Asian and Pacific Island (API) Heritage Month is observed each May in the U.S. Jonathan “Mad” Tsai has a second reason to celebrate this May: Spotify partnered with Gold House, the influential non-profit collective of API leaders, to name Jonathan a Gold House Futures Accelerator Musician. As a kid, Jonathan experienced a frustrating relationship with music. But as he honed his songwriting skills on ukulele and Garage Band in college, he evolved from bedroom musician to viral hitmaker.

Asim Azhur is one of Pakistan’s brightest stars of the concert stage and movie screen. Growing up in a musical family in Karachi, Asim got his start as a teenager, recording local-language covers of songs by the Western pop artists he most admired.His place in Pakistani pop culture was cemented when he began writing his own songs, with romantic lyrics that have earned him the title “The Heartbreak King.”

Experience the excitement ahead of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand finale. We caught up with some of the passionate fans and hottest contestants during the show’s semi-finals in Liverpool. We also talked to Sweden’s 2012 Eurovision winner Loreen, the UK’s Mae Muller, Israel’s Noa Kirel, Ukraine’s TVORCHI, and Italy’s Marco Mengoni. Eurovision expert Dave Holmes explains why fans love the eccentricities of the competition, and Mateusz Smółka, a leader in Spotify’s European music team, provides streaming insight.

After an eight-year rollercoaster of big breaks and setbacks, winning and losing record deals, and playing TV talent shows and dive bars, Country sensation Alexandra Kay’s career is finally on an upward trajectory. We sat down with the Waterloo, Illinois native to learn about the determination, spirit and resilience she harnessed to make it in the music business, and how she’s grateful for the hard times she’s experienced along the way.