Each year the BBC select their tips for the year ahead in their BBC Sound of poll. Last year’s longlist included some of the
most established artists in 2015 including James Bay, Soak, Slaves and eventual winner Years & Years. The week the BBC have been counting down their top 5 with the winner confirmed today. So here it is, the Top 5 of BBC’s Sound Of 2016...
1. Jack Garratt
He’s been praised for his genre defying music which see's the
singer hopping from soul to electronica to pop. It seems that Jack
Garratt and his music has no limits, he’s the master of manipulating music and knows how to
entertain an audience. The year has started well for the man with the beard as he has already been crowned winner of the Brit Awards’ Critics'
Choice prize. Huge congrats to Jack and all the runners-up.
Jack Garratt - Breathe Life
2. Alessia Cara
From downloading cover songs on YouTube to performing in front
of 55,000 people with Taylor Swift – Alessia Cara has come a long way from a
little city called Brampton in Canada making it as the runner-up for the Sound
of 2016. ‘Here’, Alessias’s debut single was an instant viral hit and has had
over 44 million views, looks like the 19 year old has a long, great career ahead. TICKETS TO UK TOUR HERE
Alessia Cara - Here
3. NAO NAO’s ‘Wonky Funk’ landed the Londoner on the third place. After
lending her voice to many other acts and backing signing for the likes of Pulp, NAO is a clean page for the solo artist. NAO has
skyrocketed into popularity through her unique mix of neo-soul, muted dubstep, funk and pop elements. In 2014 she worked with the likes of Disclosure, Mura Masa and Jai Paul and 2015 looks set to be a huge year for the Hackney born artist. TICKETS TO UK TOUR HERE
NAO - Bad Blood
4. Blossoms
In an interview with NME the Stockport act announced
that they want to be as big as possible. And it looks like Blossoms are getting
closer to their goal. Making it to number four on the BBC Sound of 2016 Blossoms
are determined to have thousands of people singing their songs back. Heading to
their biggest headline tour to date with a sold-out show in Manchester’s Albert
Hall Blossoms are set for a great year. TICKETS TO UK TOUR HERE Blossoms - At Most A Kiss
5. WSTRN
With only two songs under their belt the west London trio,
named after their neighbourhood, have already achieved so much. Drake played WSTRN’s ‘In2’
on hisBeats 1 OVO
show and the same song has dominated the charts, at one point even outselling
Adele’s Hello. Childhood friends Akelle Charles, Louis Rei and Haile have been
making music as solo artists for years but as collective WSTRN caught the
attention which landed them on the shared fifth place with Mura Masa for BBC’s
Sound of 2016. WSTRN - In2
5. Mura Masa
Mura Masa was a swordsmith in the 16th centuries known for his
exquisite craft and if his alias, the producer, singer and
multi-instrumentalist Mura Masa is known for something it’s his musical craft. The 19
year old artist’s mixtape ‘Soundtrack To The Death’ was picked by Huw Stephens
as The Album Of The Week and Annie Mac’s been praising Mura Masa’s
extraordinary breadth of music production. TICKETS TO UK TOUR HERE