The UK music industry is no stranger to producing record-breaking artists. Leading the way are chart-dominating artists Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Adele along with heritage artists like Queen and Elton John. Adele alone is the only artist to exceed 1 million album sales last year and her album, 30, sold twice as many copies as any other. But it wasn’t just the super-established that made waves in British music in 2021. This substantial growth was also down to the work of breakthrough acts such as Glass Animals, Rex Orange County and BBC Sound of 2022 winner, PinkPantheress. In fact, Glass Animals song “Heat Waves” was Australia’s No. 1 single of the year

Last year, nearly 400 UK artists accrued over 100 million audio streams worldwide, compared to around 300 artists in 2020. The figures also revealed that there were notable artists who gained over 250 million streams yet did not achieve a UK Top 40 single, proving that despite moderate success in the UK, some of these artists will be extremely established overseas. Such artists included Grammy-nominated Ella Mai, metalcore band Asking Alexandria, and Scottish-American singer Bishop Briggs. Ella Mai’s single “Boo’d Up” hit the top five of  The Billboard Hot 100 and was an R&B No. 1 in the US, but peaked at 52 on the UK chart.

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize said, “These record-breaking figures once again highlight the extraordinary popularity of British music internationally. This is not just about our much-loved superstars, but new artists and bands from all over the UK who, with their label’s investment and expertise, are able to successfully navigate the competitive streaming landscape.”

The BPI also predict that, if this growth continues, British music exports could rise to £1 billion or more by the end of the decade. However, they do take note of the intensifying global competition and urge the Government to support artists to achieve this growth. “Continued success isn’t guaranteed,” states Taylor, he continues “with sustained support from Government, British music will continue to thrive all around the world.”

Read more here: www.bpi.co.uk

A Massive congratulations to all of our 2020 #MOBOAwards winners!

— MOBO (@MOBOAwards) December 9, 2020

Headie One scooped the award for Best Male Act, seeing off competition from nominees including Stormzy, J Hus and AJ Tracey. The  Tottenham trap star also picked up a second award for his collaboration with Young T & Bugsey on Don’t Rush, which secured the coveted Song of the Year title based on a public vote.

A night of MOBOs glory capped off an exceptional year for Headie One (real name Irving Adjei) whose debut album Edna soared to number one in the UK Albums Charts in October. In their review of the record, NME described the LP, which was named after Adeji’s late mother, as “a clear and persuasive bid for transatlantic stardom“; labelling the artist the “global King of drill.”

Leicestershire songstress Mahalia also enjoyed a memorable evening. The British-Jamaican singer, who made her second successive appearance in the US Adult R&B Top 20 this year with single BRB, was named Best Female Act on the night. The East Midlander also came up trumps in the Best R&B/Soul Act category, fending off WSTRN, Tiana Major9, Lianne La Havas and Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka. Mahalia told the RTÉ network that it was “an honour” to feature in an awards show close to her heart, saying “I remember seeing my first Mobos…As a young black female artist, it really is special to be here and to be recognised in this way.”

There were further gongs for North London rapper Nines – aka Courtney Leon Freckleton – who won the Album of the Year award for his third studio LP Crabs In A Bucket, which topped the UK Albums Chart at the end of the summer. Nines also pipped J Hus, Ms Banks, D-Block Europe, Krept & Konan and Potter Payper to the Best Hip Hop Act prize.

Elsewhere there was success for Hackney-born Jme in the Best Grime category; while Samuel Nwachukwu – known by his stage name of  Calledout Music – was named Best Gospel Act. The Nigerian-born, UK-raised singer is a rising star of Christian music globally, and has been touted as a prospective collaborator with Stormzy and Wretch 32 in the past. In a special feature on gospel music last year, The Big Issue described him as “a much needed breath of fresh air” on the scene, with an “infectious sound.”

Other award winners on the night included Lancashire rapper Aitch – who secured a top ten hit in the UK Albums Chart this year with his EP Polaris – in the Best Newcomer category; and Ella Mai, whose eponymous 2018 debut album was recognised as the best LP released over the two years that passed without a MOBO Awards ceremony. There was also a win for East London rap collective NSG in the Video of the Year category; while South Londoner Ego Ella May got the nod for Best Jazz Act. Stratford-based Jae-5 picked up the Best Producer award, telling Audio Media International: “It’s beautiful to be acknowledged and to win an award that promotes what I am.”

