Like it or not, electronic dance music (commonly abbreviated as EDM) is everywhere these days. The bleeps, boops, and beats that were previously confined to drug-fueled underground warehouse parties and action movies about hackers and/or robots have, in recent years, risen to extreme prominence. Nearly all major festivals devote a portion of their lineup to big-name DJs and producers, while some of the most attended fests in the world are primarily if not completely electronic. Las Vegas is investing millions of dollars into bringing top-level DJs to their various night clubs (not to mention the annual Electric Daisy Carnival held there, which became the largest electronic music event in the world when they drew 345,000 attendees in 2013). We even had a few major EDM stars crack the Top 40 this year; I mean, seriously, how many days have you gone without hearing Avicii's "Wake Me Up" or Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" on the radio?
So now that EDM has firmly cemented itself into the mainstream, what's next? Well, the genre's newfound popularity will inevitably lead to the rise of new stars as tastes evolve and change. Here's a few we think you should keep your eye on in 2014 as they crank out dancefloor hits and see their names added to more and more festival lineups. And who knows: by this time next year, you might even be hearing them on the radio as you drive to work.
