In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort make their superiors look good.
This week's entrants will also find their faces in our latest mag, which could make for a great (or dismal) conversation during Sunday brunch.
Carolina Boltiansky
Day to Day Manager, Best Friends Music
Boltiansky cherished working
Coachella 2022 with
Billie Eilish,
FINNEAS,
Bishop Briggs and
Role Model. She also reveled in Eilish and FINNEAS’ 2024
Oscar win for Best Original Song. Now, she’s working on the rollout for Role Model’s
Kansas Anymore, due 7/19, and is excited for new music from Briggs and
Mimi Webb. She’s also gearing up for Role Model to go on tour with
Gracie Abrams and Eilish’s
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT Tour this fall. Boltiansky says her 94-year-old grandpa, @charmingcharlie1930 on
TikTok, is Elish’s biggest fan.
Our grandparents just fed us borscht.
Rob Wadlington
Senior Manager, A&R Admin, Red Bull Records
Wadlington treasures his early career days at
Epic, where he developed a lasting bond with
Grammy-winning producer
Christopher “
Tricky”
Stewart, managing projects for stars like
Ciara and
Tamar Braxton and later working at Tricky’s
RedZone Ent. Now at Red Bull Records, under the guidance of
Kenny “
Tick”
Salcido, he’s finalizing projects, including new music from
Blxst and
James Vickery, plus the launch of
House of Protection. Before the biz, Wadlington pursued a career as a music producer under the moniker
Mancini, in honor of the legendary composer. We could definitely use an alias.
Diane Tran
Director of Marketing, Three Six Zero
Tran led the marketing for
Calvin Harris’
Grammy-nominated, gold-certified hit, “Miracle,” which he performed with
Ellie Goulding during his triumphant 2023 return to
Coachella. She also masterminded the release strategies for
Majid Jordan’s
Good People, as well as
Kid Cudi’s
INSANO albums, which saw promotional stunts like 30-foot statues in major cities. Presently, she’s preparing for Harris’ headlining summer festivals and a star-studded residency in Ibiza. Diane is a former Taekwondo competitor; we have competition-level skills in surrendering.
James Janocha
Senior Manager, Digital Marketing, Primary Wave
Janocha shared a burger with
Alice Cooper, drank tequila with
Godsmack and was snowed in with
Dave Grohl in Ashville. He recently secured the premiere of
I Stand Alone: The Sully Erna Story on
AXS TV and spearheaded the release of Godsmack’s catalog on vinyl. He’s also now overseeing campaigns for Cooper’s
School’s Out and
Elected,
Def Leppard’s
Pyromania 40 and working on a project for
Layne Staley’s unpublished songs as well as collaborations with
Sweetwater. Janocha played D1 inline hockey in college and lost every game. There’s an experience we can relate to.
Nicole Dupuis
Director, A&R Operations, EMPIRE
From serving as
Chris Brown’s day-to-day during his
Up Close and Personal Tour to navigating studio sessions with stars like
T-Pain and
Ludacris, spending Easter with
Jimmy Iovine and more, Dupuis’ career has been packed with mind-blowing moments. At EMPIRE, she’s busy handling the A&R administration for global acts
Asake,
Fireboy DML,
Tiwa Savage,
Vedo,
Yung Bleu,
Tink and
Inayah, among others. Dupuis once took a six-year hiatus from the biz to advocate for children in crisis. Most people wish we’d take a
permanent leave.
Jose Abreu
VP, Digital Marketing & Streaming, Latin Iberia Region,
Sony Music Entertainment
For Abreu, nothing tops flying to his parents’ native country, the Dominican Republic, to be interviewed on TV while introducing a new Sony act to the audience. Presently, he’s diving into ambitious ideas and tactics for the roster while turbocharging SME’s productivity. “My dream is for everyone to have all the freedom to unleash their creativity and strategic prowess in their daily hustle,” he says. Abreu previously worked for the department of defense supporting the development of explosive systems for special forces. We once burned ourselves with a sparkler.
Jessica Breslow
Manager and A&R, KMGMT
Breslow is proud to have overseen A&R on three
John Legend albums, including the
Grammy-winning
Bigger Love; one of her fondest memories was watching Legend,
Ryan Tedder,
Charlie Puth and
Ian Kirkpatrick write the first single for
LEGEND. More recently, she inked
Huddy to KMGMT and oversaw the release of EP
Love Bites on 5/15; the title track landed him on the cover of
Spotify’s
The Locker and in the #1 spot. Next up, he’s set to perform at
Lollapalooza. Despite her busy schedule, Breslow’s never had coffee or soda. We would cease to exist.
Leo Arango
Artist Manager/CEO, Leal Asesores
From watching skyscrapers on TV in Medellín to strategizing in them in NYC and Miami, Arango’s come a long way. Recently, he was thrilled to see
Lauryn Hill and
Wyclef Jean perform during
YG Marley’s at
Coachella. Professionally, he’s managing
Ryan Casto’s burgeoning career and navigating legal battles over his debut album,
EL CANTANTE DEL GHETTO, which has proven both challenging and enriching. Away from the music and legal arenas, Arango escapes into the realms of fantasy and fiction through books. Us too, as long as the books have been turned into TV shows.
