Former US President Barack Obama has released his list of 2024 picks for music, books and movies. Among the songs he chose is the song I Like The Way You Kissed Me signed by Artemas.
Artemas Diamantis, known professionally as Artemas, is one of the most viral names on the streaming charts of the year.
The 25-year-old singer, songwriter and record producer was born in Oxfordshire, England and has Greek Cypriot ancestry on his father’s side.
Artemas Diamantis took piano lessons at the age of six and developed an interest in singing from an early age, while watching a documentary about Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, was also his inspiration to start composing his own songs.
Diamantis learned to play instruments and record his own musical adventures after experimenting with many disparate musical styles.
Today he is a resident of London, he is building his name with his tracks that appear on many Spotify playlists, among them If U Think I’m Pretty and the viral and choice of Barack Obama, I Like the Way You Kiss Me and has relationship with American singer Nessa Barrett.
He began his songwriting career at the age of seventeen, making his first “really bad rock song” which was played on local radio as he has said.
Diamantis’ first music release was the single High 4 U in November 2020 and in 2022, he released the mixtape I’m Sorry I’m Like This, which is available on Bandcamp and in the same year his sound was compared to that of Rex Orange County “with some R&B.”
Artemas, chapter 1
On October 24, 2023, Diamantis released the single If U Think I’m Pretty which went viral and by 2024 had topped the charts in the UK, several European countries, as well as Canada and Australia.
His success also led to the release of his first mixtape, Pretty, in February 2024.
The piece that put him on Obama’s shortlist was released on March 19, 2024.
The single I Like the Way You Kiss Me reached number one on the charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Latvia and Lithuania, peaked at number three in the UK chart, number 12 in the US and reached the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway.
Variety called the track one of the “songs you hear everywhere in 2024” and the single led to the release of Artemas’ second mixtape, Yustyna, in July 2024.
Artemas is on the lists of most promising artists in Billboard and other music media. The kiss of streaming is also its success with the algorithm taking care of the establishment of the Anglo-Cypriot artist.
For Artemas, it all begins now.
With the power of TikTok (and some unexpected sex)
“I wanted to be like Kurt Cobain,” Artemas told Ladygunn. “It was something about his aura in the documentary that inspired me. He spoke to me, showed me my call. Since then I’ve been writing songs and moved on to pop music.”
Artemas describes his songwriting process as instinctive. “I literally sit in front of my keyboard or with my guitar and try to make a song exist,” he told The Office.
“I try not to be too cynical about what I’m trying to write and just be honest, spontaneous. It’s a very nice process. I feel like I’m in something beyond myself,” he added.
Why did his track go viral? That’s the million dollar question, but Artemas is part of a new generation of artists who can spark viral moments on TikTok.
And in his case, the TikTok platform brought the track to be a musical carpet in countless videos, the same happened on every other digital platform.
Artemas believes that his music has found its place in a very specific kind of playlist.
“I’m on the biggest playlists under the SEX label on Spotify, which is hilarious if you know me personally,” he told The Office.
Artemas seems to have mastered the formula of viral success.
“A rainy day in a state in the clearing.” That’s how he used to describe his work when he was just 21 years old.
His description – based on a terrible storm during his only visit to Los Angeles – epitomizes his sarcastic attitude towards life that is so evident in his music, writes Ladygunn.
“With bittersweet lyrics Artemas writes unforgettable ’90s-inspired anthems with a modern twist,” he adds of Sunny, when Artemas was just 21 years old.
A pop Kurt Cobain?
“It’s hard to pin my sound down to just one word or genre… it’s modern, pop and references to the 90s. I grew up listening to bands like Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I think their influence shows in my music. I try to make every song I write catchy, with a cool idea behind it,” he had said.
Artemas loves to eat chipotle – a type of chili from Mexico that he fell in love with when he lived in Los Angeles -, he wanted to be an actor – “Since I was little I always wanted to create, I used to act out famous scenes from movies in my room, in a really scary clip I try to be Don Vito from The Godfather” he has said-, he identifies with every Jason Segel character -“I don’t know why…” he says – and would like to work with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, or Sean Mendes and Charli XCX.
Diamantis emphasizes that Artemas is a character. “The perspective I’m writing from right now is like an alter ego, something bigger than me,” he tells Music.
“I’ve put out I think 27 pieces this year,” he explains. “To achieve something like this, I’ve spent a lot of time in a studio. So I don’t live that crazy, hedonistic rock star lifestyle. My music has always been super melodramatic,” he says.
“Artemas is not the nicest guy in the world. He’s quite detached, he’s cold,” he adds.
“Girls are an inspiration”
In a Dazed article, Artemas said, “I like to write about my worst or most embarrassing parts.”
“I think a lot of people would comment on my lyrics that they’re vulgar, they’re grotesque,” he says of the viral hit that established him. I Like The Way You Kiss Me has more than 180 million plays on Spotify.
“And I know that sounds pretentious, but it’s meant to be, it’s almost satirical – and satirizing this terrible dude that nobody should aspire to be is fun.”
With the girls storming the charts, see Charli XCX, Chappelle Rowan, Sabrina Carpenter, on subreddits, fans are looking for the next boys to join her on the next pop pop. Is Artemas one of them?
“I would like that. Very! We should draw inspiration from girls. They are the best right now. They are more fearless than us in their lyrics. We shouldn’t be afraid to say nonsense, to expose ourselves,” he says.
Artemas embarks on his first world tour. “I want to build a spectacle around Artemas. I’m very excited.”
Barack Obama (and his father) approve, swipe:
