the sound of 2024 longlist is here ✨

a selection of the artists will be performing at maida vale studios on monday 8th january 2024. if you want to be there, register now: https://t.co/O2HAQ3FGLx pic.twitter.com/tdHSIJiiJI

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) December 4, 2023

 The top ten acts are (in alphabetical order): Ayra Starr, Caity Baser, CMAT, Elmiene, Kenya Grace, The Last Dinner Part, Olivia Dean, Peggy Gou, Sekou and Tyla. From January 1, 2024, a countdown will kick off across Radio 1, counting down the top 5. The number one spot will be revealed live on Radio 1 on Friday, January 5.

It’s very hard to not be grateful ! I’m filled with so much joy and gratitude! Thank you too all my starrs , I see all your messages on me being your top artist , I’m so glad to be doing this life thing with you and that my music brings you peace and joy ! Ayra mob we just… pic.twitter.com/7N3TnyyNk7 — Celestial being (@ayrastarr) December 1, 2023

Head of Radio 1, Chris Price spoke of his excitement about the gender dynamic on the list, mentioning “With so many female artists on the Sound Of list this year, I’m really encouraged about the next generation of festival headliners. The list is as diverse as ever, reflecting the genre-agnostic nature of BBC Radio 1, which has supported every single one of the acts on the longlist. 2024 promises to be a great year for new music!”

The countdown of the Top 5 will kick off across Radio 1 on January 1st, 2204. The winner will be revealed live on Radio 1 during a special broadcast on Friday, January 5th. An event will be hosted at Maida Vale by Radio 1 called ‘BBC Radio 1 Sound of 2024 Live’ on January 8 2024. There is an application for tickets which is now open on the BBC Show And Tour website – see here for details.

The competition dates back two decades, with the first BBC Sound of in 2003! Among the success stories, boasts Ellie Goulding, 50 Cent, Sigrid and last year’s winner, girl group, FLO.

BRIT School alumna, Olivia Dean has also been named ‘BBC Introducing Artist of the Year’ live on-air, after the ‘secret’ award was announced unknowingly to Ladies Room’ singer, Olivia in an interview with presenter Jess Iszatt. The artist humbly accepted the award, thanking the emerging talent organisation BBC Introducing for all their support. She commented “Thank you so much for all the support over the years BBC Introducing! You are such an important and valuable platform for up-and-coming musicians. From my very first gig at the Lexington until now – poof crazy! So excited to be your artist of the year!!”

i won @bbcintroducing artist of the year !!
wow @jjiszatt thank u for being there from the beginning ❤️ https://t.co/5hSRHCy1J3

— Olivia Dean (@oliviadeano) November 28, 2023

After news of the late Shane MacGowan’s death, aged 65, last Thursday, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke reportedly told the BBC she would love to see the song at the top of the charts. On BBC Radio 4 Clarke said “It would be nice, wouldn’t it?… It should be Christmas number one, it absolutely should. I’m very much in favour of that.” 

The wife of Shane MacGowan, Victoria Mary Clarke, tells @MarthaKearney on #R4Today she hopes Fairytale of New York will be Christmas No 1.

Hear her memories of The Pogues frontman, who died this week aged 65, and how he enjoyed watching programmes about the Royal Family.

— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) December 2, 2023

The Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band The Pogues, fronted by Shane MacGowan, reached international heights with their popular hit ‘Fairytale of New York’  back in 1987. The duet with Kirsty MacColl quickly became a favourite of the UK and Irish nations, reaching number one in the Irish charts and number two in the British charts over Christmas. It has returned to the top 40 every year since 2005. Although, despite it being the third most streamed Christmas song in the UK, it has surprisingly never reached number one in Britain. 

The nostalgic song follows the story of two lovers, Irish immigrants in New York City, who quarrel and reminisce on Christmas Eve about their early love life. The song received huge criticism due to the fact it uses the word “faggot”, deemed offensive to homosexual people and in 2007, was briefly censored by the BBC. However, following protests from fans and the late Kirsty MacColl’s mother, the censorship was lifted. 

Watch the official video for ‘Fairytale of New York’ here

As it currently stands, ‘Last Christmas’ by the pop duo Wham!  is on track to take the number one spot next Friday. The duo consists of the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley and has been a crowd-pleaser every year since its release in 1986. Mariah Carey is close behind, moving from number six to number two, with her classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. However, The Pogues are competing currently at spot number three. 

