BBC Introducing: Jordan Adetunji among top tips for a big 2025
2025-01-03
Category: entertainment

Fancy having the next Central Cee, Charli XCX or Little Simz on your 2025 playlist?It's not always easy to find the next big thing before everyone else, so we've asked the people whose job it is to do exactly that.Radio 1's Jess Iszatt, 1Xtra's Theo Johnson and Asian Network's Jasmine Takhar keep a keen eye (and ear) on tracks uploaded by artists hoping to break through.BBC Newsbeat asked the three BBC Introducing presenters who they're tipping to top our playlists this year.
'Her voice is worthy, it is so gorgeous'
Radio 1 DJ Jess Iszatt's first pick is R&B artist Tyler Lewis.She says the 23-year-old's willingness to "put their stamp" on songs made her stand out.After hearing a Christmas record by her, she was blown away."It's like vocal back flips with her voice. I think sometimes she'd give Mariah Carey a run for her money."Tyler has just under 30,000 monthly Spotify listeners, and Jess thinks she uses her socials well."You just get to know her as just this normal girl who has this insane talent."And she's just so warm in everything she does, and also very funny."
R&B and rap artist Rubii, from Birmingham, is another one Jess is excited about.With 3.3 million monthly listeners and a spot on 2025's The Great Escape festival line-up, she says Rubii is someone "with so much chill"."She's got this low fire energy about her, it's kind of fuzzy feels."She is a self-confessed introvert and someone who, if you really listen to the lyrics, you're like that's how you feel about life and parties and social events."Having seen her perform songs like Jealousy live, Jess says "the people in the crowd are giving her so much warmth"."They were singing the words so much louder than her. It just felt like a really special moment."
Nineteen-year-old Sienna Spiro is the final choice tipped for big things by Jess.She's spotted the soulful singer being reposted online by the likes of SZA and Sam Smith."And this is where that authenticity comes in," Jess says.Her most recent song Back to Blonde has hit 1.4 million streams, and Jess reckons she could see her taking on the next James Bond theme tune."Her voice is worthy, it is so gorgeous," she says."It has this gravitas, it has this huskiness."
'He has his own style, he has a presence'
The first name on 1Xtra presenter Theo Johnson's list is R&B/soul singer Ella More."She actually gave me goosebumps."Because she's so talented, and she's so shy and innocent, but when she starts singing, it's no games."Ella, who's from from Birmingham, performed at The Hundred cricket, The Great Escape in Brighton and opened for Jorja Smith - all in 2024."There was no flakiness in her voice. She was strong, she was proper, rocking with the crowd," Theo says."And I feel like she gained so many fans."
Northern Irish rapper Jordan Adetunji is also one of Theo's tips.The 25-year-old dropped a track called Kehlani, which got him a Grammy nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance - alongside Beyoncé and The Weeknd.The song's had more than 327 million streams, with Jordan himself having just over 14 million monthly listeners."He has his own style, he has a presence."When you see [and hear] him, you know it's Jordan," Theo says.
Welsh-Jamaican reggae artist Aleighcia Scott could also be in for a big year, according to Theo."She came in the studio not long ago to do a Christmas special, and we recorded her singing some Mariah Carey Christmas songs," he says."And she held it down, even the other singers in the room were all vocalists and all of them were looking at her like 'whoa'."And as Aleighcia approaches 5,000 monthly listeners, Theo feels she has a big future ahead."She's actually got so much more potential that she hasn't even shown anybody yet."
'She's just got this beautiful emotional voice'
Asian Network DJ Jasmine Takhar says Deeps is the first name that comes to mind."He makes great heartbreak, emotional anthems and he's a great singer," she says.In 2024, the British Asian artist performed at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton, The Great Escape festival and has regularly been near the top of the Official British Asian Charts."When I first came across his music a couple of years ago and he released a track called Bruised, it gave me dark R&B vibes," Jasmine says.With nearly 623,000 monthly Spotify listeners, she feels Deeps, from Portsmouth, is "a whole package"."He's put time into his music videos, producing his music, writing his music, and he's got this amazing range in tone which is so distinct to who he is as a person as well."
Rapper Billy Khan is also tipped for a big 2025 by Jasmine.With 208,000 monthly listeners, he's well-known to those who follow the Official British Asian Chart - which he topped for weeks with his track Tiffany.Jasmine says his best qualities are "his authenticity, originality and knowing the kind of music he makes".Billy, from London, has been likened to hip-hop group D-Block Europe or, as Jasmine says, "like R&B infused with that new UK rap scene"."He has this personality that just exudes so much in his music videos as well."
Jasmine's final artist to keep an eye on is Sehra, also known as Ava Sehra, from London.After becoming a Future Sounds artist on BBC Asian Network, Sehra took a short break, which Jasmine says gave her "some time to find herself and the kind of music she wanted to make"."She is an incredible R&B artist. She's worked with the likes of Krept and Konan," says Jasmine.This year has seen her drop multiple tracks - with some getting played across Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network."She drops these really cool videos online, which seem to do really well, and then she's just got this beautiful emotional voice that you can just relate to."
BBC Introducing supports unsigned and undiscovered artists across the UK, with Stargazing singer Myles Smith picking up their 2024 artist of the year prize.So what are the presenters looking for when it comes to the next big thing?They all reply with the same word: "Authenticity.""If you've got your own vibe and know the kind of music you want to make, you have that personality and presence as well," Jasmine says.Jess adds: "If you're relating to it, if you're wanting to sing along to it, if you are hearing a story that has been told before, but you're hearing it in a completely different way, then that screams that no-one else has done this like you before."Theo agrees, saying he likes it "when an artist comes as a package, has that self-confidence, that self-belief and has that style as well".
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