on the giant streaming platform with the hope of getting the news out there that Spotify is now available in the Solomon Islands.
     

Comparing the number of listeners that our local artists have registered to that of international artists, the figures truly reflect how small the Solomon Islands music industry is. This perhaps utters the need to have well-articulated marketing strategies in place in order to broadcast these homegrown talents to a wider audience. We, however, believe that for a country that has so many talented musicians, many of whom are yet to be officially connected to online platforms like Spotify, coming up with this list will inspire every local artist out there to dream big.

...coming up with this list will inspire every local artist out there to dream big.

According to our research, the following are the top 10 Solomon Islands bands and artists on Spotify as of 31st January 2022:

10. BIBAO

BIBAO's music is fresh, exciting and full of life. Picture: BIBAO FaceBook page

This exciting multi-genre specialist managed to attract 12, 967 listeners this month with his unique style of music. Lyrically, BIBAO is on par with his level of creativity but his ability to go from hip-hop to Dancehall is something that is worth mentioning too. The mixed-race Solomon Islander is of Melanesian and Polynesian descent. 

BIBAO's most-streamed song on Spotify is "Your Body" with over 800k plays when this article is published.

9. SHARZY

Sharzy is described by The Guardian as the "living national icon." Picture: King Solomon chronical 

With a total of 13, 462 monthly listeners, Sharzy, the Island reggae stylist makes the cut as the 9th best Solomon Islands artist on Spotify this month. This talented party starter started making music in 2001 but it is worth noting that none of his latest materials are on Spotify except for his previous albums. We think his listeners would have increased had he included his latest singles on the platform.

8. ISMUKI

Ismuki is a true testament that staying true to your dreams comes with satisfying rewards.
 Picture: TSR File.

We think Ismuki needs no introduction when it comes to Solomon Islands music. The "Gole Lauru" singer this month won 21, 895 ears with his island hits. Ismuki, whose real name is Bryce Runimetu, broke into the local music scene in 2019 with his famous single "Slowly" and he has never looked back ever since. The singer's consistency when it comes to song production is a true testament that staying true to your dreams comes with satisfying rewards.

7. SEAN RII

Sean Rii, the "Chu Chu" hit maker is the 7th best Solomon Islands artist on Spotify this month. Picture: Sean Rii FaceBook page.

Sean Rii is the lead vocalist of the famous Dezine band from the Solomon Islands. The star is a household name across the Pacific with Spotify listeners mainly from New Zealand and Australia. His biggest song on the platform to date is "Chu Chu" a dance beat that went viral on TikTok when it was released in 2021.

This month Sean Rii has 22, 164 satisfied listeners on Spotify. How many of that number do you think come straight to Spotify after watching one of those viral "Chu Chu" dance challenges on TikTok?

Well if you have time, you can now sing along to the words of "Chu Chu" on YouTube here.

6. SMALL JAM

Jiu Kiu (L) and Mossa (R) have reached the Billboard with Justin Willington. Picture: Small Jam FaceBook page.

The group of 2 boys who made up Small Jam has been around since the early 2000s. Mosten Hani aka Mossa, a band member of the famous Onetox, and Heston Kiu aka Jiu Kiu from the Doorman's Project band have been shaking the Pacific and the world alike with their reggae vibes since 2011. If you think that these two are just those ordinary Solomon Islands artists, then think again. In 2021, their cover of the famous New Orleans "Iko Iko" with Justin Willington hit the 200s Billboard charts, making them the first Solomon Islands band to stamp its name on the global chart. Perhaps the most popular original song of the group on Spotify is "December".

This month, a total of 22, 596 listeners have streamed Small Jam's music on Spotify.

5. JAH BOY

Jah Boy is the most celebrated Solomon Islands artist to date: Picture: Jah Boy official website.

The fifth most popular Solomon Islands artist on Spotify this month is the talented Jah Boy. With 41, 018 monthly listeners, the part Melanesian and Polynesian islander is the most celebrated Solomon Islands artist to date. Jah Boy has released 3 albums so far and is one of the local artists that has signed to the only Solomon Islands-based record label, Rebel Inc, not to mention the only local artist to have an official website. 

Having said that, Jah Boy's most listened to song on Spotify, with over 1.4 million plays, is "Good Vibes", a reggae song with which he collaborated with Conkarah and Sammuelz.

4. Doorman's Project (DMP)

With 43, 815 monthly listeners on Spotify, the award-winning Solomon Islands Boy Band, DMP is drawing listeners from far and wide. "Wine Up" is the band's hottest song on Spotify. Taken from their 2015 "Wine Up" album, the song has over 850k plays so far on Spotify. 

The 4th best Solomon Islands band on Spotify is DMP. Picture: DMP FaceBook page. 

3. ONETOX

Onetox's signature song Ramukanji is still on fire on Spotify. Picture: Onetox FaceBook page.

Onetox has been quiet for some time, but not their music. This month, Onetox has registered 46, 881 listeners on Spotify. Expectedly, "Ramukanji" remains their best song on Spotify. With over a million plays, "Ramukanji" is proven to be a force to be reckoned with, although it was released so many years ago. 

The group released its last album in 2018. Let's hope that that's not the last album from the talented group.

2. DEZINE

Some members of the Dezine band. Picture: Dezine FaceBook page.

The band which is made up of brothers and close friends is where big names like Sean Rii and Jaro Local started their singing careers. Sean Rii is a huge influence in Dezine. Even when he decides to go solo, a lot of Dezine vibes hang on to him and you can hear that in his songs. "Mami Tei Quiero" is by far Dezine's biggest hit. A few steps behind is their famous "Keli Hila", a dancing anthem of 2020 which took the Pacific by storm when it was released.

Dezine comfortably sits in the 2nd position with 47, 341 monthly listeners in January.

1. JARO LOCAL

The 2019 "Best Pacific Islands Artist" recipient is equally doing well on Spotify too. Picture: Jaro Local FaceBook page.

The number 1 Solomon artist on Spotify this month is Jaro Local. Jaro is a member of Dezine band but in 2010, he went Solo. Born to Sharzy, a famous Island reggae stylist in the Solomon Islands, Jaro Local (Jeremy Saeni) is not only a big name in the Solomon Islands but the right across the Pacific. In 2019, his song "Daki Ni Tangarareh" won him the Best Pacific Islands Artist Award, making him the first Melanesian to have won the title in the award's 15 years of history.  Currently his award-winning song, "Daki Ni Tangarareh" is showing no signs of slowing down with over 3 million streams on Spotify already. 

This month, Jaro registered a total of 56, 972 listeners on Spotify.

Honorary Mentions

We have to make mention some very talented local artists which we do not know just how to go about counting them on the list for some issues beyond our comprehension. Probably these two artists haven't officially registered a Spotify account to their names but because they have collaborated with other artists, their names appear on Spotify.

Rosie DelmahPic: Rosie Delmah FaceBook
page

First up is Rosie Delmah. Her collaborations with the Jamaican-born Conkarah have earned her fans all over the world. She did release one original on Spotify but most of her songs are covers.

The former Solo icon winner went viral on YouTube in 2016 after her cover of Adele's "Hello" with Conkarah was posted online.

Let's hope Rosie goes back to recording soon for the sake of her worldwide fans.

Another artist worth mentioning is Diyun. While we do not know much about this artist, we can confirm that he is Sean Rii's cousin. While he doesn't clearly has a song on his own (not that we know of), his collaborations with big names like Dezine and Sean Rii truly make him visible on Spotify.

Let's hope he comes up with new material to make use of that exposure.