Meanwhile non-UK winners on the night included Nigerian Afrobeats merchant Burna Boy (Best International Act) and compatriot Wizkid (Best African Act). Jamaican dancehall veteran Buju Banton also bagged the Best Reggae Act award. The full list of musical winners at the MOBO Awards were:

Best Female Act – Mahalia
Best Male Act – Headie One
Album of the Year – Crabs in a Bucket (Nines)
Song of the Year – Dont Rush (Young T & Bugsey feat. Headie One)
Best Newcomer  – Aitch
Video of the Year – Lupita, NSG
Best R&B/Soul Act – Mahalia
Best Hip Hop Act – Nines
Best Grime Act – Jme
Best International Act – Burna Boy
Best Album (2017 – 2019) - Ella Mai (Ella Mai)
Best African Act – Wizkid
Best Reggae Act – Buju Banton
Best Gospel Act – Calledout Music
Best Jazz Act – Ego Ella May
Best Producer – Jae 5
Best Performance in a TV Show/Film - Micheal Ward (as Marco in Blue Story)
Best Media Personality - Chunkz
Inspiration Award - Steve McQueen

The continued absence of a category to recognise rock music was highlighted ahead of the awards ceremony by Londoners Nova Twins. The self-described ‘urban punk’ duo rightly pointed to the key role pioneers like Sister Rosetta Sharp, Chuck Berry and Little Richard played in the development of guitar music and rock ‘n’ roll as an overarching genre. The MOBOs judging panel responded directly on Twitter by saying they would “…continue to review potential category expansions for future Award ceremonies.”

Taking to Instagram, on Christmas Eve, Sheeran wrote: “Hello all. Gonna go on another break again. The Divide era and tour changed my life in so many ways, but now it’s all over it’s time to go out and see some more of the world. I’ve been a bit non stop since 2017 so I’m just gonna take a breather to travel, write and read. I’ll be off all social media until it’s time to come back.

View this post on Instagram

Brb x

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) on Dec 24, 2019 at 4:00am PST

“To all my family and friends, see ya when I see ya – and to my fans, thank you for always being amazing, I promise to be back with some new music when the time is right and I’ve lived a little more to actually have something to write about. Lots of love x.” He captioned the statement and then changed his profile picture to “BRB”, which further confirmed the news of his time out.

Sheeran’s break comes after he was recently named the UK’s artist of the decade. The ‘Shape of You’ singer, achieved the huge milestone after scoring a combined run of 12 number one albums and singles between 2010 and 2019, which is more than any other artist in the UK. Sheeran was also named, alongside Drake, as one of Spotify’s most streamed artists of the decade.

The announcement of his hiatus comes after Sheeran revealed he lost four stone, in weight, after he was targeted by trolls – who labelled him fat. The ‘Shape of You’ singer revealed that the extra weight was down to him living a poor lifestyle that involved fatty foods, drinking, and no exercise.

Speaking on the marathon running-themed Behind the Medal podcast, he revealed that he dropped from 16 to 12 stone by replacing beer with vodka and taking up running and cycling to stay in shape. Speaking about his weight, Sheeran said: “My problem was I’d go to the pub, have bangers and mash, a pie, maybe a pudding and then loads of pints. And then not exercise.

“My friends used to call me Two Dinners Teddy. On tour, it’s very easy to drink every single day because there’s always someone visiting. I had to make a real effort on the tour. I’m 12 stone now. I started running. I’ve got into cycling as well.”

Sheeran revealed that his weight gain was a reason he didn’t appear in some of his first big music videos. He said: “I was the same sort of age as the One Direction boys and Justin Bieber and all these people who had six-packs and I was kind of like, ‘Oh, should I look like this?'”

Sheeran added that he thought anyone pointing out insecurities in others was probably quite insecure to do so, speculating that a lot of the online trolls who had called him fat may well have weight problems themselves.

Meanwhile, Sheeran left his fans with one last parting gift before his break, as he released his new music video, which sees him seemingly confirming when he married wife Cherry Seaborn. Sheeran’s video for his new collaboration, ‘Put It All On Me’, with Ella Mai, sees him telling the love stories of couples from across the globe, including his own.

This year has been a great year for singer Ella Mai as she catapulted into the mainstream industry from London to America. “Ella Mai” was released in October 2018 with tracks like ‘Sauce’ and ‘Easy’. The magazine Pitchfork praised ‘Sauce’ as “an undeniable heater” while USA Today also said that ‘Easy’ as “the big diva moment on the album that she deserves”.

Both songs give us a different vibe and flair making us love Ella Mai more.

Ella takes center stage with every live performance executing it amazingly. The song ‘Sauce’ is a very groovy track that definitely people can dance to and has a jazz-influenced sound mixed within giving the saucy feel we all need. Ella also showcases the right outfit for this specific song sporting a fierce red and matching glasses to fit the vibe.

