Indie Songs Catchy Enough to be Mainstream Hits

This shit is so catchy you can imagine it playing during one of the dramatic scenes of a Catfish episode and blowing up overnight. Grace Mitchell is only 16 years old (or maybe 17 now), and her songwriting ability is undeniable.

Read our interview with her here.

If this isn't in some fun technology commercial within the next six months, someone isn't doing their job. Australian artist Tkay Maidza might be best known as a rapper, but the girl has an unreal ear for hooks.

This was once described to me (by @JennsDrunk) as The Cardigans meets Phoenix, and that is perfect. More on the Belgian trio here.

This one is such a hit that every day we tell at least one person what a hit it is. A fucking Mario Bros. sample and a hook about doing the cha cha with a Dominican in a Latin bar? Sold. Now we need that remix. Read more about D.R.A.M. here.

Related: 25 Rappers You Should Get to Know Before They Blow Up

You know this one's a hit because when you play it you stand on top of things and dance and by the end of the song some of your clothes are off and you're like, "What just happened?" but it's too late because everyone in your office is staring at you and then you realize that you've peed a little. Shannon Saunders got her start doing YouTube covers of popular songs, but with "Sheets" she's got a hit of her own.

If you don't like this one, you don't have a soul. Leon Bridges is like what Aloe Blacc could have been if he didn't go completely radio. It's still got that raw, vintage feel, but it's such a sturdy song that it's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying it.

If DJ Mustard lived in a haunted castle in the middle of a vast, dark forest, this might be the kind of music he would make. "Crow" takes the minimal, snapping production that Mustard has helped bring to the mainstream in the past year, and adds in actual crow sounds, and hushed half sung, half mumbled vocals. It's creepy, demented, and totally catchy.

Boom. As soon as those opening piano stabs come in, this feels like it's going to be a catchy, empowering, striding-through-the-streets-getting-shit-done song. But, listen to the lyrics and there's much more depth and nuance here, and that just highlights young Shamir's talent. With his debut EP Northtown (originally released via GODMODE) getting a re-release and bigger push from XL Recordings, this song could really be blowing up on the radio soon.

Plus, with his debut album pretty much finished, there are sure to be more sleeper hits on the way.

It's kind of crazy how much Jai Paul's "BTSTU" blew up. It's not the most radio-friendly song, but it certainly has those incredibly catchy elements, whether it's Paul singing, "Don't fuck with me," in his soft falsetto, or the hard-edged production. Well, Jai Paul's brother, A. K., has another slowly creeping hit on his hands, in the shape of his track with singer Nao. The jerky, sharp production is an amazing counterpoint to Nao and A. K.'s inviting vocals, and with the right push, this song, which already sits at over 1 million plays on Soundcloud, could be a true mainstream hit.

Describing this song as indie Taylor Swift is a lazy way to describe this. I'm lazy. I don't mean that description in a bad way, though. It makes me feel a little guilty because that country-tinged pop hook feels like it's not made for a young male, but whatever don't put me in a box.

On first listen, London singer Jones' debut song "Deep" is pretty simple. The production has that Dev Hynes feel to it—slightly retro pop with a touch of the tropical—and the chorus is as simple as they get. There's nothing particularly in-your-face-amazing about it... except the fact that after 100 listens, instead of getting tired of it, you end up liking it more.

Related: English Singers You Should Look Out For in 2015

From the ghostly, delicate intro, you might not expect that this song by L.A. duo BC Kingdom would bust into a huge, bright chorus, but burst it does, around the one minute mark. The hook is hopeful, powerful, and goddamn catchy, while the futuristic production hits hard.

Plus that outro is just so epic...

JUDE.'s "Crystals" wouldn't be out of place on Lorde's debut album. It's a slow-mover, but try to listen to it a couple of times without waking up for the next week with that chorus stuck in your head. Moody, creeping melodies are the new pop anthems.

Read more about the Florida duo here.