LATEST HOT BAND ALERT NEWS

J-14 is scouting out the hottest bands around... and this week's pick is Belle Histoire.

Here are five things you need to know about Belle Histoire, whose EP I Can Tell is out tomorrow!

1. Indie pop-rock band Belle Histoire from Cincinnati, OH, consists of lead vocalist Jane Smith, guitarists Aaron Hunt and Austin Livingood, drummer Wes Comer, and bassist Mitch Winsett. "I was currently in a different band when my brother told me he'd pay me to record the songs that I never used for the other band because he thought they were my most creative and best written songs," Jane tells J-14. "My best friend who is also my brother's best friend, and our friend Wes recorded the songs with me. We were like 'wow, this could actually take us somewhere'."

2. Originally Jane wanted to name the band "The History," but their producer decided they needed something more creative. Belle Histoire was created, which means "beautiful history" in French.

J-14 is scouting out the hottest music around and this week's pick is hip-hop and R&B artist Jake Miller.

Here are five things you need to know about Jake Miller, whose debut single "What I Wouldn't Give" is out now!

1. For 19-year-old Jake Miller, music has always ran in his blood, teaching himself how to play the guitar, drums, and the piano at a young age. "At that point, music was just a hobby," Jake tells J-14. "As I got older, I started gaining respect for musicians and the music industry in general. Between my passion for entertaining and my passion for music, I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."

2. YouTube has proven to be a successful career maker for many aspiring musicians and for Jake, it was just that. "When I was in ninth grade, I turned all of the poems that I had written in my English class into songs using GarageBand on my Mac," he says. "From there, I found that YouTube was the best outlet I could use to share my music with my friends. They immediately gave me positive feedback on the songs I put out and in turn I was inspired to put a few more of my songs on YouTube."

J-14 is scouting out the hottest music around and this week's pick is singer-songwriter Asher Monroe!

Here are five things you need to know about Asher Monroe, who's currently in the studio working on his debut album!

1. Does Asher Monroe look familiar to you? That's because he's a jack-of-all-trades. He got his start on Broadway and TV, was a member of V Factory (as "Asher Book"), and starred in the movie Fame. "I never kept my abilities to perform to just one type of genre. Sometimes in this business it comes down to luck, preparation, timing, and ability to keep going when you get knocked down," Asher tells J-14. "I tried to seize every opportunity that came my way, whether that was singing, acting, or even dancing!"

2. With an album in the works, Asher is excited to get his music out there as a solo artist. "That's the great thing about my album. All the people that have listened to it so far have told me there is a song in it for everyone and they each have there favorite," he says. "I have a little pop, some rock, some great catchy up tempos and some slow amazing ballads. There is definitely something in there for everyone!"

J-14 is scouting out the hottest music around and this week's pick is rising star Jack Skuller!

Here are five things you need to know about Jack Skuller whose debut EP Driver's Permit is due out this Spring!

1. Singer-songwriter Jack Skuller may only be 15-years-old (until January 26 -- when he turns 16!), but he's always known music was going to be a huge part of his life. After all, his father was a musician so he grew up surrounded by music. "I use to go to his shows all the time and watch him absorb the essence of performing. I knew at a very young age that that was what I wanted to do because it's a very powerful thing, being on stage and reaching out to an audience," Jack tells J-14. "Shows are the greatest, playing for people. It's really exciting."

2. Not only does Jack play the guitar, but he also knows piano, bass, and drums. "When I was little I took some piano lessons but my parents always told me once they knew I was in to music that starting with piano is just good for everything. It even helps you in school," Jack says. But it's the guitar that really won over Jack's heart. "When I'm not doing something I'm just playing around on the guitar. I always have my guitar with me in the house, I carry it with me all around."

J-14 is scouting out the hottest music around... and this week's pick is A+ Dropouts!

Here are five things you need to know about the A+ Dropouts, whose EP No Time for Goodbyes is out soon!

