BBC Radio 1 have revealed the longlist for their Sound Of 2025 artists, featuring a number of established acts, chart-toppers and Mercury Prize winners. Check out the full list below.
The coveted Sound Of list is the BBC’s annual rundown of rising artists that they believe are set for big things and have “the best chance of mainstream success” in the year ahead – with this year’s selections made by a panel of industry experts and artists that included Elton John, Dua Lipa, Jorja Smith, The Blessed Madonna and Sam Smith.
Last year saw The Last Dinner Party crowned as winners, while the list has also championed the likes of FLO, Celeste, Stormzy, PinkPantheress, Adele, Lady Gaga, RAYE, The Weeknd, Blossoms, Sigrid, Billie Eilish, HAIM, 50 Cent and Lewis Capaldi over the years since it started back in 2003.
Compiled from recommendations from “184 influential music experts, including artists, DJs, radio and TV producers, journalists, streaming experts and festival bookers”, the Sound Of 2025 list features a number of acts who have dominated 2024, and some who have been established long before that.
Among them is pop pioneer Chappell Roan, whose acclaimed 2023 debut album ‘The Rise And Fall of a Midwest Princess‘ hit the Number One spot in the UK back in August and has enjoyed two Top 10 singles with ‘Hot To Go’ still riding high. The huge slow-burn success she has enjoyed in 2024 has seen her rise to the rank of major festival headliner, set to top the bill at Primavera Sound 2025.
It was previously a rule of the Sound Of list that an artist would not be eligible if they had been the lead on a UK Number One or Number Two album by the cut-off point. However, this year that rule has changed so that an artist “cannot have had more than two Top 10 albums in the UK Official Albums Chart” by 30 September 2024 – enabling Chappell Roan to be listed.
Asked about the change to the rules, a BBC Radio 1 spokesperson told NME: “The Sound Of list has a strong track record of predicting future superstars and we periodically review the criteria to better reflect how audiences consume music.”
Other rules of eligibility for the Radio 1 Sound Of 2025 longlist include that they cannot have had two Top 10 singles in the UK Official Singles Chart by Monday September 30, 2024, and that “they also must not already be widely known by the UK general public or have appeared on the Sound Of list before.”
Elsewhere in the list are this year’s Mercury Prize winners, Leeds indie heroes English Teacher – who recently completed a victory lap sold-out UK tour celebrating their huge 2024 with highly-lauded debut album ‘This Could Be Texas‘.
Fellow Mercury alumni on the longlist are jazz champions Ezra Collective, who have gone from strength to strength since they won the Prize in 2023 for ‘Where I’m Meant to Be’. They released their third album ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’ to much acclaim back in September, and even headlined London’s iconic Wembley Arena last week.
The list also includes Irish-language rap trio Kneecap, who are tipped to be nominated for an Oscar next year for their self-titled 2024 biopic starring Michael Fassbender, and are currently in the midst of a sold-out UK tour in promotion of their headline-grabbing album ‘Fine Art‘.
They’re joined by by Aussie dance-pop duo and festival favourites Confidence Man, who last month dropped their third album ‘3AM (LA LA LA)’, alongside US guitar sensation Mk.gee (fresh from his appearance on Saturday Night Live), NME 100 2023 alumni Doechii (who this summer shared the huge mixtape ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’).
Other longlisted names include TikTok success story Good Neighbours, one of next year’s All Points East festival headliners Barry Can’t Swim, Luton singer-songwriter and BBC Introducing Artist Of The Year winner Myles Smith, and Croydon drill star Pozer (the first UK rapper in history to have their two debut singles chart in Top 40).
Radio 1’s full Sound of 2025 longlist is:
Barry Can’t Swim
Chappell Roan
Confidence Man
Doechii
English Teacher
Ezra Collective
Good Neighbours
KNEECAP
mk.gee
Myles Smith
Pozer
There will later be a countdown of the top five from the list, kicking off across Radio 1 on Monday January 6, 2025, before the winner is revealed on Friday January 10.
“The Radio 1 Sound of 2025 list this year is one of the strongest in a while,” said DJ Jack Saunders. “It’s a reflection of the freedom artists are feeling creatively at the moment. Can’t wait to see who the top five are!”
Fellow DJ and presenter Sian Eleri added: “I am in awe of Sound of 2025’s longlisters. What a roster! It is such a heady mix of musical styles – from jazz with Ezra, dance with Barry, pop with Chappell, alt hip hop with Doechii – there really is something for everyone.
“Throughout my teens I always looked forward to seeing this longlist drop to discover who’ll be the next ‘big thing’, and the hidden gems of the future, and if this list is anything to go by, 2025 is gonna be one hell of a year. They define the promise of today, and the stars of tomorrow.”
