The criteria for BBC Radio 1’s Sound Of Poll have been tweaked, and in 2026 will omit acts with a “significant public profile” after the backlash to Chappell Roan’s win this year.
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The coveted Sound Of list is the BBC’s annual rundown of rising artists that they believe are set for big things and have “the best chance of mainstream success” in the year ahead, with selections made by a panel of industry experts and artists.
In January, pop superstar Roan came out on top of the prestigious list, almost 16 months after the release of her breakthrough record ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’, in what proved to be a divisive move.
This year’s longlist drew a markedly mixed reaction from fans on social media, with many arguing that the chosen names were already too established to be considered a “rising” act.
“The Sound Of list has a strong track record of predicting future superstars..’ by picking acts that have – checks notes – had films out at the cinema, headlined Wembley Arena, been nominated for numerous Grammys, won the Mercury Prize,” wrote Benefits on X/Twitter at the time.
“Every single artist on the BBC Sound of 2025 list is already doing pretty well. This is their most lazy list yet,” a third shared, while another added: “Sad to see the Radio 1’s full Sound of 2025 longlist. It used to champion new acts & at least half of these are well established.”
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Roan’s inclusion on the list had followed a new spate of rules being implemented for 2025. Previously, an artist would not be eligible if they had been the lead on a UK Number One or Number Two album by the cut-off point. However, ahead of Roan’s win, that rule was changed so that an artist could not have had “more than two Top 10 albums in the UK Official Albums Chart” by 30 September 2024.
Asked about the change to the rules back in 2024, a BBC Radio 1 spokesperson told NME: “The Sound Of list has a strong track record of predicting future superstars and we periodically review the criteria to better reflect how audiences consume music.”
Now, the rules have shifted once again, and will now specify that artist’s should not have had a significant public profile in the past two years to be eligible for the award, seemingly in answer to the Roan controversy.
As seen in criteria sent to judges, artist’s cannot have had more than three Top 10 singles in the Official UK Singles Chart by October 6 this year, and cannot have been a lead artist on a Number One album in the UK charts on the same date.
Given the award is for new and emerging acts, they can be signed or unsigned, assuming they have not featured in the Sound Of list previously.
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