Chosen this year by a panel of 133 industry experts and insiders, including Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Charli XCX, and former nominees Jorja Smith, Foals and Billie Eilish, the prize has a history of knowing what’s going on in music. The BBC said of the award that “The Sound Of list started in 2003 with the aim to showcase the most exciting rising stars in music …. 19 years later, and the aim is the same – to continue predicting some of the biggest and most exciting global superstars.“

For this year’s nominees, ten names have been chosen from a range of genres, from drill artist Central Cee, soul/R&B singer Priya Ragu, and the “new nostalgic” sound of TikTok sensation PinkPantheress. Other artists include quirky Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg, whose debut album is due out next April, more of which you can read about here.

Introducing the Radio 1 #SoundOf2022 long-list!

Expect big things from these 10 amazing artists next year:@babyqueen
Central Cee@ennyintegrity@lolayounggg@mimiwebb@pinkpantheress2@PRIYARAGUMUSIC@temsbaby@wetlegband@YardActBand

Find out more: https://t.co/Cdil72zk6i pic.twitter.com/SSQhbdSm9V

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) December 6, 2021

Also, the world of TikTok seems to be making its presence known, with PinkPantheress not being the only nominee who’s used the platform to their advantage. South London artist Enny had a viral hit on the app with her song “Peng Black Girls“, which celebrated being a black woman, and artist Mimi Webb got 85 million views with her track “Before I Go“ when TikTok star Charli D’Amelio posted it online.

Of course, a BBC Sounds Of nomination isn’t the only success these artists have had recently. Nominee Lola Young has also been nominated for a 2022 BRITs Rising Star Award, whilst Central Cee won as best newcomer at yesterday’s Mobo awards and recently had a top 10 UK hit with his ballad “Obsessed With You“.

The results will be made known next month, with the top 5 artists announced on January 1^st, and then each day from then on a single artist will be named until the winner is revealed on the 6^th. It’s an exciting time for artists, who often go on to better things whether they win or not. Last year’s winner was rapper Pa Salieu, who’s had plenty of success since with hit singles “Glidin’” and “Bad”. If you’re interested in reading a bit more about who’s been nominated and what they’re about, you can look here.

The 25-year-old artist posted an emotive statement concerning his decision.

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During his career, Octavian has released one EP, various mixtapes and multiple singles. The rapper began to gain traction within the industry and became a critical success. The artist’s first mixtape, 22, was released in 2016 under the stage name Octavian OG. In 2017 the first EP Essie World was released and 13 singles followed, one particular single became the catalyst to his rising success. “Party Here” was released in 2017 and sired great attention. In January 2018 Drake posted an Instagram video featuring a sing along to the single, the post went viral and brought Octavian to the spotlight. In August 2018 the artist was signed with the major label Sony/ATV Records.

The former BRIT School student has collaborated with some of music’s most popular artists. On 2019 single “Bet”, the rapper teamed up with Michael Phantom and hitmaker Skepta. Octavian and Skepta worked together again the following year on the single “Pap Chulo”, the track reached number 37 within the UK singles charts.

In 2019 Octavian released the single “Lit” which featured American rapper, ASAP Ferg. The single was taken from the artist’s second mixtape, Endorphins, released on 13th June 2019 via Black Butter Limited. Octavian has also lent his talent to other artists, his most notable collaboration has been with Gorillaz. In 2020, the rapper featured on the group’s single “Friday 13th” taken from the band’s seventh studio album.

The buzz surrounding the artist paid off and the London based rapper won the BBC Sound of 2019 award. Octavian was presented with the prestigious accolade for new artists in January 2019 and was described as a maverick. The winner is decided by a panel made up of 136 industry professionals, each member is asked to nominate three promising acts. In 2019 the panel included prior nominees Ellie Goulding and Stormzy. The title has previously been won by Adele, Haim, Sam Smith and Sigrid. Octavian was the first rapper to win the award since 2003, 16 years prior 50 Cent was awarded the prize. Speaking on his win over two years ago the rapper stated, “That’s lit, I don’t even know how to feel right now… Mum, I made it!“.

Born as Octavian Oliver Godji, the artist faced some controversies during the end of his career. Last year the artist’s ex-girlfriend accused him of abuse, subsequently, the reports led to his debut album being pulled and his relationship with Black Butter ended. Octavian denied all allegations and provided the following statement to the BBC. “I wholly deny Hana’s allegations, which are only one – grossly distorted – side of a troubled relationship. Much of what she has said, and has been reported, has been manipulated or is simply untrue. I will not go on trial by media, but I will repeat that I have not been violent or coercive towards Hana, and I am not a misogynist.”

The similarities continue when considering the nominees, the three finalists for the Brits Critics Choice Award are all nominated for the BBC Sound of 2016 award. Those three are of course, Critics Choice winner Jack Garratt, Frances and Izzy Bizu. The full list of nominees can be found below:

Alessia Cara
Billie Marten
Blossoms
Dua Lipa
Frances
Izzy Bizu
Jack Garratt
J Hus
Loyle Carner
Mabel
Mura Masa
NAO
Rat Boy
Section Boyz
WSTRN

For detailed information on each of the artists visit the BBC Sound of 2016 webpage here.

It is worth mentioning that even just being nominated for the BBC Sound of award seemingly works a charm for up and coming musicians, with past nominees being the likes of James Blake, Frank Ocean, The Vaccines, Chvrches, George Ezra, The Weeknd, Everything Everything and many many more. See this video of the 2014 nominees below:

The voting process includes 144 hand picked workers in the British music industry, who then vote for who they believe deserves the award.