What if you could meet an artist before the world knew their name?

That's the idea behind a new show Billboard just launched called "Up & Coming With Kyle Denis." The first episode drops Tuesday, November 10, on every podcast platform you can think of. And honestly, the premise caught my attention right away, because it's really a show about discovery. That's a word I live by.

Billboard built this video podcast with SickBird Productions, teaming up on a weekly series that follows musicians right as they're breaking through. Not after they've hit number one. Not once they're playing arenas. Right in the thick of the climb, when things are still a little messy and a lot exciting.

The show grew out of Billboard's "Up & Comer of the Month" franchise, which apparently struck a nerve with readers. So they decided to go bigger: full video episodes, a real host, and a weekly rhythm instead of a monthly feature.

Who's Behind the Camera

The host is Kyle Denis, a Billboard staffer since 2023 who's built a reputation covering everything from pop to dancehall to how music collides with politics and business. He's written cover stories on Leon Thomas, Shaboozey, Latto, Vybz Kartel, Druski and Sexyy Red. This year he also launched a monthly spotlight on rising Caribbean artists and hosted a red carpet livestream from the Caribbean Music Awards in Trinidad that pulled in tens of thousands of viewers.

Denis says he started writing about music on his own blog almost ten years ago. Nearly a decade later, he's watched how fast an artist can disappear into a viral moment — the actual human being lost behind the hit song. His goal with this show is to slow things down. Get to the origin story. Find out what's driving someone before the algorithm decides who they are.

I get that instinct. When you travel the way I do — full-time since 2017 — you learn that the best discoveries rarely happen in the places everyone already knows about. They happen right before a spot blows up, when you can still talk to the person running the little café on the corner instead of waiting in a line of fifty people. There's something about catching a moment early that changes how you experience it.

The First Guest

The debut episode features Bella Kay, a 20-year-old alt-pop singer from Texas. It was filmed in Midtown Manhattan and traces her jump from college coffeehouse gigs to opening stadium shows for Noah Kahan. That's not a small leap.

Kay made her Billboard Hot 100 debut this year with "iloveitiloveitiloveit," which climbed to No. 17 and hit No. 2 on the Hot Rock & Alternative chart. Her debut album, "My Reckless Abandon," co-written entirely with collaborator Alexis "Idarose" Kesselman, landed at No. 14 on Top Alternative Albums and has racked up more than 385 million streams through the end of October, according to Luminate. She's also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards and has spent three weeks at the top of Billboard's Emerging Artists chart.

So, not exactly unknown. But still early enough that you can watch her figure things out in real time — including, as the episode covers, how she's navigating going viral on social media without losing herself in it.

Why This Matters Beyond Music

Future episodes will cover rising names across pop, country, R&B, dancehall and more. SickBird, founded by Jade Watson, brings production muscle — the company has launched more than 20 shows and already partnered with Billboard on "On The Record With Kristin Robinson" in 2025.

Billboard's co-chief content officers, Leila Cobo and Jason Lipshutz, both say Denis has the instincts to spot what's next before everyone else catches on. Diona DaCosta, who leads content at SickBird, put it simply: there's nothing like finding an artist before they become a household name.

That's the part I keep coming back to. Whether it's music, travel, or just life in general, the real thrill isn't arriving somewhere after it's already famous. It's being curious enough to show up early and ask, what happens next?

You can catch "Up & Coming" starting November 10 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Worth asking yourself — what else out there is still waiting to be discovered?

Source: Billboard

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