Whittled down to just ten artists, the longlist has been selected by a panel of over 130 people in the industry, including Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa. Other names on the list include Asake, Biig Piig, Dylan, FLO, Gabriels, piri & tommy, Rachel Chinouriri.
The Beeb and The BRITs have a similar perspective on RnB group FLO, MOBO award-winning jungle musician Nia Archives, and Cat Burns it seems – with all three also recently being nominated for the latter’s Rising Star awards.
As its name evidently suggests, the Sound Of… poll seeks to identify the next biggest acts for the following year, with a poll now being carried out among the shortlist to determine the ultimate winner.
FLO are among the longlist, having also just been nominated for the BRITs Rising Star award.
Last year’s prize went to PinkPantheress, who beat the likes of Wet Leg, Central Cee and Tems in the process. The award is now in its 21st year, with previous winners including Stormzy, Adele and Billie Eilish.
Nominees for this year’s awards cannot have been the lead artist on a UK top five album or three UK top ten singles before 31 October 2022. They also must not already be widely known by the UK general public (such as via being a member of a well-known band or a TV star) and can’t have appeared on the Sound Of… list before.
The shortlist this year emphasises the increased post-pandemic popularity of dance and house music, with Fred Again.., Nia Archives and drum and bass duo (and real life couple) piri & tommy all noted for having had big years in 2022, and likely being set for more success next year. The acknowledgment of their achievements follows the likes of LF System’s ‘Afraid To Feel’, Eliza Rose’s ‘B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) both holding lengthy stays atop the UK Singles Charts earlier this year.
