NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The music discovery and curation team at SiriusXM announced today its "Class of 2016" and "Future Five" for 2017.

The "Class of 2016" is comprised of artists that were played first on SiriusXM and subsequently went on to have a major breakthrough year in 2016.  

The "Future Five" for 2017 consists of five new artists that SiriusXM predicts will breakthrough in 2017.

"2016 was another groundbreaking year in music discovery for SiriusXM," said Steve Blatter, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Music Programming, SiriusXM. "Our industry leading success in breaking new artists and consistently delivering to our subscribers what's next in music demonstrates the power of human curation in identifying, developing and presenting new artists to music fans across North America."

SiriusXM's "Future Five" for 2017

• Seth Ennis The Highway premiered "Woke Up In Nashville" from Ennis in mid-September, when he was named a "Highway Find"—the channel's ongoing initiative to introduce new country artists to SiriusXM listeners. The 24-year old Ennis, who was signed to Sony Music Nashville in the same month, saw his digital track sales rocket to over 2,000 a week and he has now accumulated over 2 million streams to date.

• K. Flay– Alt Nation featured "Blood In The Cut" on its "Advanced Placement" new music show in August, 2016 and added the song into regular rotation in October. The Chicago native and graduate of Stanford University was played as an independent artist on the company's Faction channel starting in 2014. "Blood in The Cut" has been streamed over 2.8 million times and has sold over 30,000 digital tracks to date. K. Flay is now signed to Interscope Records.

• Lil Uzi Vert – Eminem's Shade 45 channel was the first radio outlet in America to regularly play Lil Uzi Vert when his song "Money Longer" debuted on the channel in March of 2016.  Lil Uzi Vert was introduced to Shade 45 listeners by DJ Drama, who hosts his own weekly mix show on the channel. Lil Uzi Vert is signed to Atlantic Records.

• Carly Pearce –"Every Little Thing" from the unsigned Pearce was added as a "Highway Find" in early November. The song from the 26-year old native of Kentucky is currently selling over 4,000 digital tracks a week without any other regular radio support.

• Rag N Bone Man - Rag N Bone Man's "Human" debuted in mid-October on The Spectrum, which was the first radio outlet in America to regularly play this British singer-songwriter. The "Spectrum Certified" artist has reached #1 on The Spectrum's "Short List" countdown, and has been streamed over 2 million times since its first airplay on the channel. Rag N Bone Man was first signed to Sony UK and subsequently picked up by Columbia Records in the U.S.

SiriusXM's "Class of 2016"

• Bishop Briggs: Alt Nation became the first radio outlet in America to play Bishop Briggs in a regular rotation when it started playing "Wild Horses" in January 2016. Alt Nation then added "River" into rotation in February of 2016. Soon after, the unsigned Los Angeles-based Briggs was signed to Island Records. "The River" became a top 5 song on Billboard's Alternative chart, has sold over 250,000 digital tracks and has been streamed over 23 million times. 

• The Chainsmokers: In November of 2014, eight months following their viral hit "Selfie," SiriusXM hired The Chainsmokers as hosts of the YouTube EDM15, a weekly show co-produced by SiriusXM and YouTube. The Chainsmokers continued to make their own songs and in March of 2016 their music careers surged with their first ever Top 5 pop hit, "Roses." The charismatic EDM DJs and SiriusXM hosts followed up in 2016 with two more massive Billboard #1 hits, "Don't Let Me Down" and "Closer". The Chainsmokers are also nominated for Best New Artist at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

• Daya: In April of 2015, SiriusXM's Venus channel was the first radio outlet in America to add the song "Hideaway" to regular rotation from the independently signed Daya. When the song was added to rotation on SiriusXM Hits 1 in June of 2015 it started to sell over 3,000 digital tracks a week. In December of 2015 Daya was selected by SiriusXM as one of the five artists to watch in 2016. "Hideaway" went on to become a Top 10 Pop hit in February of 2016. The song has sold over 1 million tracks and has been streamed over 178 million times. Daya also performed lead vocals on the song "Don't Let Me Down" from The Chainsmokers which was a #1 pop song in July of 2016.

