When Matthew Wilder first wrote his early '80s synth-pop smash "Break My Stride," he wasn't, as the lyrics suggest, in the greatest headspace. "I was under contract to Arista Records and I had been two years deep into that relationship and things were not going my way," he tells the Recording Academy. "I was quite frustrated... And 'Stride' was a culmination of that feeling of being incredibly frustrated, and I'm hitting a wall, and the song poured out of me in probably a matter of 30 minutes."

"Stride"—a jaunty tune about perseverance in the face of great odds—eventually went on to hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been remixed multiple times. And now, in 2020, it's found new life on TikTok, where, in the #BreakMyStrideChallenge, users would text their friends the lyrics of the song, prompting Wilder to post an official lyric video featuring text messages of the song's lyrics.

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Though “Stride” could accurately be called Wilder’s one hit as an artist, his career has boomed behind the scenes in subsequent decades: He's found huge success as a songwriter and producer, famously working on No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom and Return Of Saturn, among others. As a composer, Wilder's been heavily involved in writing the music to some of your favorite animated Disney films—Mulan, in particular. And soon his music will be featured in the forthcoming live-action Mulan remake, arriving in theaters on March 27.

For now, though, Wilder is still in awe over the recent viral resurgence of "Break My Stride," which has since earned a spot on Spotify's Viral 50 playlist and landed on Apple Music's Top 100 chart in more than 20 countries. We recently called up Wilder to talk about the surprise comeback of his new wave classic and why that "got-to-keep-on-moving" ethos is still so relevant today.

First off, congrats on the renewed interest in "Break My Stride"! What do you tell people—and interviewers like myself—when they ask you about the TikTok #BreakMyStride challenge?

We talk about the fact that it came out of nowhere. I was aware of the TikTok platform, but it wasn't a part of my life in any way, shape or form. So I think it was my brother that sent me a Google alert or something along that line that was pointing the way to this thing that was starting to unfold. And I kind of shrugged it off. And then little by little I was contacted by several different people and this thing kind of snowballed. And then by the time I was off on my trip to Europe, this thing was full-blown. So it took me by surprise. I had no idea that this was percolating.

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I actually saw this as a fun opportunity to revisit the song itself and talk about its genesis. Can you share what you were thinking when you originally wrote "Break My Stride"?

At the time that I wrote the song, I was under contract to Arista Records and I had been two years deep into that relationship and things were not going my way. I was quite frustrated. There were other things happening personally at that point in time. And "Stride" was a culmination of that feeling of being incredibly frustrated, and I'm hitting a wall, and the song poured out of me in probably a matter of 30 minutes.

But what was happening culturally around that period of time was the new wave movement with Culture Club and Men At Work. So it was the confluence of all of these influences that was happening musically at the time. I'd been on one particular path stylistically and kept trying to write and record music in a particular vein. And then once the new wave movement took hold, it opened up a whole bunch of possibilities.

Stylistically the synthesizer became a lot more prominent. Attitudes were different. And so the song itself was, was a confluence of events where I'm taking that frustration lyrically, I'm getting into nonsensical lyrics to afford myself the opportunity to sing a chorus like "Break My Stride" and musically being strongly influenced by what was happening around me culturally. So we went off at that point, my relationship with the label was such where the producers and I went off and made the record. We didn't know it was the record at the time. In the wee hours of the graveyard shift at Pasha studios in Hollywood and called our friends in and so on, put this thing together with basically shoestring. And then went back to the label and played this new odd little creature and they didn't connect with it at all.

And when the word came down from on high that they didn't really believe in this particular song amidst everything else that I'd given them. My gut response was to request that they let me go, which they did and I was free to take the record with me because it had not been financed by the label.

It wasn't long after that I got signed to a new record label and the song became a worldwide hit about six months later.

When you think about the message of the tune and the events that were happening around it and then the realization at the end of this whole little vignette that I'm describing to you, the song sort of was a self-fulfilling prophecy if you will.

