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Fred Again.., Nia Archives and Cat Burns among longlist for BBC’s Sound of 2023

‘This year’s Sound Of longlist is one of the strongest and most diverse we’ve ever published,’ said Chris Price, Head of Music for Radio 1

Megan Graye
Monday 05 December 2022 10:07 GMT
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Fred Again.., Nia Archives and Biig Piig are among this year’s BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2023 longlist.

The list was revealed this morning and features 10 artists who are tipped for success next year.

The full list of artists includes Asake, Biig Piig, Cat Burns, Dylan, FLO, Fred Again.., Gabriels, Nia Archives, piri & tommy, Rachel Chinouriri.

Last year, PinkPantheress was crowned the winner of the prestigious award, beating the likes of indie duo Wet Leg and Nigerian singer Tems.

Previous names on the list have included stars such as Stormzy, Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi, Adele and Jorja Smith.

The winner of this year’s list will be revealed on Thursday 5 January 2023, with a countdown to the announcement of the top three kicking off on Radio 1 on Tuesday 3 January

The list is chosen by 136 industry experts, who were each asked to name their three favourite new acts.

These three names can be performers from any country and any musical genre, and they don’t need to be signed to a record label.

The artists cannot have been part of the list before, or have been the lead artist on a UK top five album or three UK top ten singles before 31 October 2022.

‘This year’s Sound Of longlist is one of the strongest and most diverse we’ve ever published,’ says Chris Price
‘This year’s Sound Of longlist is one of the strongest and most diverse we’ve ever published,’ says Chris Price (BBC)

“This year’s Sound Of longlist is one of the strongest and most diverse we’ve ever published. The most striking thing about it is the breadth of genres represented,” said Chris Price, Head of Music for Radio 1.

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“Every single artist on the list has been incubated on Radio 1’s playlist and specialist output; whoever wins, we can be sure that 2023 will be a vintage year for new Pop, Dance, R&B, Soul, Drum & Bass, Afrobeats and Indie,” he added.

In November it was announced that three of the names on this year’s list have also been shortlisted for the BRITS Rising Star award. 

Cat Burns, FLO and Nia Archives were all shortlisted for the prestigious prize which will be announced on 8 December.

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