Featuring 15 artists and groups, the longlist takes a kaleidoscopic look at their tips for success next year.
The list includes recent recent NME Cool List topper Azealia Banks, folksy-post-punkers Dry The River, emotionally-charged guitar-popsters Spector, emo-singer-turned ‘brostep’ pioneer Skrillex, singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas, LA-based songwriter Frank Ocean, Harlem-born rapper A$AP Rocky and Brooklyn indie-poppers Friends.
The list in full:
A$AP Rocky
Azealia Banks
Dot Rotten
Dry The River
Flux Pavillion
Frank Ocean
Friends
Jamie N Commons
Lianne La Havas
Michael Kiwanuka
Niki & the Dove
Ren Harvieu
Skrillex
Spector
Stooshe
BBC Radio 1 and 1Extra’s Head of Music George Ergatoudis said: “”The Sound of 2012 will be the 10th year of predictions compiled by BBC News – a project now established as the definitive annual list of exciting new artists to watch out for.
“The list will inspire debate for sure, but most importantly, it will lead to discovery of artists and musicians trying to stand out from the ever-expanding crowd, and that can only be a good thing.”
The shortlist will be announced on Jan 2 by Zane Lowe. Last year’s poll was won by Jessie J and also featured The Vaccines, both of whom went on to have stellar, career-launching years. Previous winners have also included Adele, Keane and Elli Goulding.