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You mentioned that the sound of “Stride” was primarily born of the new wave movement. What musical style had you leaned toward previously?

Well, I've been a working musician since I was 16 years old. So you have to really turn back the clock stylistically to understand what was happening back in those days when I was first starting out, which was more of the folk singer/songwriter movement. And I like many other musicians in the pop vein are a reflection of what's happening in our time.

So, back when I was first starting out a James Taylor and Carole King and Seals And Crofts, I mean I'm just grabbing names off the top of my head but that's what was driving popular music at the time. So my music was somewhat reflective of that. And then as you know, the decades tick by and styles changed, so did my music and my influences.

So it's not to say that I was a musical ambulance chaser. I wasn't going after chasing the sound of the minute. But you can't help but be influenced by what's happening with you culturally, around with what surrounds you. So my music did change stylistically over the years, but I grew up on the Beatles and the Stones like everybody else. And that was really the catalyst to what informed my approach to writing pop music.

Since then, you’ve done so much prominent songwriting and production work in the pop music and film worlds. What are you up to currently?

Yeah, it's changed. I mean, now my work is a lot more eclectic. It's not necessarily as pop-centric as it used to be, scoring films and I'm working with younger artists. I still function in a multifaceted capacity depending upon the job description, if you will. I'm still involved in pop music or contemporary music, why don't we use that word. There's a new artist that we just completed producing an album for that we're hoping is going to become well known in the next year named Oscar O. She's quite extraordinary, she's 20 years old so that keeps a foot in that world. And I'm just about to finish scoring a political feature animation called "True North," which is about North Korea. There's the obvious big event on the horizon with "Mulan 2020."

So I'm happy to say I've been fortunate enough to be able to dip my toe into a number of different genres and styles and be able to use the extent of my musical knowledge. It's not just relegated to one particular style of writing.

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Yeah, it seems that the best way to survive as a working musician is to be able to do a little bit of everything.

Yeah. And I think the way that the music businesses evolved to the point that we're at right now, younger musicians that are starting out at this point in time, it's a very different industry to quote the obvious. And I think in my humble opinion, the more you bring to your artistry, in other words, if you have the ability to function in different capacities, the greater the chances that you're going to have a long career. It's a lot more difficult if you're focused on one thing and one thing only.

Sometimes if it hits like that, if you're lucky enough you can ride that wave for a considerable amount of time. I mean, look at me, I've got a song now is what, 35 years old that is come back full circle and has stood the test of time, not by any grand design on my part. That's luck. And that also is part of the DNA of the song that is able to sustain over three-plus decades. So, that's great but you can't plan on that.

I could be reading too much into it, but we're living in such extraordinary times, and the music and pop culture that we consume is often reflective of current events. I wonder if the resurgence of "Stride" on TikTok is a glance at young people dealing with frustration over current events via dancing to a song about overcoming the odds no matter what?

I like the way that you frame that and I can't take credit for it. And you know, once a song is released to the world, people take it and they interpret it and apply it to their lives, particular to what their needs are. But when you have, as you said, when you have a moment like this and the times in which we live, a song of this nature of defiance and spirit I think is... I was talking to, I'm sorry I'm interrupting myself and my thought, but I had an interview last week with a woman from the BBC who is telling me that every time she broke up with a boyfriend, that this was the song that she would play. This was her rallying cry. It makes me smile and laugh but the song also is applicable to far more, not to diminish what this woman was equating the song to mean for her.

But I've heard so many people over the years talking about very, very challenging personal events in their lives where this tune played a big part in helping them get through. And I know that sounds a bit cliche, but it's true. I mean these are stories that have circled back to me that make me feel that that really was the essence of what, why the tune came to be in the first place. It wasn't that I was specifically writing about Arista, although there are moments in the lyric that I could point to that were a bit specific, but it was a culmination of a feeling at that moment where that was the catalyst for and the impetus for writing the song. So it's a long way of saying, I agree with you. I think that the times now in which we live could not be a better time to have a song like this in the zeitgeists that are helping people to get by.

