By Ellie Davis
MTV have officially released the categories and nominees for the 2024 Europe Music Awards, including the Best New Artist category, which is decided by public vote – but who are those in the running for 2024?
Ayra Starr
Ayra Starr is a Nigerian singer best known for her afrobeat-style hits, including ‘Santa’ and ‘Rush’. Her career started at just 13 years old when she modelled for various local brands. Don Jazzy, CEO of Marvin Records, signed her and she has since developed not just into a rising industry star, but also a voice for young Africans – particularly women who are held back from their male counterparts in many aspects in Nigeria.
Starr also sports a daring and vibrant sense of fashion which makes her particularly appealing to a younger audience.
She has already broken records, peaking at number 1 on Nigeria’s top 50 chart for her lead single ‘Bloody Samaritan’, making her the first female artist to ever achieve this. Ayra has collaborated with major artists such as Coldplay and Latin R&B star Rauw Alejandro since releasing her self-titled debut EP in 2021.
Benson Boone
Originally from Monroe, Washington, singer Benson Boone has a unique blend of rock and soul incorporated into his pop-based ballads. He is best known for his viral tracks like ‘Beautiful Things’ and ‘In the Stars’, both of which have amassed millions of streams through their use in social media trends.
At just 19 years old, Boone became popular on TikTok after posting videos of himself singing that were picked up by producers of American Idol. He auditioned by request for the 9th season and made it through to the Top 24 before deciding to leave and focus on music that worked better for him. This caused controversy, therefore making him better known, and eventually led to the release of his debut single ‘Ghost Town’ hitting the Top 40 on America’s Billboard Hot 100.
Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds went on to sign Boone to his label ‘Night Street Records’. After releasing a 5-track EP in May 2024, he has set his sights on releasing an album in the near future.
Boone is also well known for being an advocate for men’s mental health, using his large platforms to speak openly about his own experiences in the hope it makes someone else feel less alone.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan is a name that has made huge waves throughout the past year in the music industry for various reasons. The 26 year old drag queen is known for her huge summer hits ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ and ‘Hot to Go’ that were propelled by a colossal trend on TikTok.
Originally from Willard, Missouri, the pop sensation then known as Kayleigh Rose, began her music journey at just 16 years old when she released her first EP – Australian singer/song-writer Troye Sivan gave a shout out to her original piece ‘Die Young’ on Twitter.
In May of 2015, Kayleigh signed with Atlantic Records and became Chappell Roan. It was after Roan began releasing under her new identity that she also began to tour with bigger artists like Vance Joy and Declan McKenna.
Luckily for Roan, her videos on TikTok in early 2021 about her guinea pig and independent music began to take off, promoting her discography largely to the LGBTQ+ community, which gave her the courage to release her debut album ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess’.
She has since been making headlines for her controversial TikToks about setting boundaries between herself and ‘creepy’ fans.
LE SSERAFIM
Seoul’s Le Sserafim are a K-pop band put together by their label Source Music. They are best known for their viral TikTok tune ‘Perfect Night’, which has reached more than 350 million streams on Spotify alone.
Le Serafim are Sakura, who has been in three previous bands: KT48, AKB48 and Iz*ONE; Chaewon, who was also involved in ‘Iz*ONE’ and acts as the group leader; Yunjin, who was born and raised in New York City and studied opera before entering the K-pop world; Eunchae, 17, who only had 15 months training before joining the group, and former ballerina, Kahuza, who came from the Dutch National Ballet Academy before being arriving in Korea.
Ex-sixth member Kim Ga-Ram had her contract terminated after accusations that she bullied classmates frequently at school, which she denies to this day.
The band have made even more recent headlines by being transparent about issues involving being controlled by the industry and want to be known as ‘deliberately challenging the status quo that demands perfection’.
Teddy Swims
With his distinctive beard, facial tattoos, and eclectic fashion sense, Teddy Swims (real name Jaten Dimsdale) is an R&B, country and pop singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia.
He began his career in high school rock bands, but it was when he began posting covers on YouTube in 2019 that things turned viral. He released his first solo single ‘Picky’ in 2020 and he has since appeared on the Ellen Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, collaborating with huge artists like Meghan Trainor and Thomas Rhett in his more recent hits.
His debut album ‘I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1)’ came out in 2023, with the highly anticipated Part 2 due next year. He is most known for his most popular TikTok hit ‘Lose Control’ which has more than 1.2 billion streams on Spotify.
The Last Dinner Party
This British indie-rock five-piece are best known for their maximalism and theatricality presented through their eclectic and alternative fashion and music style. They went viral for always dress coding every gig they perform at within the band – their first brief being ‘Princess Diana in an American Apparel advert’.
They consist of Abigail Morris (vocals), Lizzie Mayland (vocals and guitar), Emily Roberts (lead guitar and flute), Georgia Davies (bass) and Aurora Nishevci (keys and vocals). They met at university in London and discussed forming a band casually before they began seeking gigs in the capital.
They released their debut album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ in February 2024 and shot straight to number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. They will also be touring with Hozier at the end of the year.
Their most well-known hit is ‘Nothing Matters’ with more than 130 million streams on Spotify.
Vote for The Last Dinner Party here.
Tyla
Tyla landed her debut US TV performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where she performed her TikTok trending single ‘Water’.
Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Tyla was academic and working towards a degree in mining engineering. She then took a year out to prove to her parents that she could make music and was signed with Epic Waters after they heard her demo tracks.
She made history as the first ever South African artist to make it onto the Billboard Hot 100. Her music revolves around pop and amapiano beats and she is a big favourite for her up and coming tunes on younger social media.
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