Watch Wham!’s Last Christmas below

There is also a new festive song by Eurovision’s Sam Ryder ‘You’re Christmas to Me’, released solely on Amazon Music, which is currently placing at number four in the UK singles chart.

The 2023 Christmas title will be announced in less than three weeks live on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart show on December 22.

Both acts are storming the music industry within their respective genres with multiple BBC, BRIT and DJ awards between them. With hundreds of more acts still to be announced, the festival caters to all music tastes booking indie, pop, rock and dance artists alike. Stormzy has become a household name in the music industry, gracing his way through a wide span of music genres like a knife through butter. He rose to fame through his Wicked Skengman series of freestyles over classic grime beats going on to win multiple awards such as a MOBO in 2014 and British Album of The Year at the BRITs amongst others.

Party starters, Chase and Status released their latest album 2 Ruff Vol. 1 on October 27 this year. The album included their popular single ‘Badadan’ featuring Bou and Flowdan which came out earlier this year in July. 

The duo have also collaborated with UK dance vocalist, Becky Hill on their joint single ​​‘Disconnect’. Hill will be playing her own set at Boardmasters next summer. The singer is known for a multitude of collaborations on tracks such as ‘Afterglow’ with Wilkinson, ‘Gecko’ with Oliver Heldens and ‘Crazy What Love Can Do’ with David Guetta. 

Other dance artists who will be on the bill include the experimental, electronic duo Bicep, who originate from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They have been hailed by the BBC as “one of the biggest names in UK dance” and have had music debuting at number two on the UK Official Albums Chart and number one on the UK Official Vinyl Albums. This led to two BRIT Award nominations. 

Last year the headliners included Lorde, Liam Gallagher and Florence and The Machine. Previous years have seen acts such as The Chemical Brothers, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris and Two Door Cinema Club. However some years, the festival had to be cancelled due to poor weather and COVID-19.

The festival was founded in 1981 as a surfing competition and became a home for new music acts in 2005, with festival goers camping at Watergate Bay. The event now consists of surfing and skateboarding competitions happening in and around the town of Newquay and artists playing on stages overlooking the sea. There is currently a maximum capacity of 53,000 surf and music enthusiasts who attend each year. With plenty more artists still to be announced, this festival is one not to miss.

Check out the full line-up below! Tickets are available here

 The popular music festival has hosted big names to date, some of whom include Lizzy Mcalpine, Erykah Badu and Stormzy. It was awarded the NME Award For Best Festival at the Music Week Awards back in 2019 and has been nominated in the years since. Also playing at the festival include jazz and afrobeat newcomers 2023 Mercury award winners Ezra Collective, American rapper, Nas and Paris-based artist, Sainte.

Your soundtrack to Saturday 17 August at Uber One presents All Points East featuring @LoyleCarner, @Nas, @EzraCollective, Sainté and many more ✨

Listen now on Spotify at https://t.co/tVKQSn3eYX #AllPointsEast #LoyleCarner pic.twitter.com/zhlMC4qmAc

— Uber One presents All Points East (@allpointseastuk) November 27, 2023

Studying at The Brit School, home to current creative talents such as Ella Eyre, Freya Ridings, Raye and countless more, Loyle Carner grew up in a nurturing musical environment. The artist started producing at the age of around 14 and built his network of musicians through home studio sessions. This collaborative way of working has led to popular names such as Jorja Smith, Tom Misch and Jordan Rakei.

 Aged 29, Loyle Carner has had a bright decade of inspiring young people and creatives through music (and food!) Nearly ten years ago, he was in London’s Old Street teaching kids with ADHD how to cook. Whilst speaking about his time working with the kids, his inspiring nature as a teacher and positive influence beams through “We had warnings from some of the parents that their kids might do this or that…but they’ve been brilliant. There has been no talking back, no aggression. Everyone is happy and learning.”

 The foodie’s love of cooking, bringing mental well-being and positivity has led to restauranter-inspired hits:

As well as this lesser-known talent, Benjamin has a shining skill for writing effortless lyrics in his music which captures the hearts of many. In 2018 he won the NME Award for Best British Solo Act, following his 2017 Mercury prize, for his debut album Yesterdays Gone

The humble artist has a talent for sending the ‘right’ message across. Whilst discussing rappers’ responsibility to portray a particular message, he says “I don’t think music necessarily needs to have a message BUT there is a responsibility that you carry with music as a songwriter or rapper…It’s frustrating when grown men are still talking about selling or doing drugs, shooting people, sleeping with women”

 This festival is one of a few outdoor summer shows announced by Carner in the UK and Ireland for 2024. The one-day music event is happening on August 17 2024 and tickets are out now. Get hold of one here

On the opening night, Friday 12, Liam Gallagher will grace the main stage. Whilst speaking about his return to the festival he said “Can’t wait to return to Glasgow Green next Summer to headline TRNSMT.” He continued by teasing about what he’ll play, hinting at some solo material “I’ll be playing songs from Definitely Maybe as well as some solo stuff. See you there.”

