Nominations for the Brits rising star award, formerly known as the critics’ choice award and given to artists the music industry predicts will find success the following year, have been announced for 2020.
All three are solo female artists – Celeste, Beabadoobee and Joy Crookes – and will hope to replicate the success of past winners, who include Adele, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Rag’n’Bone Man and Jorja Smith. Last year’s winner, Sam Fender, went on to reach No 1 with his debut album Hypersonic Missiles and has an arena tour booked for spring 2020.
Born in LA and raised in Dagenham and Brighton, Celeste has earned comparisons with Amy Winehouse and Billie Holiday for her distinctively melancholic and bluesy voice. The British-Jamaican singer has performed on Later … With Jools Holland and duetted with Paul Weller. She has already sold out dates on her 2020 tour, including the 2,000-capacity Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London.
She described the nomination as “a huge honour” and, recalling the 2002 Brit awards ceremony, which featured So Solid Crew and Mis-Teeq, she said: “I remember being in a frenzy with every word they sang. It was in that exact moment that I thought I would like to be a part of that one day.”
South Londoner Joy Crookes, tipped by the Guardian for 2019, has a similar jazz-tinged sound to Celeste, but also brings in understated R&B and trip-hop. She has steadily grown in popularity this year with the release of two EPs, Reminiscence and Perception, as well as a performance at Glastonbury.
“I remember watching the Brits as a child – especially seeing my favourites like Lily Allen, Corinne Bailey Rae and Amy Winehouse up on the screen,” she said. “I’ve always looked up to these inspiring and strong women, so to be able to be recognised in the same way they were is insane.”
Indie-pop singer-songwriter Beabadoobee, 19, is already hugely popular with a primarily Gen Z fanbase, earning millions of streams for songs such as If You Want To and I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus. The Filipino Londoner, born Bea Kristi, said the nomination was “suuuper cool … It’s so weird to think that writing music in my bedroom could appeal to so many people.”
The winner will be announced on 6 December, and – for the first time – will perform at the Brit awards ceremony, which takes place on 18 February.
