18 Dec 2025

moody

Royel Otis

Ourness/Capitol (US) & Island Records (UK)

WE SAY

Our last Ones To Watch 2026 for the year (we continue in January) is the brilliant Royel Otis. The Australian duo, Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, first picked up guitars together in 2019, striking an instant chemistry that has since propelled them to over 1bn streams globally (150 million+ in the UK) and 250,000 ticket sales worldwide (including 3 sold-out nights at Brixton Academy). Early EPs 'Bar & Grill' (2022) and 'Going Kokomo' (2023) laid the foundations before their 2024 Dan Carey-produced debut album 'PRATTS & PAIN' pushed them into breakout territory worldwide. That momentum was reinforced this year with their second LP, 'hickey', which includes ‘moody’ - a hook-heavy slice of late-’90s slacker-pop co-written with Grammy-winner Amy Allen and produced by Blake Slatkin. The track landed a Radio 1 B-list slot and continued a run of Hottest Records, Tunes of the Week, and playlisting across Radio 1, 6 Music, Apple Music 1, Radio X, and Absolute. Further highlights include becoming the first artist to record a Radio 1 Live Lounge Late, scoring a Billboard Hot 100 hit with their SiriusXM cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Linger’ (229m+ streams), and performing the track alongside Noel Hogan at the 2025 Rolling Stone UK Awards. With 9.6m monthly Spotify listeners, 59m YouTube views, four ARIA Awards, and praise from NME, Rolling Stone UK, Dork (5*), The Independent and more, Royel Otis are entering 2026 with serious momentum. Their status as future global players is further underlined by inclusion on BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2026 longlist, Vevo DSCVR Artists to Watch 2026, and Amazon’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year 2025. We love their ability to balance melody with bittersweet humour and slacker-pop charm, and we can't wait to hear what's next.

CONTACTS

Label: Ourness/Capitol (US) & Island Records (UK) 
Publishing: Two Hands and A Bit Publishing administered by Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI)
Marketing: Ilaria Trifoglio, Island EMI
National Radio: Amy James, Universal Music
Regional Radio: Jason Bailey, Cut To The Jase
Streaming: Florence James, Island EMI
Press: Beth Drake, Toast PR
TV: Naomi Gillies, Universal Music
Management: Andrew Klippel, Ourness

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