With past winners like @Adele, @Sam Smith, @HAIM and, um, @50 Cent the BBC Sound Of... list is usually a pretty good indicator of future success and a very big deal for anyone who makes the list. Here's how it works... every year we get a longlist of 15 up-and-coming artists that is then narrowed down to a shortlist of 5 before the big winner is announced (on January 6th 2017).
This year's longlist is as diverse as ever... from the folk-dance eclecticism of @Maggie Rogers, to the synth-pop of @The Japanese House, to the wordplay of classically trained rapper @Dave, to the post-punk energy of @Cabbage and the acoustic melodies of @Tom Grennan.
Whoever the ultimate winner is one thing's for sure... 2017 is going to be a big year for urban music (over half the list are R&B, hip-hop or grime artists). Following the surprise (and well-deserved) #MercuryPrize win for @Skepta's Konnichiwa, the popularity of @KANO's Made in the Manor (also nominated) and the continued rise of @Giggs, @Wiley and @Stormzy, could 2017 finally be the year Grime goes global?
