Sound of...
Sound of... is an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003, and is now widely covered by the corporation's online, radio and TV outlets, as well as other media. A 15-strong longlist is published each December, with a ranked shortlist and annual winner announced the following January.
Winners
2003–2009
Poll Year | Winner | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sound of 2003[1] |
50 Cent | Electric Six | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | The Thrills | Dizzee Rascal | Interpol | Audio Bullys | Mario | The Datsuns | Sean Paul |
Sound of 2004[2] |
Keane | Franz Ferdinand | Wiley | Razorlight | Joss Stone | McFly | Scissor Sisters | The Ordinary Boys | Tali | Gemma Fox |
Sound of 2005[3] |
The Bravery | Bloc Party | Kano | The Game | Kaiser Chiefs | KT Tunstall | The Dead 60s | The Dears | Tom Vek | The Magic Numbers |
Sound of 2006[4] |
Corinne Bailey Rae | Clap Your Hands Say Yeah | The Feeling | Plan B | Guillemots | Sway | Chris Brown | Marcos Hernandez | Kubb | The Automatic |
Sound of 2007[5] |
Mika | The Twang | Klaxons | Sadie Ama | Enter Shikari | Air Traffic | Cold War Kids | Just Jack | Ghosts | The Rumble Strips |
Sound of 2008[6] |
Adele | Duffy | The Ting Tings | Glasvegas | Foals | Vampire Weekend | Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong | Black Kids | MGMT | Santigold |
Sound of 2009[7] |
Little Boots | White Lies | Florence + the Machine | Empire of the Sun | La Roux | Lady Gaga | V V Brown | Kid Cudi | Passion Pit | Dan Black |
2010–2013
Poll Year | Winner | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth - Fifteenth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sound of 2010[8] |
Ellie Goulding | Marina and the Diamonds | Delphic | Hurts | The Drums | Daisy Dares You, Devlin, Everything Everything, Giggs, Gold Panda, Joy Orbison, Owl City, Rox, Stornoway, Two Door Cinema Club |
Sound of 2011[9] |
Jessie J | James Blake | The Vaccines | Jamie Woon | Clare Maguire | Anna Calvi, Daley, Esben and the Witch, Jai Paul, Mona, Nero, The Naked and Famous, Warpaint, Wretch 32, Yuck |
Sound of 2012[10] |
Michael Kiwanuka | Frank Ocean | Azealia Banks | Skrillex | Niki & The Dove | A$AP Rocky, Dot Rotten, Dry The River, Flux Pavilion, Friends, Jamie N Commons, Lianne La Havas, Ren Harvieu, Spector, Stooshe |
Sound of 2013[11] |
Haim | AlunaGeorge | Angel Haze | Laura Mvula | Chvrches | A*M*E, Arlissa, King Krule, Kodaline, Little Green Cars, Palma Violets, Peace, Savages, The Weeknd, Tom Odell |
Sound of 2009
More than 130 critics, editors and broadcasters took part in the Sound of 2009 survey,[12] which was won by electro-pop singer Little Boots. For the first time, a longlist of 15 acts from the 2009 poll was published by the BBC on 5 December 2008.[13] The other five acts on the longlist were The Big Pink, Frankmusik, Master Shortie, Mumford & Sons and The Temper Trap.
Sound of 2010
The longlist for the Sound of 2010 poll was revealed on 7 December 2009.[14] The acts nominated were Daisy Dares You, Delphic, Devlin, The Drums, Everything Everything, Giggs, Gold Panda, Ellie Goulding, Hurts, Joy Orbison, Marina and the Diamonds, Owl City, Rox, Stornoway and Two Door Cinema Club. The winners, revealed in early January 2010, were The Drums in fifth place, Hurts in fourth, Delphic in third and Marina and the Diamonds in second place. On 8 January 2010 it was announced that Ellie Goulding had taken first place. She has since gone on the reach No. 1 with her debut album Lights.[15]
Sound of 2011
The longlist for the Sound of 2011 poll was revealed on 6 December 2010.[16] The acts nominated were Anna Calvi, Clare Maguire, Daley, Esben and the Witch, Jai Paul, James Blake, Jamie Woon, Jessie J, Mona, Nero, The Naked and Famous, The Vaccines, Warpaint, Wretch 32 and Yuck. On 7 January 2011, Jessie J was announced as the winner.
Sound of 2012
The longlist for the Sound of 2012 poll was revealed on 5 December 2011.[17] The acts nominated were A$AP Rocky, Azealia Banks, Dot Rotten, Dry The River, Flux Pavilion, Frank Ocean, Friends, Jamie N Commons, Lianne La Havas, Michael Kiwanuka, Niki & The Dove, Ren Harvieu, Skrillex, Spector and Stooshe. On 6 January 2012, Michael Kiwanuka was announced as the winner.
Sound of 2013
The longlist for the Sound of 2013 poll was revealed on 9 December 2012.[18] The acts nominated were AlunaGeorge, A*M*E, Angel Haze, Arlissa, Chvrches, Haim, King Krule, Kodaline, Laura Mvula, Little Green Cars, Palma Violets, Peace, Savages, The Weeknd and Tom Odell. On 4 January 2013, Haim was announced as the winner on Radio 1 by Huw Stephens.
Criticism
It has been commented upon that the Sound of... survey, together with other polls, creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Guardian critic Kitty Empire wrote in December 2007: "Many of us are editors commissioning, and journalists writing, our own ones-to-watch forecasts. In order not to look like idiots, we tend to tip acts with records coming out rather than some lad with a tin whistle we found on MySpace."[19]
The same issue was again raised in 2011, upon the publication of the longlist for the Sound of 2012. The Telegraph's Joe Burgis wrote "the Sound of 2012 project faces criticism that it is too heavily weighted in favour of mainstream performers."[20]
The head of music at BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra response to the question was "The list will inspire debate for sure, but most importantly, it will lead to discovery of artists and musicians trying to stand out from the ever-expanding crowd, and that can only be a good thing".[20]
References
- ^ "Sound of 2003". BBC. 2002-12-24. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2004". BBC. 2004-01-09. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2005". BBC. 2005-01-07. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2006". BBC. 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2007". BBC. 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2008". BBC. 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2009". BBC. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Sound of 2010". BBC. 2010-01-06.
- ^ "Sound of 2011". BBC. 2011-01-08.
- ^ "Sound of 2012". BBC. 2012-01-06.
- ^ "Sound of 2013". BBC. 2013-01-04.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2009: The pundits". BBC News website. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2009: The longlist". BBC News website. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2010: The longlist". BBC News website. 2009-12-07. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ "Ellie Goulding tops BBC Sound of 2010 music list". BBC News website. 2010-01-08. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2011 list revealed". BBC News website. 2010-12-06.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2012 list revealed". DigitalSpy. 2011-12-05.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20607499
- ^ Empire, Kitty (2007-12-07). "Tipping the sound of 2008". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ a b Burgis, Joe (2011-12-06). "BBC's Sound of 2012 list favours mainstream acts". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-11-12.