22 Non-English Musicians to Add to Your Playlists

I recently downloaded an app called Slowly, where users from all over the world write letters to penpals. After exchanging letters with several people from non-English countries, I decided to expand my musical palette, and try to fulfill my love of learning about other cultures. Looking for artists from other countries leads to mostly K-Pop suggestions, and there's nothing wrong with this, but I wanted to expand my search just a little more. After finding multiple artists I'd never heard of, I gave a bunch a listen, and I wanted to narrow down my discoveries for anyone else who might be on the lookout for some new, talented, international music. In no particular order, here are twenty two great musicians from other countries.

1. BRíET

Briet Isis Elfar, born 22 May 1999, sings a lot about breakups, and her music is soft and soothing. Even if you don't understand the lyrics, Briet's voice is comforting and beautiful.

Hometown: Reykjavík

Language: Icelandic

Genre: Scandinavian pop

Best songs: Esjan, Feimin(n), Rólegur Kúreki

2. Yelle (Video contains flashing lights)

Yelle was formed in the early 2000's by lead singer Julie Budet, and their songs are catchy and fast, and experiment with synthesizers and humour. Their popularity in countries across the world gave Budet the opportunity to launch her own translation app, which has been used at Yelle's shows to help audiences better understand their lyrics.

Hometown: France

Language: French

Genre: Electropop

Best songs: Je Veux te Voir, Ce Jeu, A Cause Des Garçons.

3. Doda

Dorota Aqualiteja Rabczewska, born 15 February 1984, is a singer, actress, producer, and television personality. She is known for her innovative and highly controversial performances, and has been named one of the ten most influential women in her home country of Poland.

Hometown: Ciechanów, Poland

Language: Polish

Genre: Pop rock

Best songs: Dżaga, Szansa, Znak Pokoju.

4. F.HERO

F.Hero, born 22 September 1982, seems to be relatively anonymous despite his success. He's a seasoned musician with more than two decades under his belt, and his music is melodic and catchy, garnering him more than one million monthly listens on Spotify.

Language: Thai

Genre: Rap

Best songs: Mirror Mirror, White Gold Diamond Ring, Slipped Your Mind.

5. MIN

Nguyễn Minh Hang, born 7 December 1988, is a singer and dancer who gained popularity in 2017 with the release of her song, "Có Em Chờ." Her songs are catchy, poppy, and easy to dance to, and her voice is sweet and feminine.

Hometown: Hanoi

Language: Vietnamese

Genre: Pop

Best songs: Có Em Chờ, Ghen, Y.E.U.

6. CRO

Carlo Waibel, born 31 January 1999, is known by his stage name Cro, and is recognizable by his trademark panda bear mask. His music is fast-paced and completely binge-worthy. Outside of music, Cro works as a designer, and owns a fashion label called VioVio.

Hometown: Mutlangen, Germany

Language: German

Genre: Hip hop/rap

Best songs: Einmal Um Die Welt, Traum, Bad Chick.

7. Aryana Sayeed

Aryana Sayeed was born in 1985, and attended music school from the age of twelve, where she performed in a choir. In 2008, she released her first single, and later started her own show, on which she interviewed fellow musicians and performed original music. She has won awards for best songs, best videos, and a bravery award.

Hometown: Kabul, Afghanistan

Language: Dari and Pashto

Genre: R&B, pop, Afghan Folk

Best songs: Bache Kabul, Baa Namak, Yaar e Bamyani.

8. Reik

Reik was formed in 2003, and they have since released six studio albums. Each album is slightly different, so there's lots of styles of music to choose from within their band. With some fast-past songs, and some slower, more tender ones, there's a little bit of everything for everyone.

Hometown: Baja California, Mexico

Language: Spanish

Genre: Latin pop

Best songs: Que Vida La Mia, Peligro, Me Niego.

9. Sơn Tùng M-TP

Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, born 5 July 1994, is a singer-songwriter and actor who released his first singles in 2012 and 2013. In 2017, he released a compilation album and wrote an autobiography, which were both well-recieved. In 2013, he was lauched to popularity after the release of his singles, and garnered more than three hundred million streams worldwide over just a few months.

Hometown: Thái Bình, Vietnam

Language: Vietnamese

Genre: R&B, EDM

Best songs: Cơn Mưa Ngang Qua, Em Của Ngày Hôm Qua, Lạc Trôi.

10. BABYMETAL

BABYMETAL was formed in 2010, and is under the management of Amuse Talent. Their songs contain a lot of drum beats and guitar rifts, making their music loud and engaging. In 2014, they released their debut album: BABYMETAL, which was well-received by both fans and critics.

Hometown: Tokyo

Language: Japanese

Genre: Kawaii metal

Best songs: Monochrome, Gimme Chocolate!!!, Kingslayer.

11. Emilio

Emilio Sakraya, born 29 June 1996, is an actor and musician. Born to a Moroccan mother and a Serbian father, he began playing the piano and guitar at the age of eleven and began writing songs at fifteen or sixteen. In May, 2016, he released his first single under Universal Music.

