BBC Radio 1 have revealed their Sound of 2025 longlist, which features Barry Can’t Swim, Chappell Roan, Confidence Man, Doechii, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Good Neighbours, Mk.gee, Myles Smith, and Pozer.
This will be the 23rd year of the Sound Of list, which awards artist with “the best chance of mainstream success” over the next 12 months. Over 180 artists and music industry figures chose the nominees, including Elton John, Dua Lipa, Jorja Smith, The Blessed Madonna, Sam Smith, and representatives from Spotify, Glastonbury Festival, the BBC, and more.
They made a change in the eligibility criteria for this edition – previously an artist wouldn’t have been eligible for the list if they’d been “the lead artist on a UK number 1 or number 2 album or more than two UK top ten singles” before the cut-off point. Now, they can’t have had more than two UK top 10 albums or 2 UK top 10 singles by September 30, 2024, making this year’s longlist artists more established and recognizable than in previous years. The winner will be revealed in January; stay tuned.
Last year’s winner was The Last Dinner Party (the first guitar band to win in 11 years), and previous winners include FLO, PinkPantheress, Pa Salieu, Celeste, Octavian, and more.