• Kaleo: SiriusXM named Kaleo a "Spectrum Certified" new artist in January 2015 when The Spectrum became the first radio outlet in America to play the Icelandic band in regular rotation. In December of 2015 The Spectrum was also the first to add the band's breakthrough hit "Way Down We Go" to regular rotation. The song went on to become a #1 hit on Billboard's Adult Alternative and Alternative charts, has sold over 300,000 digital tracks and has been streamed over 300 million times.  

• Tory Lanez: SiriusXM named Lanez a "Future Fire" artist in August of 2015 when The Heat became the first radio outlet in America to regularly play "Say It". In December of 2015 Tory Lanez was selected by SiriusXM as one of the five artists to watch in 2016. The song went on to reach #1 on Billboard's Rhythmic chart in February 2016 and has been streamed over 450 million times.  

• Maren Morris: SiriusXM named Morris a "Highway Find" in November of 2015 when The Highway became the first radio outlet in America to regularly play "My Church". In December of 2015 Morris was selected by SiriusXM as one of the five artists to watch in 2016. Since then Morris won the CMA Award for New Artist Of The Year and has received five nominations for the upcoming Grammy Awards.  

• Nothing But Thieves:  In July of 2015 Alt Nation was the first radio outlet in America to play "Trip Switch" from the unsigned Nothing But Thieves in a regular rotation. The UK-based band was subsequently picked up by RCA Records in North America. In December of 2015 Nothing But Thieves was selected by SiriusXM as one of the five artists to watch in 2016. The band's "Trip Switch" reached #1 on Billboard's Alternative chart in May of 2016.

• Ben Rector: SiriusXM named the unsigned Rector a "Pulse First" artist in September of 2015 when The Pulse was the first radio outlet in America to play "Brand New." Rector was subsequently picked up by Capitol Records and had a Top 5 hit on Billboard's Adult Pop chart in July 2016. The song went on to sell over 200,000 digital tracks and has been streamed over 25 million times.

About SiriusXM

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the world's largest radio company measured by revenue and has approximately 31 million subscribers. SiriusXM creates and offers commercial-free music; premier sports talk and live events; comedy; news; exclusive talk and entertainment, and a wide-range of Latin music, sports and talk programming. SiriusXM is available in vehicles from every major car company and on smartphones and other connected devices as well as online at siriusxm.com. SiriusXM radios and accessories are available from retailers nationwide and online at SiriusXM. SiriusXM also provides premium traffic, weather, data and information services for subscribers through SiriusXM Traffic™, SiriusXM Travel Link, NavTraffic®, NavWeather™. SiriusXM delivers weather, data and information services to aircraft and boats through SiriusXM Aviation, SiriusXM Marine™, Sirius Marine Weather, XMWX Aviation™, XMWX Weather, and XMWX Marine™. In addition, SiriusXM Music for Business provides commercial-free music to a variety of businesses. SiriusXM holds a minority interest in SiriusXM Canada which has approximately 2.8 million subscribers. SiriusXM is also a leading provider of connected vehicles services, giving customers access to a suite of safety, security, and convenience services including automatic crash notification, stolen vehicle recovery assistance, enhanced roadside assistance and turn-by-turn navigation.

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The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: our substantial competition, which is likely to increase over time; our ability to attract and retain subscribers, which is uncertain; consumer protection laws and their enforcement; the unfavorable outcome of pending or future litigation; the market for music rights, which is changing and subject to uncertainties; our dependence upon the auto industry; general economic conditions; the security of the personal information about our customers; existing or future government laws and regulations could harm our business; failure of our satellites would significantly damage our business; the interruption or failure of our information technology and communications systems; our failure to realize benefits of acquisitions or other strategic initiatives; rapid technological and industry changes; failure of third parties to perform; harmful interference to our service from new and existing wireless operations; our failure to comply with FCC requirements; modifications to our business plan; our indebtedness; our principal stockholder has significant influence over our affairs and over actions requiring stockholder approval and its interests may differ from interests of other holders of our common stock; and impairment of our business by third-party intellectual property rights. Additional factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.

Source: SiriusXM

Media contact: 
Samantha Bowman
212 901 6644
samantha.bowman@siriusxm.com

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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.