I think also sometimes the simplest phrasing is also the most powerful.

Yeah. Pop music was, if you think back to the era that I would, to which I was referring earlier, there was a time where music really played a massive role in changing culture and having an influence on the political arc of what was happening at that point in time. These are during the Vietnam war, all the protest that was going on, music was reflective of that. I'd love to see more of that now myself, but things do recycle and I think in the case of Stride, this is its time again. And for whatever reason, whether it's just for fun, lark of TikTok with people digging deeper, so be it. I mean, I couldn't be happier about that.

Music and social media have never been more intertwined. As TikTok continues to integrate into the music industry, for many artists, being a musician and a content creator are no longer mutually exclusive.

Riding the algorithm to fame isn't always easy, but it's undeniable that TikTok is now one of the most effective marketing tools for artists, just as acts like Nicky Youre and Alexandra Kay saw in 2022. From Tyla's viral "Water" dance challenge to Sexyy Red's "SkeeYee" hair flip trend, up-and-coming artists took advantage of TikTok's power once again in 2023 — like the K-pop act FIFTY FIFTY, who transformed their catchy dance-pop single "Cupid" into a skyrocketing commercial breakthrough.

"TikTok provides promotional opportunities for rising artists like us [by] providing an opportunity to be exposed in many different angles," FIFTY FIFTY's Keena told GRAMMY.com.

For hip-hop duo Flyana Boss — whose single "You Wish" took off on the app — TikTok has helped them learn "the power of manifestation and never giving up on your dreams." They add, "there's a strong audience out there that's hungry for artists like us."

TikTok has both personalized and revolutionized how music is shared daily. Here are eight artists who brought your "For You" page to life — and made it big in 2023.

Aliyahs Interlude

If anyone's an It Girl, it's Aliyah Bah. Known as Aliyah's Interlude online, the TikTok influencer quickly grew a fan base through her fashion sense, blending Y2k fashion with Harajuku style in her own #Aliyahcore. This year, she took a step into pop stardom with her anthem "IT GIRL."

Inspired by the likes of Azealia Banks, Ayesha Erotica, and Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE, Bah's poppy house track channels a confidence that's dazzling and dramatic. More than a million TikTok videos spotlight the song's chorus — "I-T-G-I-R-L! You know I am that girl" — over outfit checks, girl nights, lip syncs, makeup transitions, and much more.

"When I dropped it, the song just went crazy immediately and wanted to make all the promo based on just, like, me being super cute and stylish," Bah told TIME.

The influencer and singer further gained notoriety by rocking her girly style in a cameo in Doja Cat's "Agora Hills" music video. #Aliyahcore is all about being unflinchingly true to yourself, and "IT GIRL" channels that hot girl energy —- because Bah is that girl.

Austin Williams

Scrolling on country TikTok, the odds are high that you'll come across a video from singer/songwriter Austin Williams — and after hearing his deep, gravelly voice, you'd find it hard to believe he's only 19.

The Nashville musician's mature vocals have helped him propel to nearly half a million TikTok followers, garnering more than 3.8 million likes on the platform. On one of his most viral songs, titled "90s Rap Mashup," he shows off his high-energy rhythmic flow while paying tribute to hip-hop legends. Alternatively, he leans into a solemn side with similarly popular singles "Wanna Be Saved" and "Bury My Bones."

Thanks to his versatility, Williams recently signed a deal with CAA and announced that he's opening on tour for fellow country artist Warren Zeiders (whose ascent to fame is also owed in part to TikTok, which boosted his original song "Ride the Lightning"). Given Williams' natural talent and knack for social media, it's only a matter of time before he's headlining his own tour.

FIFTY FIFTY

Globally, "Cupid," belonging to the rising South Korean girl group FIFTY FIFTY, took flight as one of TikTok's most inescapable songs this year.

