Final countdown for MTV UK’s Brand New for 2014 talent contest
On 16 December, music-TV network MTV UK & Ireland will kick start the public voting for the Brand New for 2014, a competition to search, find and promote the Next Big Talent in the industry for the whole of 2014.
Considering the previous winners and nominees who benefited from the association include Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Tinie Tempah, Adele, Jessie J and Wretch 32, the MTV Brand New gong is now a much coveted accolade.
Nine of the shortlisted 10 acts for the 2014 contest are emerging artists signed to a label. The 10th is an unsigned artist selected by MTV’s in-house team of music experts and a panel of industry representatives to compete with the signed acts.
The public voting to find the new talent of 2014 ends in January with the winner announced early February.
For the honor, the winner will receive continuous support with appearances and mentions on the MTV UK & Ireland TV network, as well as at MTV-branded events and on online platforms throughout 2014. All nominees will also receive some kind of MTV-media support.
The nominees are:
Banks: a self-taught pianist and singer with an EP coming out and rave reviews for her track Waiting Game in trendy major media platforms like Vogue and NyLon magazines
Ella Eyre: already well-known for her collaborations with drum ‘n’ bass quartet Rudimental, rapper Wiz Khalifa and R&B songwriter/producer Naughty Boy, Eyre has an EP out later this month
Elyar Fox: a YouTube find, Fox is already being compared with Justin Bieber; he is also generating interest in the new single on the horizon
George Ezra: the teenager singer/songwriter has impressed the industry with songs posted on the Internet, leading to appearances at Glastonbury Festival and being name-checked by top UK radio DJ Zane Lowe
Joel Compass: Outsiders/Polydor is releasing the first single from the 20-year-old singer/producer later this month after his debut track Back To Me picked up 30,000 plays on SoundCloud and 150,000 YouTube views in only one week
Kwabs: Atlantic Records will introduce Kwabs’ fusion of R&B, gospel, African sounds and electro-synthesized sounds when it releases his first album, which is due early 2014, after the London-based singer/songwriter sold out a string of gigs this year
Royal Blood: after the debut single Out of the Black was released in September and a nationwide UK tour, the Brighton-based two-piece rock act are ready to be a major discovery in 2014
Sam Smith: Sam Smith will be entering the New Year with the full force of having already nabbed a No.1 hit single in the UK charts this year –his collaboration on Naughty Boy’s infectious single La La La; after the solo EP Nirvana, fans can’t wait for his own single Lay Me Down
The Vamps: 17 million YouTube hits plus 250,000 subscribers are no mean achievements for this teenage quartet: Bradley, James, Tristan and Connor; now they are ready to take on even more of the world as “superstars in waiting”
Marie Naffah (Unsigned nominee): She might not have a recording contract, yet, but Marie Naffah won the hearts and admiration of industry experts who selected her to be only unsigned act to give the other signed nine a run for their money; on her resume are appearances on BBC Radio, Balcony TV, Absolute Radio’s Unsigned Artist of the Week and having Top Video of the Week on NME Breakthrough…