US pop star Chapell Roan is the clear frontrunner, after an electrifying year that saw her go from Olivia Rodrigo’s backing vocalist to breakout pop star.
Rejecting the trend for whispery bedroom pop, her songs are full of cheerleader chants and exuberant hooks that document her coming of age and the discovery of her sexuality.
Last week, she was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including best new artist and album of the year, for her debut The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess.
Also hotly-tipped are London jazz ensemble Ezra Collective, who won the Mercury Prize in 2023 for their soulful and ebullient album Where I’m Meant To Be.
This year’s follow-up – tited Dance, No One’s Watching – is both an invitation and an invocation, with supple funk grooves that propelled the album into the top 10.
Shape-shifting rapper Doechii also makes the list, cementing her rise as one of hip-hop’s brightest new voices.
Born in Florida, she rose to attention with the viral 2021 hit Yucky Blucky Fruitcake, after which she toured with SZA and Doja Cat.
She is also nominated for the best new artist Grammy, and her recent mixtape Alligator Bites Don’t Heal was called “one of the year’s very best albums, external” by Rolling Stone.