The radiant bubblegum song earned its spot at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and its incredible 10-week chart streak made it the longest-charting song by a K-pop girl group.

FIFTY FIFTY's Keena praised TikTok for being "user friendly and easily accessible" for music fans. "When these factors meet an easy-listening song like 'Cupid,' the synergy was amplified and aligned with the fast-paced trends," the singer explained to GRAMMY.com. (Currently, Keena is the only member of FIFTY FIFTY, as the group's former agency, Attrakt, recently terminated the contracts of members Aran, Sio, and Saena, filing a lawsuit for alleged defamation and attempting to break their contracts.)

Beyond the sped-up version popularized on TikTok, "Cupid" spurred a series of additional remixes — a "Twin" version, live studio version, and collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter.

Flyana Boss

Folayan and Bobbi LaNea, the hip-hop duo who go by the stage name Flyana Boss, went viral when they posted a TikTok of themselves running while rapping a verse of their track "You Wish" — and now they're sprinting to victory.

"I think we're both still in shock at how many people these videos have reached," they shared in a statement to GRAMMY.com.

After signing to vnclm/Atlantic Records in 2021, their TikToks have collectively racked up more than 40 million likes on the platform and helped the pair gain more than 1 million monthly Spotify listeners. Sharing music on the app not only helped them grow their fan base this year, it exponentially fueled their ambition.

"TikTok's great for music discovery and as an artist, you can get your music to a large active community of people by posting," the pair said. "So we fed the algorithm as much as we could!"

With their name stemming from "flyness" and "bossness," it's no surprise that Flyana Boss are killing the game — and if you're lucky, you might just catch them on their 2024 headlining tour, which kicks off Feb. 24.

Kenya Grace

Kenya Grace is no stranger to fame this year. Though her musical specialty is in bedroom pop, her talent swells far beyond her London bedroom. "Strangers," a dance-pop song about ghosting on dating apps, blew up massively on TikTok; one of her first teaser videos for the song now has more than 85 million views.

"I hate making people wait!" she told Rolling Stone UK. "I love being free with [my] socials and, like, just posting stuff, whatever it is that I make that week. 'Strangers' came out really fast, which was great."

At just 25 years old, Grace dethroned Doja Cat on the U.K. singles chart, and became the second British female solo artist in history to score a No. 1 by writing and producing a song entirely by herself. Her echoey, airy delivery and enveloping drum'n'bass production is irresistible, making her debut single with label Warner Records Inc. an instant smash.

Paul Russell

After releasing a handful of albums and singles during college, Paul Russell began building a dedicated TikTok following in 2020 — and his foundational years are finally paying off. This year, his charming single "Lil Boo Thang" took off on TikTok with its infectious energy and playful lyrics, peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 — and scoring Russell a hot deal with Arista Records.

Sampling the Emotions' 1977 soulful song "Best Of My Love," Russell's hit exemplifies the growing trend of interpolating older music to inspire and create new art — one he made his own long ago.

"When I first started, I would find a song that was already popular and do a rap verse on the end," he shared in an interview with RANGE. "If someone is scrolling and hears something they recognize, it's like 'Oh! What's he going to do with this?'"

Pulling from Russell's '70s and '00s R&B inspirations, "Lil Boo Thang" conjures a joyful spirit. And since Russell has announced he's working on his upcoming album, only more joy is to come.

Sexyy Red

"To be honest, I wasn't surprised when it went viral. I been going viral for as long as I can remember," Sexyy Red laughed in an interview with GRAMMY.com.

The rising rapper knows how to navigate TikTok like a pro. Her first label mixtape, Hood Hottest Princess, dropped this summer via Open Shift, following her previously released singles "Pound Town" (with Tay Keith) and "SkeeYee" going wildly viral on the video-sharing app this year. "Pound Town" landed a highly anticipated Nicki Minaj feature, and "SkeeYee" became the first No. 1 on the new TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart in September.