Bringing the pop vibes, noughties group The Sugababes have been announced for the Friday Line-up. Known for their iconic hits  ‘Push The Button’ and ‘About You Now’, the band are rumoured to have new releases in 2024. The English pop vocal trio of Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhan Donaghy has changed musical line-ups three times before returning to the original members in 2012. The group released their first single in a decade in September 2023, the soulful song ‘When The Rain Comes’. 

Example has been announced as the headline act for the King Tuts Stage. The rapper and singer rose to fame in the 2010s with his catchy songs such as ‘Changed The Way That You Kiss Me’ and ‘Kickstarts’ and his funny personality, with dry humour, which fans adore. His personality has been shown in videos with his celebrity friends such as Ed Sheeran. Lastly, To complete the Friday line-up, fans will be rocking out to Pop Rock band Picture This and indie group The Last Dinner Party.

Saturday sees Gerard Crosbie, professionally known as Gerry Cinnamon headlining after a four-year break from playing the festival. The Scottish singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist is back, after saying “Get hounded on the daily to do TRNSMT again, well hound no more.”

Pop star, Rick Astley, who is known for his legendary debut track ‘Never ‘Gonna Give You Up’ will be joining the party on Saturday. The 80s singer has made a big comeback over the past few years, with Gen Z audiences ‘Rick Rolling’ each other. The new ‘internet meme’ has become a trend, with people seemingly clicking on a video, and instead being presented with Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give you Up’. Even supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is ‘Rick Rolling’ the nation in their 2023 Christmas ad.

Sunday is the day for all the ravers, with DJ Calvin Harris taking over the main stage. The popular DJ and producers, who have hits such as ‘How Deep is Your Love’ and ‘Feels So Close’ will arrive at TRNSMT for his first gig following his sell-out Ibiza residency. Dance duo, Chase & Status will also be bringing the energy on the final festival day. To see all these iconic artists and more, get tickets online here

The northern lasses, who rose to fame during the 2002 show Popstars: The Rivals have many accolades including twenty consecutive top-ten UK singles and being nominated for five BRIT awards, winning one for the 2008 song “The Promise” off album Out of Control. 

In 2009, The singers of the popular track ‘Can’t Speak French’  took a hiatus from their musical endeavours, only to make a comeback to celebrate their decade anniversary as a band. This exciting and momentous occasion marked the commencement of their Ten: The Hits Tour.

A year later, the group officially split to work on separate solo projects and individual career goals. This included Nadine Coyle taking part in the hit ITV show ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ and Cheryl Cole becoming a familiar judge on X-Factor and pursuing a solo career.

During this time, former band member, Sarah Harding developed breast cancer and endured a long struggle with the disease until her passing, aged 39 in October 2021. She wrote about her journey from working with Girls Aloud, to her illness in her book ‘Hear Me Out’, which was one of the group’s first releases in 2004.  Buy the book here

Cheryl, of the group said “We all started talking about the possibility of doing something to celebrate Girls Aloud’s 20-year anniversary a few years ago. The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing that we would celebrate.” However, due to Sarah being unwell at the time, the group decided it wasn’t the right time. Cheryl continued “She passed away a year before the anniversary and it just didn’t feel right, it felt too soon.” 

The group have now explained they feel enough time has passed that they feel ready to celebrate the life of their late friend and band member, Sarah Harding. Cheryl elucidated“There is an energy that does make it feel right. It’s the right time to celebrate Sarah, it’s the right time to celebrate the band and the right time to celebrate the fact we can still do this 21 years later. That’s a big honour in lots of ways.”

There were rumours of new music, possibly a new album. The singers have shut this down early, stating “Making new music without Sarah would be odd but celebrating what we made together? Fabulous.” Nicola Roberts exclaimed, “We’re going to do our absolute utmost to celebrate her in the most enormous, magical way.” 

Girls Aloud has announced that the cities they will be performing in are Manchester, Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Nottingham, Leeds, Birmingham, London and Liverpool. The tickets officially go on sale on the 1st of December although you don’t want to miss out! Pre-sale release starts at 9 am, Wednesday 29th November.

