15 Rising Stars to Watch in 2019

It’s hard to say who the breakout stars of 2019 will be. With so many up-and-coming artists of 2019 to watch out for—from singers like Lizzo and Normani to actresses like Naomi Scott and Joey King—there’s a lot of exciting talent poised to take over the next year. Which ones will actually make the transition from anonymous up-and-comer to it-girl? It’s hard to tell, but these 15 rising stars definitely have a chance.

Each year, we welcome a new class of Hollywood royals, from the actors who seem to dominate the red carpet to the singers with ear worms we can’t stop listening to. With how many exciting movies, TV shows and albums coming out in 2019, this year is bound to produce some new stars to fan over.

2018 saw the rise of breakout stars, like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before‘s Lana Condor and Noah Centineo, and now-Grammy-nominated, like Dua Lipa and Camilla Cabello, and we can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store. From two former Fifth Harmony members following in Cabello’s footsteps to two very different Disney actors who may have finally found their big break, this is our list of the 15 up-and-coming artists to watch in 2019.

Ava Max

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With a number-one song in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and more, it’s only a matter of time until Max cracks the United States too. Known for her spooky-yet-catchy pop song, “Sweet But Psycho,” Max has all the right makings of a pop star. (Bebe Rexha even asked her to collaborate with her, Dua Lipa and Rita Ora for a new “Lady Marmalade.”) With a record deal with Atlantic Records and collaborations with Jason Derulo and David Guetta, Ava Max is a name to look out for.

Eliza Scalen

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Following her scene-stealing role as Amy Adams’s murderous little sister in HBO’s Sharp Objects, Scanlen, a 20-year-old actress from Australia, is set to star alongside Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson and Meryl Streep in 2019’s remake of Little Women. Scanlen will play Beth March, which, fans of Little Women know, has a pivotal role in the storyline. Scanlen started her career as an actor on the Australian soap opera, Home and Away, which also established the careers of Margot Robbie and Chris Hemsworth. Could she be following their footsteps?

Florence Pugh

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Along with Scanlen, Pugh is another relative unknown who will have a scene-stealing break in 2019’s Little Women remake. Pugh will star as Amy March. Along with Little Women, Pugh, a 23-year-old actress from the United Kingdom, will smash her way into the spotlight in Lionsgate’s Fighting with My Family, in which she plays real-life World Wrestling Entertainment diva, Paige Bevis. Pugh was coached by former-wrestler-turned-actor, Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, who also stars in the movie. The film has received positive reviews and was highlighted at a key spot at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Joey King

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Though she’s only 19, King has been working for years, starting with a role as Selena Gomez’s younger sister in Ramona and Beezus in 2010. But her best work is yet to come. Following the success of Netflix’s teen rom-com The Kissing Booth, in which King plays a teenager who dates her best friend’s brother, King will star in Hulu’s anticipated anthology series, The Act. King will play Gypsy Blanchard, a woman who was diagnosed with Munchausen by proxy and murdered her mom. Patricia Arquette will star as Blanchard’s mother, Dee Dee.

Julia Michaels

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Michaels has a long career of writings songs for other artists, like Justin Bieber, Fifth Harmony and Selena Gomez. But it wasn’t until 2017 that she stepped into her own artistry, with her debut single, “Issues.” Now, her duet with Selena Gomez, “Anxiety,” burning up the charts, it seems like Michaels’s days of standing in someone else’s spotlight are behind her. Her next EP, Inner Monologue Part 1, came out last month and features a duet with One Direction’s Niall Horan.

Lauren Jauregui

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After Fifth Harmony’s breakup in March 2018, Jauregui has been busy working on a solo career. The singer, who has collaborations with Halsey and Steve Aoki, released her debut solo single, “Expectations,” in October 2018. She followed it up with her next single, “More Than That,” in January 2019. No word yet on when Jauregui’s album will come out, but fans of the singer’s smoky-smooth vocals are sure to line up. And it’s for a good reason: She’s that good.

Lizzo

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Six years since her debut album, Lizzobangers, in 2013, 2019 is finally Lizzo’s time. The singer, who is signed to Atlantic Records, is burning up the charts with her single, “Juice.” Her next album, Cuz I Love You, is set to debut in April 2019. Since her come-up in music, Lizzo has guest-judged on RuPaul’s Drag Race and has modeled for ModCloth’s “Say It Louder” campaign, highlighting body positivity and self-love.

Lucy Boynton

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Boynton may be a fresh face, but she’s already made several statements on the red carpet. Boynton, whose most recent break came from her role as Mary Austin in the 2019’s Oscar-nominated film Bohemian Rhapsody (where she met her current boyfriend, Rami Malek), has been busy working the red-carpet scene with interesting beauty looks and outfits. The New-York-City-born, London-raised actress can next be seen in Netflix’s The Politician, a comedy starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Lange from Ryan Murphy.

Maggie Rogers

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Rogers has Taylor Swift’s approval, and that’s pretty much everything you need to know to believe she’ll have a big career. The singer, who released her debut album, Heard It in a Past Life, was recently highlighted on Swift’s Instagram after she covered the Reputation singer’s debut single, Tim McGraw. Rogers has also been a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, starred in a controversial sketch with Pete Davidson and recruited Riverdale‘s Camila Mendes (and one of her best friends) for her music video.

Marsai Martin

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As the daughter of Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross (not to mention the younger sister of Yara Shahidi) in ABC’s Black-ish, it was only a matter of time until Martin used her shine to catapult her career too. In 2019, she’ll star in Universal Pictures’ Little, alongside Regina Hall and Issa Rae. Martin will star as Hall’s 13-year-old self after she’s given a chance to rewind the clock and do a do-over in life.

Naomi Scott

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Naomi Scott is name we’ll be hearing a lot in 2019. For starters, the Indian-English actress will star as Princess Jasmine in Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin. But along with being a princess, Scott will also step into the shoes of another iconic female character: one-third of the Charlie’s Angels. Scott will star alongside Kristen Stewart and Noah Centineo in Elizabeth Banks’s reboot of Charlie’s Angels later this year.

Normani

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Like Jauregui, Normani also has a promising solo career post-Fifth Harmony. Following the success of “Love Lies,” her duet with Khalid, in 2018 (the song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100), Normani kept the killer duets coming with a song with Sam Smith, titled “Dancing with a Strangr,” in January 2019. Normani, who is an opening act for Ariana Grande’s Sweetener tour, also has a collaboration with Calvin Harris. The music video for her debut single, “Waves,” will come out this month.

Sofia Carson

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Though she doesn’t have as much name recognition as other Disney Channel stars, Carson is about to be everywhere. In mid 2019, Carson will star in Descendants 3, the third movie in Disney’s Descendants franchise, in which Evie, the daughter of The Evil Queen from Snow White. Her second big break will come in March 2019, when she’ll play one of the lead roles in Freeform’s The Perfectionists, the anticipated Pretty Little Liars spinoff.

Sonoya Mizuno

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Following the success of her roles in 2014’s Ex-Machina and 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, Mizuno is about to have an amazing year. The Argentinian-Japanese actress last starred alongside Emma Stone and Jonah Hill in Netflix’s Maniac. This year, she’ll take center stage as the lead in Ambition.

Rache Zegler

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Zegler was pretty much an unknown until last month when she was cast in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. Zegler, a 17-year-old high school student from New Jersey, will star as the lead role of Maria alongside Ansel Elgort’s Tony. Since her casting, Zegler has gone viral for her powerhouse vocals, as seen in this Twitter video of her belting to Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.

https://twitter.com/rachelzegler/status/1073664369681141760