Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival: 11 up-and-coming acts you need to know about

In four short years, the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival has cultivated a reputation for introducing new artists and helping them reach bigger audiences.

In 2015, both The Chainsmokers and X Ambassadors played midafternoon on a secondary stage at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. Halsey, one of this year’s headliners, played the festival’s main stage but at 4 p.m.

In 2016, Marshmello and Hayley Kiyoko — two of 2018’s breakout stars — both played a secondary stage, as did Rae Sremmurd, another headliner.

And last year, Camila Cabello and Bebe Rexha both played the festival as their careers were taking off.

Here’s a look at 11 up-and-comers who could use this year’s Billboard Hot 100 Fest as a superstar springboard:

MACHINE GUN KELLY

The Cleveland rapper is already well on his way thanks to his hit “Bad Things” with Cabello, but last year’s “Bloom” album suggests more eclectic musical interests. And his acting career is also blooming as MGK is set to play Tommy Lee in the upcoming Motley Crue biopic, “The Dirt.”

SONG TO STREAM: “Go for Broke” featuring James Arthur

KEHLANI

The R&B singer from Oakland made a splash with her adventurous solo album, “SweetSexySavage,” last year, but this year she is focusing on high-profile collaborations with Eminem (“Nowhere Fast”), Charlie Puth (“Done for Me”), Kyle (“Playinwithme”) and Kiyoko (“What I Need”).

SONG TO STREAM: “Honey”

WICCA PHASE SPRINGS ETERNAL

Part of the GothBoiClique, which included Long Beach’s Lil Peep, Wicca Phase, aka Scranton, Pennsylvania’s Adam McIlwee, blends emo and hip-hop and an interest in the occult to create something that makes him sound like the hip-hop Morrissey.

SONG TO STREAM: “High Strangeness”

CHEAT CODES

The Los Angeles-based EDM trio who moved from the dance floor to the mainstream with the hit “No Promises” with Demi Lovato is growing on both fronts. They have remixed everyone from U2 to Tom Walker this year and have a huge pop hit, “Only You,” featuring Little Mix, topping the British charts.

SONG TO STREAM: “Only You” featuring Little Mix

KIM PETRAS

The German-born pop singer seems destined for the Madonna-esque stardom she craves in her fizzy, synth-pop debut, “I Don’t Want It All,” on which she declares, “Give me all of your attention. Give me summer in the Hamptons.”

SONG TO STREAM: “I Don’t Want It All”

LOVELYTHEBAND

The Los Angeles rock trio already topped the alternative charts with the catchy hit “Broken,” which is crossing over to pop radio on the same path as Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” with its slice-of-life lyrics and infectious chorus.

SONG TO STREAM: “Broken”

TAYLOR BENNETT

The rapper shows that he’s ready to step out of his older brother Chance the Rapper’s shadow on his new EP, “Be Yourself,” with his distinctive flow and clever rhymes about life in The Chi.

SONG TO STREAM: “Rock ‘N’ Roll”

BELLA THORNE

The “Famous in Love” actress, who will be in the upcoming thriller “I Still See You,” has turned her attention to music, releasing a string of pop singles, including the old-school Kesha-esque, tongue-in-cheek declaration, “B*tch I’m Bella Thorne.”

SONG TO STREAM: “B*tch I’m Bella Thorne”

RICH THE KID

The Queens-born, Atlanta-raised rapper wasn’t kidding around when he named his major-label debut “The World Is Yours.” Though he was injured by robbers in a home invasion in June, RTK is back on the road and has already released a new single, “Lost It,” with Quavo and Offset.

SONG TO STREAM: “New Freezer” with Kendrick Lamar

SABRINA CARPENTER

The Disney Channel star, recently cast in the anticipated movie version of Angela Thomas’ novel “The Hate U Give,” is also expanding her music career with her upcoming third album. Her previous album, 2016’s “Evolution,” featured several collaborations with Valley Stream native singer-songwriter Ido Zmishlany, best known for his work with Shawn Mendes.

SONG TO STREAM: “On Purpose”

THEY.

The Los Angeles hip-hop duo calls Taking Back Sunday one of its main influences, which shows up in the guitar riffs that are sprinkled through its debut, “Nu Religion: Hyena.” However, its love of “Dawson’s Creek” may be even more obvious as THEY. fashions the show’s Paula Cole theme in its image for “Dante’s Creek.”

SONG TO STREAM: “Dante’s Creek”