"TikTok helped introduce my music to people who might have never heard it before, and also me as a person outside of what I say in my songs," she described. "I also like seeing how people get [their] own meanings from my music."

Her success has spurred collaborations with Summer Walker and Lil Durk, and the rapper opened for Drake in August on his It's All a Blur Tour.

"I learned that I can really do anything I put my mind to. I'm grateful that I get to be in a position to take care of my family and friends, and put out music that people can turn up to," she continued. "The doubters will be believers real soon."

Tyla

Hips don't lie, and when a snippet of the chorus from Tyla's "Water" became the TikTok sound of a viral dance challenge, the artist swiftly surged to international fame.

In 2019, the South African singer found success with her vibey debut single "Getting Late," but her global breakthrough this year came from the universal catchiness of "Water." Serving as just a sample of the 21-year-old's incredible musical talent, the viral amapiano track also earned the singer her first GRAMMY nomination this year in the newly minted Best African Music Performance category, alongside ASAKE & Olamide's "Amapiano," Burna Boy's "City Boys," Davido and Musa Keys' "UNAVAILABLE," and Ayra Starr's "Rush."

"​​I've noticed that people's attention spans aren't that long anymore," Tyla told 2024 GRAMMYs host Trevor Noah for Interview magazine. "People like watching short videos, so with my music, I love creating small videos that I hope will trend. Because I've been on social media throughout my life… I use that to my advantage when promoting a song."

Bringing pure passion to her amapiano and pop music, it's clear Tyla isn't just keeping her head above water — she's ready to ride the waves, from TikTok and beyond.

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Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Viral TikTok stars are commonplace in pop culture today. But when Jax had a video go viral in 2020 amid the worldwide quarantine, it wasn't just another viral video — for the New Jersey-born singer, it was practically life-saving.

After years of being told she "wasn't mysterious enough" for the L.A. pop music scene, Jax decided to post a video parody of Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom." Channeling her mom's New York accent, she delivered "Stacy's Mom from Stacy's Mom's Perspective," and practically overnight, Jax realized she might actually have what it takes to make it.

"It was the dream. Finally people were like, 'Okay, you can do this for a living,'" Jax recalls. "And  I'm like, 'That rocks, thank you, because I suck at everything else.'"

Comedy has been ingrained in Jax since childhood, when she first started going to theater camp. She knew at a young age that making others laugh was her calling, and as she puts it, "filling dead air with jokes" is her specialty. Now, her sense of humor is translating through her original music.

Jax's success extended beyond TikTok last year with "Victoria's Secret," a witty confrontation of the lingerie brand's glamorization of unrealistic body image. The song makes points that are hilarious ("I know Victoria's Secret/ She was made up by a dude," she sings in the song's hook) but also meaningful — so much so that it sparked a public statement from the brand's CEO acknowledging its past pitfalls.

While "Victoria's Secret" may be Jax's biggest hit to date, it's just one of hundreds of brilliantly funny tunes she's crafted, including her latest single, the twisted princess tale "Cinderella Snapped." But no matter where her career goes from here, Jax is just happy she's finally able to be herself.

Before Jax kicked off her summer tour with Big Time Rush on June 22, the singer took GRAMMY.com through six foundational pieces of her life that have led to her dream come true — and ultimately made her one of pop's funniest new stars.

Being A Theater Kid

I knew I wanted to be on stage from a very young age, so I grew up with theater. I got a sense very young [about] what an audience would respond to, what kind of comedic timing would work, or what kind of dramatic timing would work. 

I can remember every single role, whether it be community theater, or something a little more pro, or at camp. I remember how hard I fell in love with almost every single role I played. I don't know if that makes me a sociopath. 

A big one for me [was when] I earned playing Annie — after being in Annie as not Annie two times prior, I finally got Annie. I worked hard enough to prove myself, and then I had to take this on as myself. The next year I got the role of Lily, and I loved that role. I got a huge audience reaction. It was the comedic relief of the show. 