In the song ‘Easy’ Ella looks stunning in her angelic look chosen for this video. This shows Ella’s vocal ability and her soft reassuring voice throughout this song. The song is very relatable as it seems to talk about love which most of her fans/supporters have been through. It also introduces the other voices of background singers which finishes off the song beautifully.

Ella Mai will be kicking off her The Debut Tour in 2019 in support of her album which begins in January. She has also been Grammy nominated for Song of the Year and Best R&B Song ‘Boo’d Up’ for the 61st Grammy Awards which will commence in February.

Get your tickets here before they sell out!

Make sure to watch the videos for ‘Easy’ and ‘Sauce’ down below.

The London-born star has risen to number five on the Billboard Hot 100, with her track dominating Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for 16 weeks, the most by a female artist in the chart’s history. It was also the first number one hit by a British artist on the Hot R&B Songs chart since 1992.

Sony/ATV Co-President, Rick Krim said: “Ella Mai is an astonishing new talent who has rightly emerged as one of 2018’s biggest breakout artists. We are honoured that she has chosen Sony/ATV as her music publisher and we cannot wait to work with her on what promises to be an outstanding career.”

Speaking about the massive deal, Ella Mai said: “I’m looking forward to working together in the New Year!”

“Ella is one of the most exciting new artists to emerge this year. This is only the beginning for her and we are so excited to be her publishing partner as her star continues to rise,” say Jennifer Knoepfle, Sony/ATV SVP, Co-Head of West Coast A&R.

Sony/ATV Senior Director, A&R Jennifer Drake said: “Ella Mai is not just an R&B singer, she’s the epitome of a superstar that transcends cultures, genres and time. We will do great things together.”

Mai, 24, was crowned Best R&B/Soul Female Artist at the event in Las Vegas, and was also recognized for her song-writing skills, with her breakthrough hit “Boo’d Up” winning Song of the Year. She and the song’s other writers also received the Ashford and Simpson’s Songwriters Award named in honour of the legendary song-writing couple.

The success of “Boo’d Up” came several years after Mai launched her singing career, while a student at the acclaimed British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM), in London. Mai was been born and raised in London, but left at the age of 12 to move to New York City, only to return after graduating from high school.

During her time at BIMM, Mai auditioned as part of a group called ‘Arize’ for The X Factor, in the UK, but didn’t progress beyond the auditions phase. With the break-up of the group, Mai started posting up her music on Instagram, where she received her breakthrough, when she was discovered by the hit producer DJ Mustard, who signed her to his label 10 Summers Records, in early 2016.

Speaking about the deal, DJ Mustard said: “She’s the goat. She deserves it!”

Meanwhile Mai’s manager, Meko Yohannes, of 10 Summers Management, said: “We are excited about this partnership with Sony/ATV and look forward to working together to build Ella’s catalogue.”

The 2019 Grammy nominations have seen a strong showing for female and hip-hop artists, which suggest a renewed focus on diversity – but it’s a mediocre year for British acts. The 2019 Grammy nominations sees Jorja Smith and Dua Lipa, among a handful of others, flying the flag for Britain, with both women being nominated for best new artist.

Speaking to Billboard about her nominations, Lipa said: “It’s the biggest nomination you could get. So many artists I’ve looked up to my whole life have been nominated, it’s such a thrill to me. And being from Kosovo and seeing how much it means to people back home is crazy. It means a lot to me as well. I feel like I’m representing myself but also the U.K. and Kosovo too. It’s a very proud moment for me.

“I feel like the industry has been dominated by men for such a long time. To wake up and be nominated in the best new artist category, where every artist except for two [Luke Combs and Greta Van Fleet] is a woman, that’s a good feeling. I’m so proud of all the girls, because I do feel like we need to work a bit harder, and that’s not taking the merits away from any male artist — I know how demanding this job can be. I just feel really grateful to be nominated alongside so many talented women I admire, and some I even call my friends. All I want to do is do my job to the best of my ability. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and I want to make sure people feel like they made the right choice for nominating me for these categories.”

Along with Jorja Smith and Dua Lipa, there is R&B newcomer Ella Mai, who has found greater success in the US than the UK. Rising star, Mai – who is also a nominee for the BBC Sound of 2019, received two nominations, song of the year and best R&B song, for her breakthrough single ‘Boo’d Up’.

Speaking to ABC Radio about the nominations, Mai said: “I’m just super, super grateful. The Grammys is something that, as any musician or artist, we look up to it from when we’re little and we dream of being nominated. So I’m just so grateful and I’ve had an amazing year, so this is like the cherry on top. I don’t think it’s actually hit me yet. It will. I know it will sometime soon. Probably before the day. But yeah, it’s crazy.”