1. Originally from Washington D.C., pop-punk band A+ Dropouts consists of 14-year-old lead singer and guitarist Cheska Zaide, 15-year-old guitarist Lucas, 14-year-old bassist Evan, and 14-year-old drummer Liam. Their band name fits the group perfectly -- describing where they're at both in their career and as teenagers. "All of us are good in school and we liked the idea of the added word dropouts as a connotation to the fact that we are 'students by day and rockers by night'," Cheska tells J-14. How do they balance? "We have practice generally on Fridays and Sundays during the school year with gigs on weekends and squeezed into our vacation time," she explains. "It's always a bit hard, but we always make it work in the end."

2. Some of Cheska's musical inspirations consists of fellow rockers No Doubt's Gwen Stefani and Paramore's Hayley Williams along with newcomer Tonight Alive. "Also recently I've been inspired by Tonight Alive to write more complicated guitar parts that sound awesome!" she says. "I would totally love to work with these bands in the future!"

J-14 is scouting out the hottest music around... and this week's pick is Eric Nicolau!

Here are five things you need to know about Eric Nicolau, whose debut EP Won't You Stay drops tomorrow!

1. It was a trip to Brazil in the winter of 2008 that inspired 24-year-old Eric Nicolau to leave his home in Detroit, MI, and head west to L.A. to chase after his big dreams -- inspired by his father, a guitarist in a Top 40 cover band. "I had always entertained the idea and never considered it until one morning I woke up and said, 'what have I got to lose? I'm doing it,'" he tells J-14. "I came back home from the trip and was packed and on the road headed west within a week."

2. This singer-songwriter would best describe his sound as melodic, not constricted by one genre. "It's earthy, a little pop, a little rock, some Latin moments, and some sass," he tells us.

J-14 is scouting out the hottest music around... and this week's pick is Tay and Kate.

Here are five things you need to know about country duo Tay and Kate!

1. Country-pop teen duo Tay and Kate have always had music in their blood. "I started singing at a young age and then eventually started yodeling," Tay tells J-14. "What's funny is, yodeling led me to be on America's Got Talent. That was a great blessing and I had a lot of fun." Kate credits her two older sisters for helping her get over her stage fear. "Growing up, me and my two older sisters always wanted to perform together wherever we could," she tells us. "They were the ones who helped me get over my fear of singing in front of people and made me realize how much I love to sing."

2. In hope of getting in touch with their biggest idol Taylor Swift, on December 13 for Swift's 22nd birthday, Tay and Kate used all their Christmas money to buy radio commercials on Nashville's 107.5 The River. They broadcasted a 30-second commercial where they played a clip of their rewritten Swift cover "Ours," wished her a happy birthday, and thanked her for being their idol. "We are such major Taylor Swift fans so we wanted to say happy birthday in the most unique way possible and make sure our message was heard," Tay tells J-14. "We are not positive as to whether or not she has heard it, but we do hope she did because we put a lot of effort into and we really want our biggest role model to know how much we appreciate her."

J-14 is scouting out the hottest bands around... and this week's pick is States!

Here are five things you need to know about States, whose debut full length album Room to Run is out now!

1. Pop-rock band States consists of Mindy White, Stephen and Bryan Laurenson, Jonathan Bucklew, and Dean Lorenz. When their current bands Lydia and Copeland broke up, Mindy was determined to pursue her own musical career path. "I had always wanted to pursue my own music and front a band, so I started writing on my own," Mindy tells J-14. "Stephen Laurenson from Copeland and I both lived in Nashville and decided to try and write music together. The rest of the guys from Copeland were really into the sound, and later joined the project."

2. This band strives for individuality and proves to be far from your typical pop-rock band. "I think we have a very unique rock, pop sound. We didn't have one direction for creating the band's sound, it was more of a mix of all of our influences," Mindy explains. "Each song has it's own identity, yet they all have a similar 'States' sound to them. I think the melodies definitely have a catchy, pop and eerie feel about them at times."