The BRIT Awards 2o26 has unveiled the shortlist for the BRITs Critics’ Choice supported by BBC Radio 1.
The artists nominated for the prestigious award are Jacob Alon, Rose Gray and SIENNA SPIRO.
The nominations were exclusively on Radio 1’s New Music Show with Jack Saunders and the winner will be announced in January.
After being known as the Rising Star Awards over the last few years, the awards has reverted to its original name of Critics’ Choice for 2026 with the goal of providing ‘critical acclaim’ to artists at early stages of their career.
Introduced in 2008 to pick out the future stars in British music, the nominees are decided by an expert panel of new music champions across media, broadcast and industry.
The newly shortlisted artists join an impressive alumni including Adele, Jessie J and more. See full list of past winners and nominees below :
2008 Adele (Duffy, Foals)
2009 Florence + The Machine (Little Boots, White Lies)
2010 Ellie Goulding (Delphic, Marina and the Diamonds)
2011 Jessie J (James Blake, The Vaccines)
2012 Emeli Sandé (Michael Kiwanuka, Maverick Sabre)
2013 Tom Odell (AlunaGeorge, Laura Mvula)
2014 Sam Smith (Ella Eyre, Chlöe Howl)
2015 James Bay (George The Poet, Years & Years)
2016 Jack Garratt (Izzy Bizu, Frances)
2017 Rag ’n’ Bone Man (Anne Marie, Dua Lipa)
2018 Jorja Smith (Stefflon Don, Mabel)
2019 Sam Fender (Lewis Capaldi, Mahalia)
2020 Celeste (Beabadoobee, Joy Crookes)
2021 Griff (Pa Salieu, Rina Sawayama)
2022 Holly Humberstone (Bree Runway, Lola Young)
2023 FLO (Cat Burns, Nia Archives)
2024 The Last Dinner Party (Caity Baser, Sekou)
2025 Myles Smith (Elemiene, Good Neighbours)
Speaking of the Critics Choice award, which continues to act as a barometer for the next generation of British talent, Stacey Tang, Chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and Co-President of RCA Records at Sony Music UK said, “How exciting to spotlight a new wave of UK musicians shaping popular culture. Awards and recognition for emerging artists is now more important than ever, and Critics’ Choice has long championed brilliantly talented new artists. This cohort shares the same early spark displayed by previous winners like Adele, Florence + The Machine, Sam Fender, Myles Smith and Emeli Sande. This year’s finalists are a great reminder that commercial momentum grows from creative ambition and artistic bravery.”
The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard is set to take place on Saturday 28th February from Manchester’s Co-op Live and will be broadcast on ITV and ITVX.
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