The shortlist for the 2024 BRITs Rising Star has been revealed with Caity Baser, The Last Dinner Party and Sekou in the running. All three are signed to Universal U.K.

Baser, a 21-year-old singer and songwriter from Southampton on the U.K.’s south coast, is signed to EMI. Her first singles include “Friendly Sex,” “X&Y” and “Pretty Boys,” which hit #26 on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart earlier this year. She’s tipped as a Gen Z role model for self-confidence, honesty and female empowerment. This year, Baser played the Reading & Leeds festival. In March, she’s set to embark on her biggest tour, including a show at London’s 5k-capacity Eventim Apollo and release her 14-track mixtape, Still Learning. Management is Dakota Hoven at Chosen Music.

The Last Dinner Party are a five-piece band who make “guitar-heavy leftfield indie-rock dramas.” Signed to Island, they had a breakthrough in July with “Nothing Matters,” which hit #16 on the U.K. singles chart. James Ford, who has worked with Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode and Haim, produced the track. Since then, the band has released more singles, including “Sinner” and “My Lady of Mercy,” and played a summer of festivals in the U.K. and Europe. Their debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, will arrive in February. Management is Tara Richardson at Q Prime.

Sekou, a 19-year-old who hails from Leicester in the East Midlands, gained recognition after posting soulful covers online. That led to him being discovered by Nick Raphael and Christian Tattersfield’s company, NWS Music, and he later signed with Island/Republic. Sekou’s music is described as “a blend of classic soul and contemporary pop” with inspiration from Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé. His breakout single, “Better Man,” arrived in May and has tallied over 4m plays on Spotify. He’s since released “Forgiving Myself” and his debut EP, Out of Mind. Management is Raphael and Tattersfield.

The winner will be announced on 12/7.

Central Cee and his elusive manager Bello were celebrated at the annual Artist and Manager Awards in London along with Duran Duran and their longtime manager, Wendy Laister.

Accepting his award for Manager of the Year, Bello said: “We take pride in being disruptors, game changers and never taking 'no' for an answer. The minute I heard the first verse from Cench and clicked onto his page, I saw a star and I knew exactly what he was capable of achieving.

“The last two years we’ve done over 150 shows all around the world, we’ve got two projects, we’ve released EPs and countless singles. I’m the worst at delegating and not the best at finding people to hire, so we’ve always had a small team. But that’s also had its benefits as our vision has never been diluted.”

Laister and Duran Duran were honored with the Artist & Manager Partnership award for a relationship that has spanned 22 years. The band celebrated Laister for her “grace, intelligence, tenacity and loyalty.” Laister used the opportunity to call for greater diversity in management.

“Over the years, I've witnessed remarkable progress, and women have risen to prominent positions, both in front of and behind the scenes, but there is still work to be done,” she said. “This should be a place where talent knows no gender and where diversity is celebrated. As managers our role is to empower artists, to guide them, and to ensure that their voices are heard.”

Other winners on the night included Nia Archives for Breakthrough Artist and Louise Latimer, the manager of Self Esteem, The Big Moon and Gently Tender, for Breakthrough Manager.

BBC Music Introducing has tapped EMI U.K. artist Olivia Dean as the Artist of the Year following the arrival of her debut album Messy.

The award is in recognition of Dean’s impact this year, which has been furthered by ongoing support from the BBC’s talent development program.

That impact includes Messy reaching #4 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a sold-out European tour in the summer. Dean's tour has continued recently with dates in North America and Canada.

Kelly Betts, Editor at BBC Introducing, called Dean’s journey one of “unwavering dedication and passion.”

“BBC Introducing has been supporting Olivia since 2018 and has witnessed the evolution of a true musical luminary,” Betts said. “This award celebrates a phenomenal artist.”

Dean’s support from Introducing started with her uploading her music to its online portal and receiving airplay and bookings from BBC Introducing London. Later, by BBC Radio 1 picked her 2019 song “Password Change” as Introducing Track of the Week. This year, Dean was the surprise guest on the BBC Introducing Stage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

The BRIT Awards has tweaked its categories ahead of 2024’s ceremony in an effort to remain inclusive.

Nominees for Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year have been increased to 10 from five while R&B will have a standalone category among five genre awards.

The changes are aimed at improving representation and inclusion following criticism posed at the org earlier this year when 2023’s nominees were revealed. Complaints were made after no women were shortlisted for British Artist of the Year, an award that replaced the gendered categories two years ago.

