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Founded in 2003, BBC’s “Sound Of” contest highlights the brightest new artists emerging in the following year. 2015 marks the 12th year that a panel of 139 DJs, critics and bloggers have submit their predictions for who will be the next big thing in music. For the most part, their predictions have been right. Alumni winners of the contest have been Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and Adele, all well-known in today’s music industry. On Nov. 30, the 15 nominations or “longlist” was announced. The nominators will now vote from the artists and narrow the artists down to their top five- known as their “shortlist.” This will be released on Jan. 6. Finally, the group of 139 will conduct their final vote and a winner will be announced on Jan. 9.
2015’s longlist consists of almost all British artists except for two American singers, Raury and Shamir. Both artists sparked conversation in 2015 in their respective genres, hip-hop and R&B. Shamir used his distinctively high voice to captivate clubs around the world while Raury’s new style of music made listeners croon.
Another highlight on the list is actor Olly Alexander’s trio, Years & Years, expected to break out in 2015. This will create additional hype for the band, as they already have went viral on streaming site SoundCloud and charted in the United Kingdom’s top 20 music chart. The band has stated in previous interviews that they derive their sound from ’90s R&B singers such as Aaliyah and TLC.
Though anticipating listeners won’t get close to a winner until next year, many music blogs will definitely express their opinions on the topic as we get closer. Make sure to check out BBC.com to explore more into 2015’s contest.
