The longlist for the BBC’s Sound Of award, which compiles up and coming artists it thinks will break through during the coming year, is out. And it includes such obscure names as... Chappell Roan and Confidence Man.
If you’re puzzled by their inclusion, you’re not alone. Chappell Roan has already been one of the breakout artists of this year (almost) gone: 2024. Her debut album, The Rise and Fall Of A Midwest Princess, went to Number One and has already gone gold in the UK.
Her two singles, Good Luck Babe and Hot To Go, have been fixtures in the Top Ten since the spring, and she’s recently been nominated for six Grammys. She hardly needs the somewhat belated endorsement of the BBC.
Meanwhile, Confidence Man have recently released their third album, 3AM (La La La). They’ve been gradually gathering a following since the pandemic and have spent the summer wowing festival crowds in the UK. They, too, hardly need a leg up.
Other names on the list include Ezra Collective and English Teacher - who were the last two winners of the Mercury Prize - and Kneecap. The Irish hip-hop sensations have already released two albums and been the subject of a highly acclaimed film.
The reasons for the presence of all these acts may be a change in the eligibility rules for Sound Of. To qualify now, artists can not have had more than two UK Top 10 albums or two UK Top 10 singles prior to 30 September 2024. Previously, artists who had been the lead act on a UK No 1 or No 2 album, or with more than two Top 10 singles to their name, were ineligible.
You could argue that this takes into account the increasingly slow-burning nature of many artists’ career trajectories these days. Charli XCX has been a presence in UK pop since the late noughties and has only now, on her sixth album, finally broken through to a mass audience. Arguably, Confidence Man are in similar place now to where Charli was two albums back: the somewhat ironic position of being a ‘hipster’ pop act that isn’t yet actually popular.
But still, if Chappell Roan can be included, you do wonder what the Sound Of list is actually for? Admittedly, there are a few names on the 2025 list that are some way short of being successful in any meaningful definition of the word in the UK - the American singer/guitarist Mk.gee and British indie rock duo Good Neighbours, for example.
But given that the BBC list compiles the “rising artists with the best chance of mainstream success" in the next 12 months, you’d have to say at least half the 11 strong list are nailed-on certainties.
The nominees aren’t actually chosen by the BBC themselves, but a panel of more than 180 representatives from the music industry, and musicians including Elton John, the Blessed Madonna and former Sound of nominees Dua Lipa and Jorja Smith. The winner will be announced in the New Year.