Hometown: Berlin

Language: German

Genre: Pop

Best songs: Ausmacht, Suchen Soll, Pass Auf Dich Auf.

12. Amoc

Mikkâl Antti Morottaja was born in 1984 in Inari, Finland, and is noted for rapping in his near-extinct native language. He works as a language professor and film producer outside of his music, which often contains dark themes: such as horror, death, murder, and monsters.

Hometown: Inari, Finland

Language: Inari Sámi

Genre: Hip hop & horrorcore

Best songs: Nortenos Legioon, Amok-miela, Horagallis.

13. Daughters Of Reykjavík

Daughters of Reykjavík is an all-female band containing nine members, although only eight perform at a time. Their songs contain lyrics about politics, partying, body shaming, gender inequality, heartbreak, and female empowerment.

Hometown: Reykjavík

Language: Icelandic and English

Genre: Hip hop

Best songs: Ógeðsleg, Hæpið, Hvað er Málið.

14. Yemi Alade

Yemi Eberechi Alade was born 13 March, 1989, in Nigeria. She won a singing competition in 2009, after which she released a hit single. Her music is very popular partially due to her versatility, and she has won multiple awards in music. In 2022, she was recognized as the best stage performer in Nigeria to date.

Hometown: Abia State, Nigeria

Language: Yoruba, Igbo, English, Swahili, Pidgin, and French

Genre: Afropop, R&B

Best songs: Johnny, Na Gode, Ferrari.

15. Anitta

Larissa de Macedo Machado, born 30 March 1993, is a singer, songwriter, and television host, regarded as one of Brazil's biggest artists of all time. In 2012, after the release of her debut single, she signed a recording contract with Warner Music Brazil and released a debut album, which went platinum.

Hometown: Rio de Janeiro

Language: Portuguese

Genre: Latin pop

Best songs: Envolver, La Loto, Downtown.

16. Amr Diab

Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab was born 11 October 1961, and has become the best selling Middle Eastern artist. He released his first album, Ya Tareeq, in 1983, and his second, Ghanny Men Abak, a year later. He is known as the Father of Mediterranean music, and was one of the first artists to popularize music videos in the region of Middle East and North Africa.

Hometown: Port Said, Egypt

Language: Arabic

Genre: Dance pop

Best songs: Tamally Maak, Nour El Nin, Bayen Habeit.

17. Sa Dingding

Zhou Peng (周鹏) is a folk singer and songwriter from China. She is interested in Buddhism, and self-taught in Tibetan and Sanskrit. She sings in multiple languages, including one which is self-created to elicit emotion in her music. She plays traditional instruments, such as the guzheng and the morin khuur, and has a beautiful voice which one can't help but to fall in love with.

Hometown: Pingdingshan, Henan Prefecture

Language: Mandarin, English, and Tibetan.

Genre: Folk and electronic.

Best songs: Upwards to The Moon, Capricorn, Something Like a Shadow is Following You.

18. Elvana Gjata

Elvana Gjata was born 3 February 1987, and rose to fame following the release of her first two studio albums in 2007 and 2011. At fourteen years old, she auditioned for a singing competition; in 2011, she placed first on Dancing With The Stars.

Hometown: Tirana, Albania

Language: Albanian

Genre: R&B, pop

Best songs: POW, Me Tana, Afer Dhe Larg.

19. Alsarah and The Nubatones

Sarah Mohamed Abunama-Elgadi, more commonly known as Alsarah, is a Sudanese-American singer, songwriter, and ethnomusicologist. As a child, she fled with her family to Yemen, and subsequently escaped Yemen at the beginning of the civil war. In 2010, she formed Alsarah and The Nubatones with her sister, Nahid, and several friends.

Hometown: Khartoum, Sudan

Language: Arabic

Genre: World music, pop

Best songs: Habibi Taal, Ya Watan, Soukura.

20. Thy Cantafalque

Thy Catafalque was formed in Hungary by its lead singer, Tamás Kátai, and was signed in 2009 by Epidemie Records. In 2009, they released their first album, which was very experimental and filled with atmospheric instrumentals. In 2011, the band signed with Season Of Mist, and shortly afterward, released their fifth album.

Hometown: Makó, Hungary

Language: Hungarian

Genre: Avante-garde metal

Best songs: Naput, Sárember, Szamojéd Freskó.

21. Kaka

Ravinder Singh was born in 1994 in Punjab, India. He began his music career in 2019 with the release of a single called Surma. In 2020, his song Libaas reached number one on the Top Fifty Punjabi chart.

Hometown: Chandumajra, Punjab

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Punjabi

Best songs: Mitti de Tibbe, Teeji Seat, Temporary Pyar.

22. Leila Forouhar

Leila Forouhar is the daughter of the late Iranian actor Jahangir Forouhar. She was born 23 February, 1959, in Iran, and later relocated to Turkey, France, and then the USA. Her songs are popular around the world due to the multitude of languages they include.

Hometown: Isfahan, Iran

Languages: English, Italian, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Dari Persian, Armenian, Turkish.

Genre: Dance

Best songs: Jooni Joonom, Del Ey Dey, Janomeh.