Myles Smith, Elmiene, and Good Neighbours Nominated for Brit Rising Star Award

The nominees for the 2025 Brit Rising Star Award are Myles Smith, Elmiene, and Good Neighbours. This award, presented in collaboration with BBC Radio 1, recognizes emerging talent chosen by a panel of industry professionals. The winner will be revealed on 5 December, preceding the Brit Awards ceremony on 1 March, succeeding The Last Dinner Party, who received the award this year. Since its inception in 2008, past recipients of this prize category include FLO, Sam Fender, and Griff. Eligibility for the nomination requires artists not to have achieved a top 20 album or more than one top 20 single by 31 October. Myles Smith expressed that he was “incredibly honoured” by his nomination. The 26-year-old artist from Luton was recognized as BBC Introducing’s Artist of the Year earlier this month and reached number four on the Official Charts with his breakthrough song, Stargazing. During lockdown four years ago, Myles began uploading covers online, achieving viral success in 2022 with his acoustic rendition of The Neighbourhood’s Sweater Weather. Subsequently, he has performed at Glastonbury, participated in a virtual concert within Fortnite, and secured a place on former US President Barack Obama’s summer playlist. “I started playing pubs and open mic nights when I was just 12 and music quickly became my way of understanding the world and connecting with others,” Myles stated. “This recognition feels like a reflection of that journey – the highs, the challenges and the incredible people who’ve supported me along the way.” Elmiene has experienced a significant year, having released two EPs since BBC Radio 1 identified him as an artist to watch in January. The Oxford-based soul singer, known for past collaborations with Stormzy, expressed being “extremely grateful” for his current nomination for the Brit Rising Star award. “If I could put the feeling of being nominated into words, I would say it’s like being completely satisfied with a meal you bought and then finding out it comes with dessert and a drink,” he commented. “Didn’t know it could get any better.” Despite being known as “the Michael Jackson kid,” Elmiene had not composed a song prior to his music GCSE and, at that point, did not believe music was his calling. However, following a housemate’s upload of a video featuring him singing in his back garden in 2021, he gained widespread online popularity, accumulating over a million monthly listeners on Spotify and receiving support from notable figures such as Missy Elliot and SZA. The final nominees include the east London indie duo Good Neighbours, comprising Scott Verrill and Oli Fox. Their popular track, Home, has garnered over 450 million streams worldwide, making it the most streamed debut single globally by a new artist this year, as reported by the Brit Awards. The judges characterize their music as “bursting with hope and joyous abandon,” drawing inspiration from artists such as MGMT, Passion Pit, and Bleachers. The duo, alongside Myles, was also featured on BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2025 list, which included artists like Chappell Roan. “The BRITs have always been a huge dream for both of us growing up,” Scott and Oli stated. “We started Good Neighbours purely for the fun of it, so to be up for an actual Brit award at this stage in our career is the biggest honour.” The Last Dinner Party, recognized as 2024’s Rising Star, have subsequently completed a sold-out tour and launched their debut album, A Prelude to Ecstasy. The Brit Awards ceremony is scheduled for live broadcast from the O2 in London on Saturday, 1 March. Newsbeat can be heard live at 12:45 and 17:45 on weekdays, or accessed for playback here. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.