Soul singer @Celeste has won the BBC #SoundOf2020! https://t.co/gXSQCiY4sy pic.twitter.com/HJJQKJQ8Ak

— BBC Entertainment (@BBCNewsEnts) January 9, 2020

Celeste Waite is a singer/songwriter who was born in Los Angeles but raised in Brighton. Her musical inspiration is due to jazz and soul legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Otis Redding, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin.

“Sirens” is her first single written when she was only 17 years old. The song is dedicated to her Jamaican father who was taken away by cancer. Prior to Celeste’s major breakthrough with Polydor Records, she was signed by Lily Allen to Bank Holiday Records and released the first EP titled Milk & Honey.

Joined with the previous winners like Adele, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, HAIM, and Sigrid, Celeste is now ready for the spotlight in the music scene. She is praised for her sharp songwriting skills, killer vocal, and timeless soul sound. “Strange” has become her most well-known song so far, and recently the soul songstress just shared her new single “Stop This Flame”.

Alongside Celeste, Easy Life—a five-piece alternative band from Leicester—took the second place of the list. The quintet has risen up to fame with their hard-to-pin-down genres mixed between hip-hop, R&B, jazz, psychedelic electronica, and pop altogether. “Pockets” is the band’s very first single released back in 2017 and has since become their most well-known song to date. Now, Easy Life is signed to Island Records.

Placed at the third on the list is Dominic Richard Harrison, or professionally known as Yungblud. He is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter from Doncaster who rose to fame because of his frank and in-your-face kind of music that mainly takes jabs at social issues such as gun control (“Machine Gun“) and parent generations (“parents”). His music is bending between hip-hop beats and pop melodies.

Joy Crookes comes at the fourth winner of the poll. Crookes is a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from London whose music can be described as neo soul, R&B, and raggae with the likes of Lily Allen and Jorja Smith. Gearing up for the release of her debut album this year, the singer has released three EPs so far, with Reminiscence and Perception dropped earlier in 2019.

At the fifth place is Inhaler, an emerging rock band from Dublin. The band consists of four members, one of which is Elijah Hewson, the very son of U2’s lead singer Bono. “Ice Cream Sundae” is their most recent single that receives a lot of attention from the media and music critics.

Back in November 2019, Celeste was also announced as the nominee of the Brit Rising Star Award. If she wins this award, the singer will get to perform at the Brit Awards which will take place on February 18.

They will be joined by indie star Beabadoobee, alt-rockers Easy Life, electronic singer Georiga, Joy Crookes Neo-soul star Joy Crookes, singer and poet Arlo Parks, Dublin rock band Inhaler – which is fronted by U2 frontman Bono’s son, Elijah Hewson – and Brighton band Squid.

Get to know more about the acts on the longlist here: https://t.co/ukfln3OdwY

— BBC Entertainment (@BBCNewsEnts) December 12, 2019

Speaking about the list, James Stirling, Head of BBC Music & BBC Music Introducing, said: “2020 is shaping up to be such an exciting year for British music. BBC Music is proud to play a role in so many of the incredible musical journeys, from YUNGBLUD’s first session for BBC Music Introducing in West Yorkshire back in 2017, to debut Glastonbury performances from Arlo Parks, Celeste and Easy Life on the BBC Music Introducing Stage earlier this year. Congratulations to all the longlisted artists and I am really looking forward to seeing what they have in store for 2020.”

maw i’ve made it apparently, some buzz man part of the BBC Sound of 2020 list hwfg @BBCR1 x x x x pic.twitter.com/tHgWhUHqic

— Joesef (@joesefjoesef) December 12, 2019

The 2020 longlist for the BBC’s annual Sound Of poll has been revealed, and sees a number of female artists representing a new wave of British R&B, bedroom pop, and soul. The 2020 selection sees a retreat from grime and UK rap, which had established a strong presence on the list over the last five years.

The names on this years list are already well known such as Celeste, who has already won the Brits’ Rising Star award and been named BBC Music Introducing’s artist of the year. However, it is Yungblud, who is the grandson of Rick Harrison, who played with T Rex in the 1970s –  that is the most high profile name on the list. The Doncaster-born singer is the most high-profile name on the 2020 longlist, with 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify – more than all the other artists combined.

The Sound Of… list, which is now in its 18th year, showcases the hottest new artists for the coming year. Past winners have included some of the biggest names including Adele, Sam Smith, Years & Years, 50 Cent, Sigrid and, earlier this year, Octavian. It is voted for by 170 music critics, broadcasters and DJs, as well as former nominees such as Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi and Chvrches.

The annual Sound of list celebrates musicians who have not been the lead artist on a UK top 10 single or album by 21 October 2019. Artists who have appeared on TV talent shows within the last three years are also ineligible. The top five will be revealed in the New Year, on BBC Radio 1 and BBC News, with one artist announced each day from Sunday 5 January until, the winner is revealed, on Thursday 9 January 2020.