Among the other nominees are Seal, who is nominated for best traditional pop vocal album with Standards (Deluxe); Artic Monkeys, for best rock performance with ‘Four Out of Five’ and best alternative music album with ‘Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino'; Bring Me The Horizon for best rock song with ‘Mantra’.

Jon Hopkins and SOPHIE were both nominated for best dance and electronic album, with ‘Singularity’ and ‘Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides’ respectively. Meanwhile Dua Lipa is also nominated for best dance record, for ‘Electricity’, along with Diplo and Mark Ronson’s Silk City side project.

Guardian music critic, Alexis Petridis said: “The most vibrant music that’s currently happening in the mainstream in Britain – the post-grime wave of UK rap – is obviously going to struggle to cross over to America. There’s a big linguistic and cultural barrier facing those artists, as well as a longstanding American aversion to hip-hop that isn’t homegrown.”

The 61st Grammy awards will take place at the Staples Centre, in Los Angeles, on the 10th of February 2019. Recordings released between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2018 were eligible for consideration. You can watch the show on CBS, which starts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Now in its 17th year, the list showcases the hottest rising stars, that we should keep our eye on in 2019. Mahalia and Slowthai, flamenco singer Rosalía, R&B star Ella Mai, and pop artist King Princess are all among the rising stars, who have made it onto the BBC’s Sound of 2019 longlist.

Ella’s quadruple-platinum breakthrough single ‘Boo’d Up’ made history as the longest running number one track by a woman on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Her followed up single ‘Trip’ also made huge success on Billboard Hot 100 making it certified gold. There is no doubt Ella Mai came a long way from posting covers on Instagram till now as she made her Album Debut on October 12th. The Album features stunning vocals from the singer and special features on the album including singer John Legend, H.E.R. and highly anticipated collaboration with Chris Brown.

Ella has had an incredible year from being in the UK and venturing to America making her music widespread and building her following. We are in no doubt Ella will keep making top hits. Her R&B sound will be glued to our ears through her unstoppable music and her following will continue to grow from country to country.

UK Dates are as followed

Jan. 8 – Birmingham, UK – 02 Institute2
Jan. 9 – Manchester, UK – 02 Ritz
Jan. 10 – London, UK – 02 Shepherd’s Bush

Tickets for Ella’s tour will be available on Friday, October 26th, so make sure to get tickets fast. Until then keep streaming her music and have a listen to her the rest of her Album on any music platform. Have a listen to a fan favourite down below.

Later, it was revealed Jacquees was forced to take down his version of “Trip” from Soundcloud, where it was first uploaded, due to Ella Mai’s management and DJ Mustard, record producer. As the confusion took a toll on all social media platforms many fans and supporters of Jacquees started to believe that Ella herself was responsible for the abrupt removal. It came more to light when DJ Mustard took to Twitter in Ella’s defense saying it was actually him and the label who made the decision.

To whom it may concern . pic.twitter.com/w3lzuU5tqM

— Mustard (@mustard) September 26, 2018

His post read: “Our artists don’t send the cease and desist, we do. When you monetize content you don’t own you are stealing and no one steals from 10 Summers” As Mustard claimed Jacquees was making money off his version of ‘Trip’ , which in his response he said “Nigga no I didn’t hell you talm bout my brother put it on Soundcloud and YouTube you know my game ain’t cap I love Ella” as he previously posted a picture of him and her together on his Instagram page, quoting a part in her song ‘Boo’d up’.

Nigga no I didn’t lol hell you talm bout my brother I put it on SoundCloud and YouTube you know my game ain’t cap I love Ella https://t.co/2DNx0Wt3SC

— Jacquees (@Jacquees) September 26, 2018

Since then there have been many attempts from Jacquees’ fans uploading the song to sites that are not easily tracked but have failed to pass by a week as it was removed within the same day. To most of his fans dismay, it’s very unlikely that the song will ever be put up again or approved to, however many are still hoping that Jacquees and Ella can Collab on a long-awaited song but that’s yet to be announced.

Until then Jacquees is back doing Quemix’s of songs, and it will be his own rendition from Drake’s Scorpion song ‘Jaded,’ that he covers next. You can now listen to it on all music platforms, and it’s not a disappointment as his voice fits in well and makes his sound present as he did in all of his other Quemix’s. Fans are hopeful in Jacquees doing remixes of other songs but are still wary about them being removed from the internet. The song is pushing onto 400,00 on YouTube so it’s sure to reach success as Jacquees previously took some of the hottest R&B tracks and put his own spin on it making his fans say “Jacquees always got the best remixes” quoted at the bottom of his Quemix of “Jaded” Make sure to have a listen down below.