Heatseeker: Naya Rivera

You might know her as Santana Lopez from Glee, but Naya Rivera is so much more than that, and in order to prove it – and consequently future-proof her relevance once Glee wraps up next year (I know right! Gah… sadness!) – she has announced a debut album, off the back of her recently-released single Sorry, featuring current fiancé and pop/rap crossover Big Sean.

There are a few reasons she’s a heatseeker. Firstly, she’s a star of Glee, which is obviously huge. As an example of the type of success this can breed, Demi Lovato is one of many artists that Glee has broken in the past, and she has landed 12 tracks on Australian radio since 2009. Secondly, she’s dating Big Sean. That’s bound to draw some attention to her without even trying; the couple are somewhat inseparable, appearing on all the same red carpets around the world. This means that her profile will grow by association because wherever he is seen, so is she. You may also remember not long ago the pair were photographed by the ever controversial Terry Richardson, and one of the stills from that shoot is used as the cover art for the single.

Couple that with the fact that the lyric video for her debut single Sorry is literally the song’s lyrics projected over – what becomes increasingly apparent over the course of the clip – four naked women, and you’ve got a video people are going to watch and, more importantly, talk about. It’s already attracted the attention of E-Online, Rolling Stone and some 785000 YouTube viewers since it was put up just over a month ago. Regardless of the video clip though, the song has some serious potential. Naya is obviously a great vocalist, as showcased on every episode of Glee, and with the show she’s placed a number of track in the US charts. Sorry debuted at #37 on Billboard’s Rhythmic chart this week.

We expect to hear a lot more from her next year upon the album’s release, but in the meantime keep an ear – and an eye – out for Sorry.