R&B, which was previously listed under Best Pop/R&B Act, was also underrepresented in 2023’s ceremony and Atlantic artist Mahalia called for genre to be given its own category. “Winning awards isn’t the reason why we make and release music. We do this shit out of love. But, at this point, it’s nothing short of disrespectful,” she said at the time, noting that U.K. R&B was “thriving.”

Eligibility for 2024’s R&B Award will cover a 24-month period as opposed to the usual 12 months to ensure that artists that released music in those two years qualify and are eligible.

“British music is special, the secret ingredient is its rich diversity of genre bending sounds created by the most eclectic artists of all backgrounds,” BPI Chair YolanDa Brown said. “It was this that prompted The BRIT Awards to introduce genre-based awards in 2022, and we are delighted to continue this with the addition of a new standalone R&B category.”

The BRITs has also announced that 2024’s trophy will be designed by visual artist Rachel Jones. The ceremony takes place at London’s O2 Arena on 3/2.

Ceechynaa has only two tracks to her name but is already attracting keen interest from labels on both sides of the Atlantic. The 19-year-old rapper burst onto the scene late last year with her self-released track “Legal Baby,” which has since tallied over 1.3m streams on Spotify. Follow-up “Last Laugh” arrived in July. It has nearly 4m plays to date and was recently boosted by an NLE Choppa feature. Ceechynaa is being feted for her confidence, lyrical play and trademark Essex accent. No less than DJ Semtex views her as the future of British hip-hop.

According to manager DJ Limelight, despite the traction she’s gotten on her own, she needs direction, which he’s helping her develop. He also informs, “I want to give artists a safe space to work in, especially young women.”

What makes Ceechynaa special? “She can actually rap,” says Limelight. “For a 19-year-old to be putting her words together like that―it’s dope to hear. She’s also very passionate about representing women and the underdog; there’s a message underneath everything she does. And the accent does stand out.”

Henceforth, Ceechynaa and Limelight intend to consistently release new music and build on her live presence. She played XOYO London in September and has shows booked through the end of the year.

Her manager says she wants to stay independent while building her catalog but will maintain relationships with the label reps who’ve expressed interest for potential deals down the line. The rapper’s ambitions naturally stretch far beyond the U.K. Says DJ Limelight, “Ceechynaa can definitely go global.”

STATS

Streams: 5.3m total on Spotify for “Legal Baby,” 2022, and “Last Laugh,” 2023; 207k monthly Spotify listeners

Social media: 65.5k Instagram followers, 232.6k TikTok followers

Live: XOYO London (capacity: 800)

TEAM

Management: DJ Limelight

Label: unsigned

Publisher: unpublished

Agent: TBD

A household name in the U.K., Little Simz staked her claim to the mainstream over the better part of the last decade. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, her 2021 album and third set on AWAL, rose to #4. It won the Mercury Prize and inspired a BRIT Award for Best New Artist. The critically acclaimed artist is also the recipient of two Ivor Novellos and a pair of AIM Awards.

Simz recently mounted a 10-date North American tour (her first since 2019), which followed the release of her third album, 2022’s Top 40 No Thank You.

As AWAL President Paul Hitchman makes clear, it’s not only music that’s secured her well-deserved status; “Simz has become recognized as an actor, fashion icon, cultural spokesperson and entrepreneur as well as a songwriter, performer and producer,” he says. “She has always innovated and added new strings to her bow.”

As such, Hitchman sees “huge opportunity for her to grow her audience globally through a combination of new releases, touring and visual storytelling.” An example of the latter can be found in the interactive video Simz released to accompany her 2023 single “Gorilla,” directed by Dave Meyers (Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Missy Elliot).

Hitchman would also like to see her win a Grammy and in the U.K., he says, “another BRIT Award and #1 album are achievable targets,” adding, “Overall, we see no limit to what Simz can achieve.”

Her North American tour, which included a 10/3 stop at The Novo in Los Angeles, was rescheduled from 2022. The original outing was canceled for financial reasons. “I pay for everything encompassing my live performances out of my own pocket,” Simz said at the time, “and touring the U.S. for a month would leave me in a huge deficit.” She was able to make it out this year thanks in part to funding from AWAL, says Hitchman, noting that “audiences for her live performances in the U.S. continue to grow and grow.” At home, Simz played sold-out headlining shows 11/10 & 11 at London’s 10,500-capacity Alexandra Palace.

According to Hitchman, AWAL plans to make the fiercely independent Little Simz “one of the most successful, credible, respected and celebrated artists in the world while at the same time enabling her to retain ownership of her rights and control of her career.”