Beating Cancer

I got pretty sick somewhere in between writing for myself and transitioning out to L.A. as a songwriter. I had to take a year off of singing, and I couldn't do anything other than write. They did a huge surgery where they removed my thyroid for thyroid cancer, and it was the coolest gift I could ever receive.

I mean, it didn't seem like that at the time, but now I know that I would not be a songwriter if it weren't for that year. [It was] almost like a full bootcamp on writing, [and it helped me] realize that I could actually make a living doing this. If I tried hard enough, I could not only write for me but write for anyone. 

It was the most bizarre year ever, but it got me here. I love talking about it because it feels like a W, it doesn't feel like an L. [Laughs.] 

Struggling To Make It In L.A.

L.A. gave me a really cool perspective. When I came out here to write for other people, there were songwriters that were lightyears ahead of me. I went my whole life writing songs for myself, in my own little world. I started in musical theater, I joined a bunch of bands, I tried to write my music, I've done shows. I've done a million different chapters in my life where I tried for me. When it came to L.A., I [got [time with] creatives that brought me to another level as a songwriter and taught me how to nurture my skill set. 

At the same time, whenever it came back to my project, and when I was able to master the way I write, it was never enough. Every time I wrote what genuinely felt like the right thing to write in my heart, how I would write it — as cheesy or non cheesy, as dark or bright or funny or whatever it was — it's always extreme. It's pretty in your face, like, "Here's what I'm saying, and here is a joke and here is not a joke," you know? That is how I speak, that's who I am, my whole life, in every aspect.

I was told I needed more mystery. It was like, "You need to be cooler in this, you need to be sexier" — I've been told to cut weight my whole life. When I started doing pop music, especially, people were like, "You must look like your pop icons if you want to do these types of songs." 

I started to lose [my] sense of self. That on top of having to pay rent in L.A., you just get really discouraged. You start to associate your skills and your talent and your self-worth with how much money you make, who you're around, what your cuts are, who you know. And I started to really get secluded. And thank God I did, because that's where my quarantine ended up — I ended up hitting rock bottom and then just saying "F— it" and putting out what I felt was good. 

And with apps like TikTok, where it's a little more equal opportunity to anyone in the world, it was the dream. Finally people were like, "Okay, you can do this for a living," and I'm like, "That rocks, thank you, because I suck at everything else." [Laughs.]

@jaxwritessongs A Doctor and a Hypochondriac wrote a song together 💀👨‍⚕️🤒❤️‍🩹 @drjoe_md #doctor #hypochondriac #songs #sorrynotsorry ♬ original sound - Jax

Becoming TIkTok Famous

It's a hard struggle like bridging the gap between [funny and kitschy]. I kind of landed in that space on TikTok. I'm not a comedian by any means — I was in a huge panic [when my first video blew up], because I'm like, I can't maintain a funny thing. I have all these new people commenting on my original stuff, my music — what can I do to like, blend the worlds? 

I definitely have a really easy time with perspective writing and creative writing. I love taking characters and shifting them into the wrong places and stories. I loved that in theater growing up. I loved that in writing classes growing up. So I spent a minute [thinking], Well, if people were into this, and that's why this first thing went [off], there's a million perspectives of songs that we can POV and parody. The wheels kind of started turning, and then in the bigger scheme of things, I was like, I wonder if they would actually like my music, because this isn't my music. This is just kind of fun.

I love Bo Burnham, I love Lil Dicky, I love punny rappers — I love Eminem. And then I also love a good wordsmith, like Julia Michaels, Sia, Joan Jett, Billy Joel. That's why I'm the writer I am today, but I always hid it. 

"Ring Pop" was the first [original song I posted] of something I was going through during the quarantine with my fiancé. And for the first time, people who cared about the parodies sort of cared about this, and the common ground was that it is how I talk and it is my humor. That's the first time in my life I've been totally unapologetically writing the way I want to write.

