Sound of 2020

misery guts wrote:
The candidates for the Brits' rising star award have been announced today:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50562137

Celeste got the nod.

Box Fresh: 2020 Spotlight
Yinka and Abbie have been renewed, and here presented the first 4 names of their year: Mae Muller, Jay1, Inhaler and Sam Tompkins, all of whom have had some releases already. Inhaler are the most famous, as Elijah is the son of Bono. But I don't see them getting their own thread in any hurry.

The list is out:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4hf3JpfgFysgsBdpf7R0SbJ/sound-of-2020

5 - Inhaler
4 - Joy Crookes
3 - Yungblud
2 - Easy Life
1 - Celeste

Fresh Focus: Inhaler
From Dublin, but still no mention that Elijah is the son of Bono. Amended their name from The Inhalers to just Inhaler, which was the right move. They toured the US and tried to visit the houses of famous fictional Americans, with less success. But they did get to help support Noel Gallagher, so they should do alright.

Fresh Focus: Sam Tompkins
He left school at 16 and had various jobs. Been full-time at music since last year. He was more impressed by Ed Sheeran than he expected to be, and has also worked with Jaykae. He did a couple of numbers. I've liked his track Faded, which he didn't do here.

Fresh Focus: Jay1
Already hit last year with "Your Mrs". He wants to put Coventry on the map (the presenter didn't bring up the Two  Tone era from 40 years ago). He's got tours on the go for 2020, so maybe he will make more of a name.

Fresh Focus: Mae Muller
She's toured with Little Mix, and played the London O2 on Hallowe'en, dressed as a Muller yoghurt for a bit of fun. She likes working with other acts, and speaks to her generation. Why not?

MTV Push - Ones to Watch 2020
They of course have their own tips, some of which are already familiar:

Aitch
Celeste
Deno
Easy Life
Joy Crookes
JC Stewart
Joel Corry
Lily Moore
Sea Girls
Yungblud

Few of whom seem actually new and different to other lists.

Fresh Focus: AJ Mitchell
He's from Belleville, Illinois, and learnt the piano when young. He had a cross ear-ring in his left ear. He started by posting covers online just for his friends. He wrote his first song at 13. He got Ava Max in his video for Slow Dance. His album is called Skyview, after his hometown drive-in theatre. He hopes to get some #1's this year.

Fresh Forward: February
Yinka handled the presenting & interviewing here. AJ Mitchell was the artist of the month. She spoke to Raye about her imminent comeback. Joy Crookes and JC Stewart also cropped up.

Fresh First: Georgia
She's a singer-songwriter from London. Her dad was in Leftfield, so that explains something. She played the drums at school. Her stuff sounds alright.

Fresh First: Joy Crookes
She's from South London. Her track Hurts improved when a rapper collaborator suggested changing the tempo. She's Bangledeshi-Irish. She wrote a broke-up song 6 months before her relationship did break up. She shot one video over 5 days in Dublin. I think she stands a good chance.

Fresh First: JC Stewart
He's from Derry in Northern Ireland. He calls himself a "professional sad boy". He wrote in LA with Justin Parker. He learnt piano instead of playing rugby. He's been working away for the past 7-8 years, hardly an overnight success. He cites the NI scene with acts like Snow Patrol. He's got high hopes for the year ahead.

Fresh Forward: March
Sea Girls were the act of the month, though Abbie also chatted to Tom Grennan, back with a new album soon and the same look, whilst there was a clip from Georgia, who I thought was done last month. Tom's dyslexic and his new record is inspired by a break-up, and shot his new video in a desert where he nearly came to grief.

Fresh Focus: Sea Girls
Yinka chatted to them. They met at school, one of them being a year below the others. Their contract means they were able to quit jobs. On the same label as Billie Eilish. Played 30+ festivals in 2019, and toured afterwards. Their stuff sounds alright, so I hope they make it.

MTV Push Live 2020
A showcase for three new names on the list, and a returning fave from previous years; Lily Moore, JC Stewart, Yungblud and Raye. Inbetween getting a song or 2 each, they chatted about the importance of being acclaimed by this show.

Fresh First: Gracey
She's a singer-songwriter from Brighton. She worked with Jonas Blue when she was only 18. More recently with 220 Kid on "Don't Need Love". She went to the Brit School at 14 (I thought she said Bristol at first). She'd got gigs and other things planned ahead.