STATS

Streams: 600m+

Sales: 130k+ U.K. album sales

Charts: 2021 album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert hit #4

Awards: Mercury Prize, BRIT Award, two each Ivor Novellos and AIM Awards

Social media: 943k Instagram, 884k Spotify and 750k TikTok followers; 441k YouTube subscribers

Live: 60k+ tickets sold in 2023

TEAM

Management: Nathan Burke, Forever Living Originals

Label: Forever Living Originals/AWAL Recordings

Publishing: unpublished

Live: Lucy Dickins, James Simmons, James Rubin, Randall Uritsky, WME

Having scored four Top 20 albums and a string of Top 20 singles, Digga D is a leading light of the hugely successful independent British hip-hop scene. His latest set, Back to Square One— released on his own Black Money Records and licensed by EGA—reached #6 in the U.K. in September. It followed 2022’s #1 Noughty by Nature.

Digga emerged as part of the collective 1011 (now CGM) amid the rise of the U.K. drill scene. His 2017 freestyle for Mixtape Madness’ “Next Up” series pricked up ears in music and media, with the track later certified silver. In 2018 he started working with EGA, which has since licensed and distributed various releases. EGA MD Charley Snook has been closely involved with Digga, witnessing what she calls his “glow up” over the last few years.

Says Snook, “He’s evolved from being a drill artist to become a potential global superstar. Digga’s no longer considered underground; his songs are charting. Back to Square One, in particular, shows real creative growth and maturity. He’s a generational talent.”

Snook likewise applauds Digga’s standout entrepreneurial skills. “As much as he creates great music, he also knows how to sell it; he knows exactly how to market his records, and he’s a TikTok king,” she expounds. “He brings a lot of
ideas to the table, he’s involved and he wants to learn.”

Digga has been the subject of two documentaries. The first, 2020’s Defending Digga D, follows him as he tries to rebuild his career after a 15-month prison stint; the second, 11 Steps Forward, 10 Steps Back, which accompanied Square One, documents a year in the life, including his travels.

In October, when latest single “TLC” arrived, 23-year-old Digga became the youngest rapper to headline London’s 5,000-seat Royal Albert Hall. Looking ahead, Snook says the focus is global, noting, “His biggest following beyond the U.K. is in Australia, so we’d love to go there and begin blowing him up globally.”

STATS

Streams: 1.7b; 3.6m monthly listeners; 250m video views

Charts: Four Top 20 albums and multiple Top 20 singles; 2023’s Back to Square One hit #6 and 2022’s Noughty by Nature reached #1

BRIT certifications: Various gold and silver singles and albums

Social media: 2.5m TikTok and Instagram followers

TEAM

Management: TBD

Label: Colin Batsa, Charley Snook, EGA

Publisher: Sony Music Publishing

Agent: Alex Hardee, Wasserman

South London rapper Youngs Teflon is a new signing for Atlantic U.K. who’s been “delivering underground heat for a while now,” according to the label’s EVP and president of Black Music, Austin Daboh, who calls him “your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.” Teflon’s sizeable catalog, which he began amassing in 2009, includes 16 albums (among them Purple Hearts, which hit the Top 40), and countless singles.

“Atlantic will now work with Young Teflon to bring his creative vision to life,” says Daboh. “We’ve been fans for a while and could see he was building a loyal fan base in a demographic that’s very hard to reach and impress. We sat down with him and were blown away by his hustle and determination to sculpt a classic body of work. Everyone at Atlantic is excited that we’ve been able to bring him in and start developing on the base he’s built.”

It’s Teflon’s “royal flush of lyrical skill, tone of voice, storytelling ability and creative mindset” that makes him one of a kind, says Daboh. “That’s the reason true rap fans love him. He’s an artist who creates a throwback sound but one that is undeniably rooted in 2023.”

In the short term, Daboh promises singles to satisfy “day- one fans and remind people of where Youngs Teflon came from.” Next year will be about delivering “a classic U.K. rap album, which we all know he has the ability to create. The sky’s the limit for Youngs Tef.”

STATS

Sales: 916k combined singles, 31k album

Streams: 561k monthly Spotify listeners

Social media: 116k Instagram followers, 70.1k Twitter followers; 33.1k YouTube subscribers

TEAM

Management: Aleem Kalanzi

Label: Atlantic U.K., Austin Daboh

Publisher: unpublished

Agent: Marlon Burton, ATC Live