Soul singer Ray BLK has topped the BBC's Sound Of 2017 list, which aims to predict the most exciting new music for the year ahead.
It is the first time an unsigned artist has won the honour - which has previously gone to Adele and Sam Smith.
"I can't believe this is happening," said the 23-year-old, from south London. "It's all just so ridiculous!"
Four of the top five Sound of 2017 acts are black British women, reflecting a rise of female talent in grime and R&B.
2. Rag 'N' Bone Man
3. Raye
4. Jorja Smith
5. Nadia Rose
I am SO happy for her. I was sure they'd give the number one to Rag'n'Bone Man.
She is amazing, y'all need to get her EP 'Durt', it's definitely one of the best releases of 2016.
I only discovered her when they put her on the longlist for this and i'm obsessed.
SO happy she won over the horrendous Rag N Bone Man. Although, I still feel like there's more to come from the Sound of 2016 cast as they definitely felt like the first year group to not have that much impact in the charts, and I still think Dua Lipa and Mura Masa among others are still growing into their careers.
SO happy she won over the horrendous Rag N Bone Man. Although, I still feel like there's more to come from the Sound of 2016 cast as they definitely felt like the first year group to not have that much impact in the charts, and I still think Dua Lipa and Mura Masa among others are still growing into their careers.
There was an article about that somewhere.
Some industry people were talking about how it's become a lot harder for people to break through due to the dominance of streaming (labels can't create hype and success like they used to for new artists).
The guy who won last year was tipped to be the next Adele/Sam Smith but his album only went to number three.
The longlist was tragic this year, the only ones I really liked were Raye and Nadia Rose...glad those made the top 5
all these new girls on the list sound the same
The BBC’s Music Sound of 2017 winner, however, seems to be a break with such predictability. Rag’n’Bone Man’s seeming coronation was blocked by 22-year-old Ray BLK, a singer from south London whose voice couldn’t be more authentic: she sings about chicken shops and “caffs not a cafe” on the streets of Lewisham, teenage pregnancies and benefits.
And that's lovely but it sounds like a cringeworthy mess
The longlist was tragic this year, the only ones I really liked were Raye and Nadia Rose...glad those made the top 5
all these new girls on the list sound the same
And that's lovely but it sounds like a cringeworthy mess
It really isn't, listen to Baby Girl that gives you a good indication of how she does it.
You probably wouldn't agree with what she says though she slags off the Tories in that one.
