Ayra Star and Tyla make BBC Sound Of 2024 longlist

Initiated in 2003, the annual poll of tastemakers looks to discover the most promising new music talent. 

 Ayra Starr and Tyla formed part of 10 acts who made the longlist announced ahead of a ranked shortlist and the announcement of the annual winner on 5 January 2024 on Radio 1.

The compilation of the list involved insights from 149 music experts, encompassing artists, DJs, radio and TV producers, journalists, streaming experts and festival bookers.

“With so many female artists on the Sound Of… list this year, I’m really encouraged about the next generation of festival headliners,” Radio 1 head of music Chris Price said: The list is as diverse as ever, reflecting the genre-agnostic nature of BBC Radio 1, which has supported every single one of the acts on the longlist. 2024 promises to be a great year for new music!”

Signed to Don Jazzy-led Mavin Records, Ayra Starr is among Nigeria’s most streamed female acts across major digital platforms. Last year, she was tipped by music video network Vevo as an artist on the cusp of global breakthrough in 2023 as part of its DSCVR Artists to Watch initiative. 

Best known for her global hit ‘Water’, Tyla last week became the highest-charting African female solo act of all time after securing the No 10 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Both Ayra Starr and Tyla are also nominees at the upcoming Grammy Awards, after scoring their first nominations in the Best African Performance category, newly introduced as part of a larger set of updates and amendments by the Recording Academy aimed at making the awards process “more fair, transparent and accurate.” 

Last year, British girl group FLO was announced as BBC Sound Of winners, emerging victorious from a longlist comprising the likes of Nigeria’s Asake and UK act Cat Burns. Other Previous winners of BBC Music’s Sound of include British-Gambian rapper Pa Salieu (2010), US rapper 50 Cent (2003), pop singers Adele (2008) and Sam Smith (2014), as well as the 2020 Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka (2012).