For pre-sale ticket access click here

Tour dates

18/05/24 – 3Arena, Dublin
20/05 – SSE Arena, Belfast
23/05 – AO Arena, Manchester
24/05 – AO Arena, Manchester
27/05 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
31/05 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
01/06 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
04/06 – P&J Live, Aberdeen
08/06 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
12/06 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
15/06 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
18/06 – Birmingham Resorts World Arena
22/06 – The O2, London
23/06 – The O2, London
29/06 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool

The London-based artist self-released the three-track EP “I Am Not A Machine” on October 13th. The record was born during her time at art school in Brighton, co-produced by three-time Grammy winner Eduardo De La Paz and mastered by 2022 Mastering Engineer of The Year, Kevin Tuffy. 

The pop singer who has folk and electronic influences released an accompanying music video on the 20th of October which was premiered by Earmilk. Watch it here

The 2021 Sound and Music Seed Award recipient originates from the Welsh, verdant hills of the Brecon Beacons National Park. She speaks about how she grew up surrounded by a family of songbirds on the matriarchal side and has revealed that her family’s influence played a big part in the EP. This was namely in the beautiful and haunting “blood harmonies”, a reference made by Coco, which can be heard throughout the EP.  

The connection with nature is an obvious feature in Phoebe Coco’s sound and the artist uses her music to bring attention to environmental themes. In the new EP, she shows her commitment to preserving the natural world, asking listeners to “slow down, listen, and reflect on how the old ways can meet the new”. The contrast between her worlds, both natural and urban, has been conveyed within the roots of her sound. This can be heard in her lilted lyrics and the mix of organic and electronic influences. She has also been featured in print, speaking in The Islington Tribune about her new release and the environment. 

The My White Horse & I singer has received critical acclaim from BBC Radio 6 presenter Tom Robinson, was featured on BBC Radio 4’s “flagship arts programme” ‘Front Row’ and also had airplay on BBC Radio 2.  In terms of live events, she has played at cool, well-acclaimed London venues including The Old Blue Last and Peckham Audio and UK and international festivals Shambala and Iceland Airwaves. 

Showing a strong sensibility and intelligence lyrically, the artist is also furthering her education at London University, Goldsmiths. Coco scores for music for film, theatre and dance and spends her time collaborating and performing with various groups such as ‘The Lydian Collective’, ‘The Laszlo Project and ‘ Golden Bug & In Fields.’

 Listen to the EP here 

Last night, at 5 pm, in London, there was a seemingly quiet crowd gathered in the Barbican foyer, in front of the free stage to watch the two Irish jazz groups: The RGB Trio and The Eoin O’Callaghan Trio. Sometime later, just before the band were about to play, there were no seats available in the Barbican foyer with many now standing around.

Fast forward to 6 pm and a large audience has gravitated towards the enchanting music being played. Both groups, which comprise saxophone, bass and drums, play improvised and composed pieces, albeit very different takes has their sounds blasting through the centre, with hints of Irish melodies and Jan Garbarek-esque saxophone tones.

The musical set-up of the two groups, both with no chord instruments, allowed for a spacious sound, based on groove and showed a sense of simplicity in the timbre of each instrument during solos as well as musical interactions. At the very baseline, the musicians all played with endless care.

RGB Trio features some of Ireland’s finest musicians including Meilana Gillard, double-bassist Dave Redmond and drummer Kevin Brady. Unfortunately, Redmond could not attend the gig so the audience was presented with the wonderful Corman O’Brian.

The group began their set with their 2022 single ‘Neither Here No There’ before moving on to ‘Chrysalis’, a track from their latest album ‘RGB Trio’, written by the saxophonist Gillard,  the musician who was seemingly the leader, or just the musician who did the talking. 

Gillard took a moment to thank Culture Ireland, Improvised Music Company and Serious for setting up the gig and for funding the trip to London.

The second trio led by bassist and composer Eoin O’Halloran had obvious Irish trad references throughout the jazz set. There was a mixture of original compositions, with some electronic processing and a couple of arrangements by other composers, including a nursery rhyme originally from Japan. The band states that the “music is accented by catchy hooks and landmarks combined with broader themes by the instincts of long-standing collaborators Yuzuha O’Halloran on alto saxophone and drummer Hugh Denman. ” 

The festival ends today Sunday 19th November but will be returning to the streets of London next year with another exciting array of musicians and events.

