BBC Music have unveiled the longlist for the coveted mantle of Sound of 2021; the latest edition of the corporation’s annual poll of industry insiders designed to to find the most promising new music talent for the year to come. All but one of the acts on the longlist this year – Norway’s Girl In Red – hail from the UK.
The BBC #SoundOf2021 longlist is here!
Get to know the artists tipped for big things next year ⬇️@alfietempleman@berwynberwyn_@breerunway@dutchavelli1@_girlinred_@greentea_peng@wiffygriffy@HolHumberstone@TheLathums@KING_SALIEU
Find out more: https://t.co/9xxxAGfdJV pic.twitter.com/WhDS6BDpaz
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) December 7, 2020
Since the inception of the ‘Sound of…’ prize back in 2003, the BBC’s adjudicating panellists have honed a soothsaying knack for uncovering future stars. Previous winners of the award include 50 Cent (2003); Keane (2004); Adele (2008); Jessie J (2011); and Haim (2013). All is not lost for the long-listed artists who fail to scoop the top prize though: previous ‘unsuccessful’ nominated acts include Dizzee Rascal (2003); Scissor Sisters (2004); Lady Gaga (2009); Marina and the Diamonds (2010); Azealia Banks (2012); Chvrches (2013); George Ezra (2014); Stormzy (2015); Dua Lipa (2016); and Billie Eilish (2018).
The Sound of 2020 award winner was Celeste, who has gone on to secure further gongs this year at the Brits, BET and NME awards. The Saltdean-raised vocalist saw off stiff competition from the likes of Yungblud and Arlo Parks to claim the prize last year; telling BBC News she was “thrilled and so excited” with the win.
The full list of acts long-listed for the Sound of 2021, which will be awarded in a ceremony on January 7th, is as follows:
Alfie Templeman. Multi-instrumentalist Alfie Templeman’s fourth EP, Happiness In Liquid Form, reached number 22 in the UK Indie charts earlier this year. The Bedfordshire product, who only turns 18 in January, has been praised by DIY for his “boundless enthusiasm” which “bursts out in indie songs equally informed by R&B and bedroom pop.”
Berwyn. Trinidad-born, Romford-raised singer and rapper Berwyn Du Bois also features on Amazon Music’s One To Watch list for 2021. His debut mixtape Demotape/Vega was hailed by Pilerats as a “potent, defining record” and “a message on how even the ones with the world pitted against them can succeed.”
Bree Runway. Hackney’s Bree Runway has been described by NME as “a versatile pop star-in-waiting“, with her November mixtape 2000and4Eva acclaimed by Clash as “a bold, dynamic and cohesive body of work“. The genre-bending artist, who has also been nominated for the Video of The Year award at this week’s MOBOs for her track Apeshit, has also spoken out powerfully on the issue of colourism.
Dutchavelli. Dutchavelli’s debut mixtape Dutch from the 5th stormed to number 8 in the UK Albums chart last month. The Birmingham-born rapper also scored two top 40 singles as a lead artist (Bando Diaries and Cool With Me, featuring fellow West Midlander M1llionz); while he and Stormzy also popped up on Tion Wayne’s top ten hit I Dunno in May.
Girl In Red. Norwegian indie pop merchant Girl In Red – also known as Marie Ulven – has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most astute and exciting singer-songwriters working in the world of guitar music, with a laser like melodic instinct that verges on the primal and lyrics that capture the sweat of real life.” The Scandinavian songstress recently scored a hit in the UK indie charts with her single Two Queens in a King Sized Bed.
Greentea Peng. South Londoner Greentea Peng – who featured on The Streets’ summer single I Wish You Loved You As Much As You Love Him – was celebrated in Wonderland magazine earlier this year for “preaching honesty, self-confidence, and hope in the future.” The singer – real name Aria Wells – recently announced a European tour which kicks off in Berlin next April.
Griff. Hertfordshire artist Sarah Griffiths (Griff) was nominated for an Ivor Novello Rising Star Award in July. The vocalist, whose 2019 debut single Mirror Talk was described by Vice as “vulnerable, emotional, sincere and empowering“, is set to gain a new audience with her single Love Is A Compass, which is used on Disney’s 2020 Christmas advert.
Holly Humberstone. Lincolnshire singer Holly Humberstone’s quietly intense, otherworldly vocals evoke the stylings of Lorde, Phoebe Brid and Lana Del Rey. Her 2020 debut EP Falling Asleep At The Wheel was praised by NME for its “staggering emotional clarity and gut-wrenching tales of pain and catharsis.”
Pa Salieu. Gambian-British rapper Pa Salieu’s debut mixtape Send Them to Coventry was described by Pitchfork as an “extraordinarily assured first offering from a young artist capable of surprising at every turn“, and an “invitation to a place and people unduly ignored.” Salieu’s unique fusion of West Midlands grime and African influences have seen him labelled a “compelling new voice” on the British music scene.
The Lathums. Wiganers The Lathums cite the rock and pop of the 50s and 60s as key musical influences, and fiercely resist being pigeon-holed as an indie band. In an interview with Far Out in October, frontman Alex Moore said “I just feel like we’re so different to everybody and we’re not like anybody else…We are a band and a guitar band but I don’t think there’s been anything like us.” Their EP compilation Memories We Make reached the top 20 in the UK Albums Chart this year, and the Lancashire outfit’s livestreamed gig at Blackpool Tower Circus this year saw them become the first act to play at the iconic venue since Madness in the 1990s.
