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A selection of bedroom musicians, indie bands and retro-futuristic soul singers are being tipped for success on BBC Music’s Sound of 2020 list.
The longlist features 10 rising acts, from punk-pop firebrand Yungblud to soul-baring songwriter Celeste.
Other nominees include DIY musician Beabadoobee, who is signed to the same management company as The 1975; and Dublin rock band Inhaler, fronted by Bono’s son Elijah Hewson.
The winner will be revealed in January.
Now in its 18th year, the Sound of… list showcases the hottest new artists for the coming year. Past winners includes Adele, Sam Smith, Years & Years, 50 Cent, Sigrid and, earlier this year, Octavian.
It is voted for by 170 music critics, broadcasters and DJs, as well as former nominees such as Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi and Chvrches.
Celeste has been hotly tipped following the success of her heart-rending single Strange
The 2020 selection sees a retreat from grime and UK rap, which had established a strong presence on the list over the last five years.
In their place are a clutch of female artists who represent the rise of British R&B – from the sweet-but-gritty sounds of Joy Crookes to the soulful poetry of Arlo Parks.
But the one to beat is Celeste, a “shy singer with a star’s voice”, who has already won the Brits’ Rising Star award and been named BBC Music Introducing’s artist of the year.
| BBC Music Sound of 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Artist | Who are they? | Key track |
| Arlo Parks | Soulful poet unpicking the anxieties of a generation | Cola |
| Beabadoobee | Dreamy, lo-fi bedroom pop | If You Want To |
| Celeste | Timeless soul to tug at your heartstrings | Strange |
| Easy Life | Genre-bending indie-funk quintet | Nightmares |
| Georgia | One-woman dance machine | About Work The Dancefloor |
| Inhaler | Shimmering, atmospheric rock anthems | My Honest Face |
| Joesef | Self-confessed “emotional sad boy” from Glasgow | Play Me Something Nice |
| Joy Crookes | South London stories filled with wit and romance | Don’t Let Me Down |
| Squid | Multi-tentacled art-rock polymaths | Houseplants |
| Yungblud | Hypersonic emo-pop for the “underrated youth” | Original Me |
Hailing from Dublin, Inhaler have built an impressive live following since forming at school over a shared love of bands like Joy Division, The Strokes, The Stone Roses and The Cure.
Once you know the U2 connection, it’s hard not to the similarities between Eli Hewson’s soaring vocals and those of his father – but the band have worked hard to stand on their own two feet.
“For me and for us as a band, we’ve known that there’s going to be doors open,” Hewson told the NME. “But those doors will shut just as fast as they open if we’re not good.”
They’re not the only act on the longlist with famous connections. Georgia, who scored a major club hit this year with About Work The Dancefloor, is the daughter of Leftfield’s Neil Barnes, while Yungblud is the grandson of Rick Harrison, who played with T Rex in the 1970s.
Yungblud has built up a huge following with singles like Original Me and 11 Minutes
The Doncaster-born singer is the most high-profile name on the 2020 longlist, with 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify – more than all the other artists combined.
Born Dominic Harrison, the 22-year-old has positioned himself as the voice of a generation, singing about topics like sexual assault, corporate greed, anxiety and “the underrated youth”.
“I never want to be predictable,” he told the BBC earlier this year. “If people know what I’m going to do next, then I’m completely shafted.”
Sensitive singer-songwriter Joesef, meanwhile, has been branded one to watch in Scotland – where he became the second artist to sell out Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut before releasing any music online (the first was Lewis Capaldi).
The longlist is completed by two bands who defy categorisation – Leicester quintet Easy Life, who started out as jazz musicians before exploring the outer reaches of hip-hop, funk and pop; and Brighton’s Squid, who describe their music as “the Coronation Street theme tune played on flutes by angry children”.
The annual Sound of list celebrates musicians who have not been the lead artist on a UK top 10 single or album by 21 October 2019. Artists who have appeared on TV talent shows within the last three years are also ineligible.
The top five will be revealed in the New Year on BBC Radio 1 and BBC News, with one artist announced each day from Sunday 5 January until the winner is unveiled on Thursday 9 January.
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