I don't encourage kids to need the validation of everyone around them to feel good, but I definitely personally was in a place where I really needed it. I really, really needed just one little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel to be like, You can make a living doing music, and you are good enough to do this. You can still write songs, you don't have to quit. That was the moment from the universe that was like, Hey, don't give up! 

My therapist tells me it wouldn't have mattered if there were TikTok or not. But it was really important for my self-worth, and it did remind me that the second I just reverted back to what was natural was when things started moving in the right direction.

[TikTok has] gotten me confident enough to write what I want to write, sing what I want to sing, stick up to people I want to stick up to. I've never felt more empowered, especially as a woman in music, to just speak what I want to speak. It still gives me anxiety dreams, but I still wake up in the morning and want to do it. I get to speak cool truths, and that's the only reason I ever wanted to do music or perform. 

I have had so much trauma with my body and how I see myself in the mirror, and every day it's still a learning process for me in how to get healthy up here. And the growth I have had since TikTok, and dressing how I want to dress, doing things like "Victoria's Secret" — completely ignoring how I was supposed to look and just looking the way I do at my grossest, in my teenage dirtbag era, right? I feel good, and they let me feel good. 

Some kids dress like me at shows, which is crazy. That's just insane, because I just went the last 26 years thinking I was doing it all wrong. And that's the biggest blessing of the whole thing — it was free therapy. 

@jaxwritessongs A song about @ParisHilton 🧠👸🏼🤯 #fypシ #icon #ceo #parishilton ♬ original sound - Jax

Documenting Everything

I only get my concepts from just talking to people. Never anywhere else. I don't come up with them in the studio — I'm writing [things] down all day. 

It's kind of a defense mechanism — I can't go into the studio and just pull from the sky. So I quickly realized to document what [I've] felt in that moment — like, even if I'm totally drunk, or if I'm sleep talking, or I just woke up or I'm in the shower. I used to set a tape recorder by my bed, because a lot of my ideas would come in my sleep.

It's like I know that I need to prepare for work when I go and socialize. And I remember to document the moments that made me feel something. Or even just one word. 

Somebody yesterday said the words to me, "Bend the universe." And I was like, "That's a great concept." That's why I think breakups were, like, the best times for writing because there's so much being said and so much going on — so much healing and crying and pain. The amount of times that I've written breakup songs because my best friend was in pain — I'm like, I hate to be that guy right now but…

Now that I'm doing all my songs and I'm putting out my own music, people — especially moms — take it very seriously. They don't realize that there are multiple writers in the room, and a really cool piece of work and art can come out of everybody's collective experience in the room. 

Like, I have a song [with] the name Alyssa, but it was because the engineer's ex-girlfriend was named Melissa and then it somehow morphed into Alyssa to play into "Are you A-listening?" It's an evolution with people in the room, but when you're the face of it, then it gets tricky, because people are like, "Why are you endorsing this to my kids?" 

It's a lot of pressure being the face of the final product, which is not the thing I'd been doing for the last few years at all. I had been the face behind the project trying to protect the artist, and make sure I don't say anything that could be taken the wrong way or that's not authentic to them, but still using my own experiences. They take it very seriously — even some of the skits where I thought for sure they'd think it was a joke.

Being Her Awkward Self

I grew up around a lot of cool people. I come from a really loud family. I have two very cool, smart parents that were always super down to Earth and real. I think in another life, my dad totally could've been a really cool actor or comedian. He's the funniest guy I know; he's real quick. 

When it comes to comedic [instincts], I don't know, I think it's awkwardness at the end of the day. It's a problem I have — I have to stop filling dead air with jokes all the time. It's what I do, essentially, from the second I wake up to when I go to bed. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble.

For anybody that knows who I am personally, this is the closest I've ever been in my work to how I am with people — like, I'm Punmaster 5000, I make inappropriate jokes at the wrong times. I deal with things in satire and comedy. I'm taken off guard by how much people actually are down to listen to that. It's a cool spot in my life, because it's the first time I'm feeling authentic.

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It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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