The winner of the BBC Sound of 2025 poll is (perhaps not surprisingly) Chappell Roan, who released her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess in September of 2023 and began her meteoric rise in the spring of 2024. To have been eligible for the list this year, the artist couldn’t have had more than two UK top 10 albums or 2 UK top 10 singles by September 30, 2024. 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.
The #2 spot went to the fairly established London jazz group Ezra Collective, with Scottish electronic musician Barry Can’t Swim coming in at #3, UK singer/songwriter Myles Smith at #4, and Mercury Prize-winning Leeds post-punks English Teacher at #5. Other nominated artists included Doechii, Mk.gee, Confidence Man, and more.
BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders said, “No one deserves this accolade more than Chappell Roan. She was the most exciting artist of the last 12 months and is now set to be THE artist of the next 12 months. The success is all her own doing: standing tall in the face of the doubters and keeping her community close to fuel the energy of her shows and musical movements. Congratulations Chappell, 2025 is your year!”