15 Secret Influencers: Unmasking Your Favorite Artist's Favorite Artist In 2025

Every masterpiece, whether a chart-topping album or a groundbreaking painting, stands on the shoulders of giants. As of December 2025, the music and art world is buzzing with fresh revelations about the deep, often surprising, connections between today’s biggest stars and the legends who secretly fuel their creativity.

The phrase "your favorite artist's favorite artist" has become a cultural shorthand for the deep-cut, critically adored, or genre-defining figure whose work inspires the mainstream. Uncovering these hidden idols offers a crucial roadmap to understanding the current creative landscape, revealing a lineage that stretches from 80s synth-pop to foundational modernist painters.

The Lineage of Influence: A Roster of Modern Maestros and Their Muses

To achieve true topical authority, one must look beyond the surface-level influences. The following list details the core entities—the favorite artists—who are actively shaping the sound and vision of the most influential creators today, from the pop sphere to the visual arts.

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• Chappell Roan: Stevie Nicks, Karen Carpenter, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Madonna, Queen, Frida Kahlo, alt-J, 80s Synth-Pop.
• Taylor Swift: Shania Twain, Paul McCartney, Carole King, The Chicks, Def Leppard, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow.
• Billie Eilish: The Beatles, Tyler, The Creator, Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, Nicki Minaj, My Chemical Romance, Green Day.
• Contemporary Visual Artists: Paul Cézanne, Marlene Dumas, Peter Doig, Edvard Munch, Picasso, De Kooning, Henri Matisse.
• Hip-Hop Innovators: Kanye West (as a producer), Metro Boomin, Hit-Boy, Kenny Beats, Jay-Z, SchoolBoy Q.

The New Vanguard: Chappell Roan and the Power of the Deep Cut

In the current cultural zeitgeist, no artist embodies the "favorite artist's favorite artist" title quite like Chappell Roan. Her meteoric rise in 2024 and 2025 has been driven by a maximalist pop sound that is both fresh and deeply nostalgic, a direct result of her eclectic influences.

Roan has cited Stevie Nicks and Karen Carpenter as her main vocal influences, specifically noting that she attempted to mimic their distinct voices when she was younger.

This explains the blend of Nicks's theatrical, narrative-driven delivery and Carpenter's clear, powerful tone in her own anthemic tracks. The theatricality and dance-pop energy, however, draw heavily from the "Queen and Madonna vibes" and the broader genre of 80’s synth-pop.

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Furthermore, the darker, more atmospheric elements of her songwriting are indebted to the moody, cinematic work of Lana Del Rey and Lorde, both of whom she listened to extensively in high school.

This intricate web of influences—from the vocal purity of the 70s to the dark pop of the 2010s—is what makes her music so compelling to other working artists, who recognize the masterful synthesis of disparate styles.

The Pop Icon’s Roots: Unpacking Taylor Swift’s Songwriting Pantheon

For an artist as globally dominant as Taylor Swift, the influences are often overlooked, yet they are crucial to understanding her evolution from country star to pop powerhouse. Her favorite artists are a clear reflection of her focus on narrative, emotional depth, and genre blending.

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Swift has consistently pointed to Shania Twain as one of her earliest and most significant influences, specifically citing the album *Come On Over*. Twain’s ability to bridge country storytelling with pop production provided the foundational blueprint for Swift’s early career.

As she matured into a generational songwriter, her inspirations broadened to include legends who mastered the craft of the personal narrative. Carole King, whose album *Tapestry* is a masterclass in intimate songwriting, and former Beatle Paul McCartney are two figures she has publicly named as major inspirations.

She admires McCartney’s longevity and the sheer volume of his creative output. This appreciation for enduring, high-quality songwriting over fleeting trends is a key reason why Swift’s work maintains its cultural grip. Her love for the rebellious, genre-defying spirit of 90s female artists like Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow also permeates her work, particularly in her more rock-tinged tracks.

The Genre-Bender’s Mentors: Billie Eilish’s Eclectic Mix

Billie Eilish, a voice of Gen Z, represents a generation that consumes music across all genres and eras without traditional boundaries. Her favorite artists are a fascinating, often contradictory, mix that explains her unique sonic fingerprint.

Perhaps her most surprising and foundational influence is The Beatles. Eilish has stated that "95% of my love for music is because of The Beatles," an influence that speaks less to sound and more to the fundamental principles of songwriting, melody, and musical innovation.

In the contemporary space, she draws inspiration from artists who push sonic boundaries. Tyler, The Creator and Nicki Minaj are cited for their lyrical and production audacity, with Eilish noting that real rappers are "ahead of what other people are saying."

Her dark, introspective pop sound also owes a debt to artists who perfected the moody aesthetic, such as Lana Del Rey and Marina and the Diamonds. This combination—The Beatles' melody, Tyler's production risk, and Del Rey's atmosphere—is the formula for her global success, making her a favorite among critics and peers who value originality.

The Timeless Masters: Visual Art's Enduring Foundations

The phenomenon of the favorite artist's favorite artist is not limited to music; it is arguably more profound in the visual arts, where the influence of historical figures remains direct and explicit. Contemporary painters and sculptors routinely cite the same foundational masters, demonstrating the lasting power of artistic innovation.

One of the most consistently cited figures is Paul Cézanne. Known as the "father of modern art," Cézanne's ambition was to "make of Impressionism an art that is solid and durable." His revolutionary approach to structure, perspective, and color continues to inform artists working today.

Contemporary artists often look to him for his structural integrity, a quality that allows their own work to feel grounded even when exploring abstract or conceptual themes. The core entities of modern painting—Picasso, Matisse, and De Kooning—are also perpetually named by current artists as essential influences, particularly for their bold use of form and expressive brushwork.

For example, artists frequently cite Marlene Dumas and Peter Doig as more recent influences, who themselves are masters of emotional depth and atmospheric painting, creating a continuous, intergenerational chain of inspiration.

The Role of Producers: The Hidden Architects of Sound

In modern music, the producer is often the true "favorite artist's favorite artist," holding the keys to the soundscape. The influence of pioneering hip-hop producers like Kanye West (especially his early soul-sampling work) is still foundational for a new generation.

Today, the most influential producers are the ones who define the contemporary trap and hip-hop sound. Metro Boomin is widely regarded as the "Trap Kingpin," while Hit-Boy is a modern-day hitmaker known for his versatility. These figures are the silent partners who craft the beats that every major rapper and pop star wants to use, making them the favorite collaborators and secret weapons of the industry’s top talent.

The entire ecosystem is built on this foundation: the artist finds their voice through a favorite songwriter (like Taylor Swift and Carole King), refines their sound with a favorite producer (like a rapper and Kenny Beats), and visually anchors their work through the lens of a favorite painter (like Chappell Roan and Frida Kahlo).

Why Following the Influencers Matters

Understanding the influences of your favorite artists is more than just a trivia exercise; it is a critical tool for cultural literacy. It allows fans to trace the DNA of creativity, seeing how a vocal technique from Karen Carpenter ends up in a Chappell Roan track, or how the structural principles of Paul Cézanne inform a painting by a celebrated contemporary artist.

This exercise in tracing artistic lineage provides a deeper appreciation for the work itself and for the artists' commitment to their craft. By looking at the masters who inspire the masters, we gain a clearer picture of what makes modern art and music truly great, enduring, and influential for generations to come.