{"id":2021040,"date":"2026-07-01T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2021040"},"modified":"2026-07-01T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:00:25","slug":"the-best-new-pop-stars-of-2026-are-actually-actors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2021040","title":{"rendered":"The Best New Pop Stars Of 2026 Are Actually Actors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getty Images; Eloise Perry; Tami Aftab; Ella Hunt<\/span><\/div>\n

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NYLON NEXT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Best New Pop Stars Of 2026 Are Actually Actors<\/h1>\n
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Forget about call times \u2014 it\u2019s all about studio time now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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by Jillian Giandurco<\/a><\/address>\n
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NYLON Next<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Between Harry Styles<\/a>, Blackpink<\/a>, Olivia Rodrigo<\/a>, Drake<\/a>, and BTS<\/a>, 2026 has already had its fair share of major pop releases, with even more on the way from Charli XCX<\/a>, Gracie Abrams<\/a>, Tyla<\/a>, Ariana Grande<\/a>, and Role Model<\/a>. But the best music of the year doesn\u2019t belong to pop stars \u2014 it belongs to actors.<\/p>\n

It all started when Naomi Scott<\/a> dropped her (wonderful) debut album F.I.G.<\/em> back in March. She\u2019s known for her work in films like Aladdin<\/em> and Smile 2<\/em>, and music has been an integral part of Scott\u2019s career since she first broke onto the scene in the 2011 Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth<\/em>, in which she plays a bass guitarist for a fictional band of the same name. Cut to 2026: Scott worked with the likes of Dev Hynes<\/a> and Lido to produce F.I.G.<\/em>, a forward-thinking, Janet Jackson<\/a>-tinged alt-R&B project that only gets better, silkier, and sexier with every listen. Just ask the TikTok algorithm.<\/p>\n

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Following the initial release of F.I.G.<\/em>, my FYP was flooded with videos of fans pleasantly surprised to learn that the actor had transitioned into music. \u201cWas anyone going to tell me that Naomi Scott dropped an album last week? None of you h*es were going to tell me that?\u201d asked one creator<\/a>. \u201cMo from Lemonade Mouth<\/em> randomly releasing the best album I\u2019ve ever heard???\u201d wrote another<\/a>. (Mind you, I had been including the album\u2019s singles in my Best New Music roundups<\/a> for months leading up to that point.) It\u2019s still one of the most IYKYK-releases of 2026, but it\u2019s no coincidence that the ones who do know also have great taste.<\/p>\n

Shortly after Scott\u2019s album came Bridgerton<\/em><\/a> performer Simone Ashley\u2019s<\/a> debut EP, Songs I Wrote In New York<\/em>. A wistful exploration of love inspired by a collection of letters written by a teenage Ashley to her future self, the project surprises at every turn with its Latin rhythms, R&B melodies, and British soul-leaning vocals.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Ella Hunt<\/a>, who currently stars as the lead in Mindy Kaling\u2019s<\/a> latest TV show, Not Suitable for Work<\/em>, also released her debut this year. On Blindspot<\/em>, Hunt channels the grief that came with watching her sister Emily lose her battle with brain cancer in 2023 through Leonard Cohen levels of balladry and an intentionally hands-off approach to production that makes the record sound like she\u2019s playing it for you live on the piano in her living room. It\u2019s breathtaking, heartbreaking, and surprisingly uplifting all at once, and we\u2019re so lucky that it exists.<\/p>\n

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Despite the high quality of their respective outputs, however, there\u2019s still a stigma that comes with being an actor-musician, one that Hunt feels hinders audiences from taking her music seriously. But she doesn\u2019t blame them \u2014 in fact, she kind of understands where they\u2019re coming from.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a person who consumes culture, I\u2019m very aware of how weird it can be when actors put out a music project,\u201d Hunt tells NYLON. \u201cIt often feels like I have a sense of illegitimacy when I see actors putting out music projects, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to the quality or mindset that a lot of these actors are putting out music with. But there\u2019s a tension there. I think it\u2019s hard to believe that an actor putting out music isn\u2019t playing a character.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then again, actors have much more to offer than the roles they play on TV. \u201cAll I can say is that for me, what helps me process that question around legitimacy is playing live and being able to talk about the music in a real way,\u201d says Hunt. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful thing to get to try out and wear lots of different hats, but for me, this isn\u2019t a hat I\u2019m trying on. I\u2019ve been playing shows and writing music since I was 10.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I just have to bite down on that discomfort and accept that that\u2019s going to be something people think and perceive when they see me putting out music,\u201d she continues. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll be able to turn some people around, and maybe some people will just stay not really buying it. At a certain point, I just have to kind of put my hands up and surrender to that reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re willing to work through that tension, there\u2019s sure to be even more excellent music waiting for you on the other side: Marty Supreme<\/em>\u2019s<\/a> Odessa A\u2019zion<\/a> recently lent her signature raspy voice to singles \u201cMaybe I\u2019m Not What You Need\u201d and \u201cLiquor Store Roses,\u201d comedian and Hacks<\/em><\/a> breakout Meg Stalter<\/a> will make the pivot to pop star when her album Crave<\/em> drops later this summer, former Grey\u2019s Anatomy<\/em> actor E.R. Fightmaster<\/a> has fully integrated themself into the indie rock space with their debut album Tolerance<\/em>, and Booksmart<\/em><\/a> actor Diana Silvers<\/a> dipped her toes in the singer-songwriter pool late last year her debut From Another Room<\/em>, while both Maya Hawke<\/a> and Finn Wolfhard continued their pre-established music careers with their first post-Stranger Things<\/em><\/a> musical projects in 2026. Following the release of her single \u201cUgly and Rotten\u201d in early June, it looks like former child star Mckenna Grace<\/a> might be the next actor to make the switch.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s understandable to be skeptical of an actor-turned-musician (remember when Scarlett Johansson tried making music<\/a>? Or Lindsay Lohan<\/a>?), but don\u2019t write them off completely, either \u2014 they could be putting out some of the best music you\u2019ll hear all year, and you wouldn\u2019t even know.<\/p>\n