Fresh Forward - Next Gen
Owing to the ongoing crisis, this was just a collection of videos with voice-over links by Abbie. Inhaler and Celeste were hardly novel, but Arlo Parks and Josie Man have been less featured before, and M Huncho has already had some small success. I assume they won't be doing their big festival thing this May like last year, so it'll be interesting to see whether they do vid-link chats with folk instead.

MTV Unplugged at Home - Yungblud
He did his from a roof-top somewhere, and surprisingly pleasant it was too.

Fresh - In Lockdown
With the usual format still a no-goer for now, this got in on the unplugged shtick, getting several acts from this show to put down acoustic shows. Declan McKenna amusingly was backed by a full band, all played by himself, thanks to video trickery. AJ Mitchell did a cover of Blinding Lights. L Devine was a nice inclusion from the 2019 "class" alongside the Lennon Stellas and Maisie Peters of this bunch.

Unity 2020 Festival
In support of Women's Aid, a lengthy concert-via-lockdown, featuring Tones & I, Maisie Peters, Yungblud, Freya Ridings, James Bay, Gracey, Emeli Sande, L Devine, Olly "Years & Years" Alexander and Georgia. Presenter Abbie McCarthy also chats along the way to Nina Nesbitt, Joy Crookes and Luz. It's an odd format, which we will start to see less of as things reopen, but entertaining.

Fresh - In Lockdown
Another month, another round of this. This time, JC Stewart (their chosen act for June), Mahalia, Yungblud, Kara Marni, Mae Muller, Tom Grennan, Regard ft Raye and 220 Kid ft Gracey all got to plug their latest single or sing something else. Still a good format, arguably better than usual.

MTV Live @ Home - Sea Girls
Maybe they've got bored with the Unplugged at Home format. This saw the characterless Jack Saunders introduce the 4 band members, who nevertheless united to perform a couple of their own songs, plus a cover of Dua Lipa's Physical, which was novel. They expressed respect for her, having met her at some show or festival.

misery guts wrote:
Fresh First: JC Stewart
He's from Derry in Northern Ireland. He calls himself a "professional sad boy". He wrote in LA with Justin Parker. He learnt piano instead of playing rugby. He's been working away for the past 7-8 years, hardly an overnight success. He cites the NI scene with acts like Snow Patrol. He's got high hopes for the year ahead.

Fresh from Home: JC Stewart
June's chosen act talked about his rugby dreams again, and being a fan of The Script. He did 2 songs. He met Lewis Capaldi in LA in 2018, and co-wrote a song with him for his album. He's enjoyed lockdown, but put on weight. His plans are now uncertain.

Fresh: In Lockdown
Another month, another set of home shows. Josie Man (July's pick), Sea Girls, Arlo Parks, Tom Walker, Becky Hill, Ray BLK and Georgia all got a turn this time. Nice to see some of the less over-saturated names in there.

Fresh From Home: Josie Man
She's from SE London, and was a weird child. She talked of having a positive caring sound. She gave props to JoJo, Nina Simone and Rihanna. She suffers with anxiety and nerves before performance. Feels that clothes maketh confidence. She did a track of her own and a cover of Dua Lipa, of whom she is a fan.

Back to Mine
Vick Hope held this together, somewhat, as Joy Crookes, Harvey & Rhys of Everyone You Know, Sam Fischer and Declan McKenna chatted and sang. Their home lives varied (London seemed a popular choice, though Fischer was in LA).

Back to Mine
Another good little collection, as Vick chatted to Izzy Bizu, Jack James and Tom Grennan, whilst Mellah had to conduct a monologue instead. Vick did manage to get her heritage into two of her chats, in case we might think the guests were supposed to be what the show was about. The music tended to be this-is-my-current-single stuff, which is fair enough, so Jack James was slightly the more interesting for novelty's sake.

Fresh - In Lockdown
JP Saxe is their pick for August, and he featured as did Griff (a girl), Dermot Kennedy, Moss Kena, Marsicans, Self Esteem and the Amazons, most of whom aren't particularly fresh.

TUNE Stays In
Another set from north of the border, as Liam Fray of Courteeners, Arlo Parks, Prentice Robertson of Vistas, Robert Robertson of Tide Lines and Stephanie Cheape all got to sing, whilst Ransom FA spoke about stuff. Worth mentioning the Tide Lines bloke, who did his stint in the open air, with Ben Nevis apparently in his background.