While Bronze Avery was declared the winner of Billboard NXT — a first-of-its-kind singing competition from Billboard and Samsung Galaxy — last month, the finals for the inaugural contest also included two artists primed to impact the music industry. Read more about Amir Brandon and Sophie Marks, NXT finalists who used their respective talents to excel in a hard-fought competition.
Amir Brandon
Amir Brandon photographed using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G on Dec. 7, 2021.
A pop singer-songwriter from Toronto, Amir Brandon got his first taste of performing live in grade school. During recess, he belted out “Oops!… I Did It Again” for his peers and hasn’t looked back since. As an adult, he aims for candor in his art — and to make “music for lonely people,” he says. “I try to make music that’s honest. That’s the best, when you’re writing something that feels real.” Over the summer of 2021, he released a seven-track project titled Lonely Club along with the stand-alone single “Cry in the Shower,” which he performed for his first Billboard NXT challenge. “The art I’m creating is a silver lining in whatever rough experience I’m going through.”
Brandon started posting on TikTok in the spring of 2021, quickly racking up thousands of views and over 70,000 followers. “Social media is unpredictable,” he says. “But sometimes it can be amazing. It’s a bit of an algorithm game, but it’s all in good fun.” He has kept busy trying to come up with engaging tunes for his followers, in hopes of connecting with more people around the world.
Befitting his grade-school self, Brandon gave every NXT challenge his all, transforming pop-rock tracks into glitzy R&B numbers and even creating a perfectly cheesy workout video for his retro cover of “Fireflies” in the final week. “I had a lot of fun with that last challenge,” he says.
With the help of his mentor, Brazilian pop star Anitta, Brandon worked hard at the finale in Los Angeles. “She told me to imagine you’re somebody who is amazing at what they do and you channel their energy,” he says. “I thought that was a cool way to look at it.” Brandon presented a high-energy rendition of Anitta’s “Faking Love” that showed off his impressive range and versatility as a rapper.
Though he wasn’t the victor, Brandon hasn’t slowed down a bit, continuing to work to connect listeners with his music — including his recent single “Hollywood Died,” which he performed at the NXT finale. That track may depict a relationship ending in California, but Brandon’s love for music is unshakeable.
Sophie Marks
Sophie Marks photographed using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G on Dec. 7, 2021.
Sophie Marks, a South Florida-based singer-songwriter, grew up admiring ’90s R&B icons and dreaming of pursuing a career in music. “I’ve been singing my whole life,” says Marks, who studied classical music in high school and began writing her own material in college. “I started listening to more popular music and getting those influences on my own. The internet helped me from then on — from putting out covers and little song ideas to gaining a following.” She graduated from the Berklee College of Music and in 2020 began posting videos on TikTok, which helped her music reach nearly 230,000 likes on the platform — and paved the way toward becoming one of the Billboard NXT finalists.
Marks peaked at No. 2 on the NXT chart in the first week for the original song challenge. She also excelled in the genre-swapping challenge, turning the pop-punk hit “Complicated” into her own track by adding a soulful beat and a vocal echo effect to create a vibe wholly different from the original. “That challenge felt most like home,” she says. “I’ve been doing that for years — I love hearing songs in different ways and arranging things differently.”
In addition to her challenges, Marks showed off her original track “coisa linda,” a smooth R&B song with lyrics in English and Portuguese, a homage to her family’s heritage. “I’d love to keep incorporating Portuguese into my music,” she says. “It seems like people really loved it and related to it.”
For the finale, Marks worked with the multitalented mentor Todrick Hall to prepare for the big performance. “Todrick is someone who I grew up watching,” says Marks. “He started all on his own, made his connections online and stayed humble throughout the process.” Marks performed an elegant cover of Hall’s “Angel” for her final performance. “I love your heart even more than I love your talent,” Hall said after congratulating his mentee.
Marks didn’t emerge as champion, but she still plans on recording and releasing music in 2022. “I’d like to incorporate more dance elements into my music and get more experimental,” she says. In late 2021, she released the EP Butterflies and plans to put out a full album in the coming months.