Midway through her second set, the artist earnestly declared “London, I need you to understand that you’re witnessing greatness, and I don’t say that with arrogance, I say that with confidence”. Being raised in Islington, selling out this venue was a landmark for her in her life. She continued “It took me a while but I’m finally here.”

The artist studied music at Westminster Kingsway College and the University of West London and describes her music as rap and experimental. Since graduating, she has risen to the top of her game, performing at BBC Radio 1 Extra and releasing her music with AWAL. The star has had a steady rise to fame and critical acclaim which has since resulted in a Mercury Prize win and a BRIT Award for 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. 

★★★★★ “A new star is risen – she should be headlining festivals. Simz is an artist at the absolute top of her game, and it shows.” – The Standard

The Alexandra Palace shows were in support of the artist’s fifth studio album No Thankyou which was released in 2022 through the indie label ‘Forever Living Originals.’ Find the Spotify playlist of her full Ally Pally set below: 

The “Indisputable Star” entered as a silhouette wearing a slick, operative outfit of a white shirt and black cargo trousers, paired with black tie, sunglasses and leather gloves and behind, there was a group of, also silhouetted gospel singers adding to the mystique of the performance. The singer spoke of how she has accomplished her dreams, urging others to do the same. She also asked for a minute’s silence, to request fans take a moment to consider all those lost in the Israel-Hamas war. 

The venue has recently hosted Grammy-nominated artists Fred Again and James Blake as well as English electronic artist Four Tet, musician, DJ and big beat forerunner Fatboy Slim and many more.

Director of Events Simon Fell exclaimed “It’s been an unbelievable year for live music at Ally Pally. The number and profile of artists playing here have been mind-blowing, and it’s been brilliant to offer such a varied and diverse programme to fans. Since the 60s the venue has built a reputation as a go-to place for music, but over the last decade in particular things have gone to another level. This is the biggest year for music in our history and we’re planning next year to be even bigger.”

Last Thursday, the 9th of November, the British company, John Lewis Partnership (which covers Waitrose and John Lewis) released its latest ad ‘Snapper, The Perfect Tree’. The ad features a “cheeky carnivorous plant” and is accompanied by “Operatic Superstar” Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli sings the beautiful Italian song “Festa”, meaning ‘Party’ or ‘Celebration’.

In the video, a small boy picks up a ‘grow your own tree’ box at a small Christmas market. At home, the small sapling starts to grow, with the piano chords speeding up into a steady pace and a big drumbeat signalling a change and positivity. As the plant turns into a big Venus the family is not impressed, and the plant is replaced with a standard pine Christmas tree. At this point, the thick musical texture diminishes and there is just a solo piano, Bocelli’s voice and backing vocals. At the end of the video, all the family go outside to celebrate Christmas Day with Snapper, the plant.

The moral of the video is to “Let your traditions grow”, which is an important and kind message to share with the UK nation although it divided audiences, with one X (Twitter) user saying the advert was “a disappointment”. 

Many others enjoyed the advert, with one saying “Thank you John Lewis for making my mum smile.  It’s a tradition I show her your ad morning of release. My dad died a few months ago, we’re all so sad, especially Mum. It made us smile. Sending kindness + love”.

However, it seemingly got many adult males on the defence, hitting out at the fact there was no adult male presence, with some ranting “Where’s The Dad???!!” and “Being a dad, I’ll shop somewhere else this Christmas, thanks”. John Lewis replied succinctly “‘Showing a mum and a grandma, we always attempt to show a broad representation of British life across our advertising. This is a very realistic scenario for thousands of families in the UK.’

Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of Savvy Marketing commented “John Lewis has opted instead for a vision of a modern family Christmas. Let’s see if it works”

The John Lewis marketing team have also gone one step further, releasing ‘Snapper’ merch. Get it here

The adverts started circulating and becoming a topic of conversation in 2010 as Ellie Goulding covered Elton John’s “Your Song”. Then came the rising popularity of the song “The Power of Love” after Gabrielle Aplin’s rendition in 2012. The Bear and the Hare animation in 2013 was accompanied by Lily Allen’s sweet version of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” in 2013 and the Scandi singer Aurora covered  “Half The World Away” – by Oasis back in 2015. 

Other British supermarkets have taken different directions with their campaigns. Asda makes this Christmas “Incredibuble”, opting to use Canadian vocalist Michael Buble and Sainbury’s ‘Rickrolling’ people with a surprise appearance of Rick Astley in their ad. 

Watch the ‘Snapper, The Perfect Tree’ John Lewis advert here