Musical Radar: Riovaz

Welcome to the first entry of the Musical Radar series! In this series, I’m looking to shine a light on some lesser-known artists that I feel deserve to be on your radar. First up, we have New Jersey’s Riovaz. The 17-year old indie singer has steadily been garnering more and more attention in the music industry thanks to his break-out hit “Prom Night”.

Released in 2020, this track has been dominating TikTok feeds with its infectious rhythm, raspy vocals, and snappy drums. Prior to his big success from “Prom Night”, Riovaz began putting music out onto streaming platforms in 2019. Before the numbers from TikTok boosted “Prom Night” streams, Riovaz kept putting out more singles throughout 2020 and 2021.

His voice still sounds young and a bit underdeveloped, but that will start to subside as he matures. It also sounds like he has a general grasp of what type of music he wants to create. Heavy on 90s synths and moody lyrics, Riovaz is occupying a niche space in music right now. There have been a few experimental tracks where he tries to sing-rap, but it doesn’t really work out. He trades in the moody lyrics for more aggressive bars, but it falls flat with the weak lyrics and flows. His 90s synth-inspired emo style is the path I see him following in the future.

Hopefully, the early returns don’t make the moment too big for Riovaz. Only time will tell if the young man can handle this success and continue to develop as a musician. Now let us take a look at some of my favorite songs from Riovaz’s discography! First up we have the most popular song to date, “Prom Night”. It is a fusion of moody bedroom pop and 90’s synths and is a great showcase for Riovaz’s talents. Probably his best vocal performance, “Prom Night” is also sung with a confidence that feels like they were charged with genuine emotions.

Released in 2020, “Eternal Sunshine” is one of the more lyrically denser tracks Riovaz has put out. Still retaining the moody bedroom vibe, this single is more bouncy and has some creative production. His follow-up single “Endless Desire” has an almost emo tropical vibe that actually works very well. The moody vocals clashing against the happy instrumentals put on emphasis on the emotions being put into the track.

Riovaz eventually released his first EP titled Into The Unknown later in 2020. The track “Girl Who Chants Misery” off the EP is a surf-rock-inspired emo-pop song. Detailing the anxiety from not knowing a partner’s feelings, Riovaz is suffocating in his own thoughts. The blend of sounds comes together to make an enjoyable track for people looking for a bit more diversity.

The newest single from Riovaz, “Leaving You” continues his usual moody synth style with some percussion to add a bit of bounce to the track. Going through some more relationship confusion, Riovaz realizes that the girl he’s been with just isn’t for him anymore. Because there’s a lack of lyrics, Rio has to really sell the anguish through vocal inflections. His performance is done very well and makes up for not having much substance. As Riovaz continues to grow as an artist and gain more life experience, I expect he’ll be putting out wholly unique songs to cry to at night.

Riovaz is young and still discovering his style and voice. The young man shows a lot of potential, and if he keeps working on his craft I wouldn’t be surprised if every song released gets millions of streams. Riovaz is on the cusp of breaking through, and perhaps after a few more singles that catch on fire or a beneficial record deal, he’ll be in the thick of it.

Thanks for sticking around! This is only the first entry of the series so let us know if there’s a smaller artist you would like for us to listen to. In the meantime, check out Riovaz’s music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and Tidal.