The BRIT Awards have at all times had a knack for recognizing the long run earlier than the remainder of the world catches up! Adele, Florence Welch, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Jessie J – the Critics’ Selection honour (returned to its unique title for 2026 after a number of years because the Rising Star Award) has change into one of the vital dependable predictors of which artists will outline the subsequent decade of British music.
Now, the BRITs have revealed the three artists vying for the 2026 Critics’ Selection Award, supported by BBC Radio 1, and the shortlist reads like a snapshot of the place UK music is headed subsequent: emotionally dense songwriting, dance-floor pop revivalism, and daring, genre-fluid new voices able to take world levels.
This yr’s nominees – Jacob Alon, Rose Grey and Sienna Spiro – arrive at vastly totally different moments of their early careers, but all three have already carved distinct musical identities. And if historical past is any indication, one in every of them could quickly change into a family title.
JACOB ALON: THE STORYTELLER WHO’S QUIETLY TAKING OVER
Few new artists have constructed momentum as steadily – or as organically – as Jacob Alon. Raised in Fife and steeped within the people traditions of the Scottish east coast, Alon writes songs that really feel weathered, as in the event that they’ve been residing within the bloodstream for years. Their debut album ‘In Limerence’ earned a Mercury Prize shortlist spot in 2025, and abruptly the soft-spoken singer-songwriter discovered themself thrust into the nationwide dialog.
Jacob’s energy lies in a form of emotional excavation. Their preparations are naked however deliberate, mixing acoustic intimacy with sudden, cinematic swells. They’ve already earned a BBC Introducing Artist of the 12 months title and delivered one of the vital talked-about units on the Glastonbury BBC Introducing Stage final summer time – a efficiency some critics referred to as “the second Alon’s profession quietly shifted gears”.
For an award that has traditionally championed boundary-defining vocalists, Jacob suits neatly into the lineage of earlier alumni: artists whose uncooked honesty disarms earlier than it dazzles.
“Ya magnificence! Tapadh leibh for recognising my work for this award you legends! Although I’m Scottish & Irish earlier than I’m British, I respect the BRITs critics for this recognition. I actually care about and imagine on this music and it makes my world brighter each time it reaches another person. Hopefully this nomination means some extra lovely individuals may discover one thing on this wee album. ‘Mon the gays!!!” – Jacob Alon
ROSE GRAY: THE POP INSURGENT BRINGING RAVE CULTURE TO THE MAINSTREAM
If Jacob Alon represents introspection, Rose Grey is the other: ecstatic, explosive, and constructed for the dance flooring.
The East London singer – whose debut album ‘Louder, Please’ landed earlier this yr – has change into one of the vital thrilling new figures within the UK club-pop renaissance. Pulling inspiration from ‘90s rave power, shiny electro-pop, and the commercial sheen of contemporary membership music, Grey has carved out a sound that feels nostalgic however completely new.
Her follow-up deluxe challenge, ‘A Little Louder, Please’, expanded her sonic world even additional. She spent 2025 on a string of main pageant payments and landed a coveted help slot for Kesha on her European tour – a co-sign that confirmed what followers on TikTok and in nightclubs already knew: Rose Grey is on the point of worldwide stardom!
The place Alon is delicate, Grey is maximalist. Her choruses are engineered for mass euphoria, for nightclub catharsis, for pageant tents packed to capability. In a yr when British dance-pop is present process a renaissance, her nomination feels significantly well timed.
“I’m so excited for this nomination!! This second seems like a particular reminder of how far this journey has carried me and what a loopy yr it’s been. One yr in the past, I used to be manifesting so arduous for my album ‘Louder, Please’ to journey, to seek out its individuals, to actually get its mild. And it did. Releasing this report has genuinely modified my life. I’m so grateful to everybody who’s been a part of this journey and I can’t watch for what’s to return. Thanks BRITs!” – Rose Grey
SIENNA SPIRO: THE RAW NEW VOICE ALREADY FILLING ROOMS ACROSS CONTINENTS
Sienna Spiro’s rise has been probably the most fast of the three. Solely launching her music profession in 2024, she entered 2025 with actual momentum – thanks largely to her debut EP ‘SINK NOW, SWIM LATER’ which showcased her capacity to translate actual experiences into timeless, trendy songs, with the fan-favourite ‘MAYBE.’ marking a breakthrough second that drew reward from artists together with SZA, Snoh Aalegra, Finneas and Mark Ronson.
Her rise has been fuelled by a voice that cuts clear via the noise – unpolished in one of the simplest ways, stuffed with cracked edges and lived-in emotion. Her newest single ‘Die On This Hill’ grew to become her first UK Prime 10 hit, turning Spiro from a promising newcomer right into a professional chart presence nearly in a single day. Since then, she’s toured relentlessly, opening for Sam Smith on their To Be Free: New York Metropolis residency, earlier than headlining her personal sold-out dates throughout Europe. Competition slots, late-night TV appearances, and a rising U.S. fanbase have pushed her profile even additional, positioning her as one of the vital compelling new performers of the second.
“So past honoured and grateful to be nominated for this yr’s Critics’ Selection BRIT Award! To assume I began releasing music final yr, I’d by no means have anticipated this in any respect. Thanks a lot!” – Sienna Spiro
The Critics’ Selection Award was first launched in 2008 to highlight the UK’s subsequent era of game-changing expertise. It’s determined by a panel of music journalists, radio and TV heads, plus trade insiders. To qualify, artists should not have achieved a Prime 20 album or a couple of Prime 20 single by October thirty first 2025.
In addition to the fore point out artists, previous winners and nominees embrace heavyweights comparable to James Blake, Emeli Sandé, Tom Odell, Ella Eyre, James Bay, Years & Years, Rag’n’Bone Man, Dua Lipa, Jorja Smith, Sam Fender, and – most not too long ago – Myles Smith and The Final Dinner Occasion. A lot of these names have since gone on to world success — underlining how the Critics’ Selection stays among the finest predictors of the subsequent wave of huge UK artists.
This years winner will likely be revealed in mid-January, forward of the principle BRIT Awards 2026 ceremony, which takes place on Saturday February twenty eighth 2026 at Co-op Dwell, Manchester – the primary time the BRITs will likely be held outdoors London.
Talking following the disclosing of the 2025 nominees, Stacey Tang, Chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and Co-President of RCA Data at Sony Music UK mentioned: “How thrilling to highlight a brand new wave of UK musicians shaping well-liked tradition. Awards and recognition for rising artists is now extra necessary than ever, and Critics’ Selection has lengthy championed brilliantly gifted new artists. This cohort shares the identical early spark displayed by earlier winners like Adele, Florence + The Machine, Sam Fender, Myles Smith and Emeli Sande. This yr’s finalists are an incredible reminder that industrial momentum grows from artistic ambition and creative bravery.”
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