Icona Pop, whose "I Love It" was released last summer, only recently moved into the Top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100. Fredrik Etoall/Courtesy of Big Beat Records hide caption
Music Features In-depth storytelling from the NPR Music team.
Music Features
Saturday
Tuesday
John Grant. Sebastien Dehesdin/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Monday
Bobby "Blue" Bland performs on stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, in 1989. David Redfern/Redferns hide caption
Sunday
Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee relaxes in the west Philadelphia house where her second album, Cerulean Salt, was recorded. Will Figg for NPR hide caption
Wednesday
The-Dream performing in New York City in May. Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images hide caption
Monday
Even the name of J. Cole's new album, Born Sinner, is a nod to the hip-hop lineage from which he descends: Biggie > Jay > J. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Saturday
Blake Morgan's songs were played some 28,000 times over a 90-day period on Pandora, earning $1.62 in royalties. Jim Herrington/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Pandora Buys A Radio Station, Songwriters' Group Calls It A 'Stunt'
Friday
Dagger Beach, John Vanderslice's new album, is out this week. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Wednesday
Boards of Canada's new album is titled Tomorrow's Harvest. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Thursday
Miranda Lambert performing in April at the Academy of Country Music Awards, where she won best song, best record and best female vocalist for the fourth year in a row. The Lambert Effect has opened doors for many of the new hopefuls blending hard country sounds with feminist-aware attitudes. Kevin Winter/ACMA2013/Getty Images for ACM hide caption
Wednesday
The close of Kendrick Lamar's set at Summer Jam on Sunday, when Top Dawg and A$AP Rocky's crews joined him onstage. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images hide caption
Monday
Umphrey McGee playing Stubbs in Austin, Texas, the night the band covered Daft Punk's "Get Lucky." Abby Matthews hide caption
Friday
Valerie June's first album, Pushin' Against A Stone, will be out in August. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Thursday
Interior of Enjoy the Experience. Courtesy of Sinecure Books hide caption
Wednesday
Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories sold 339,000 copies in its first week in stores, the second highest total for any new album in 2013. Courtesy of the artist hide caption