The Critics’ Choice Award (previously Rising Star Award) is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members comprising record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.
The nominees are British artists who the academy believe will make the biggest impact on music in the coming year. The award was first presented at the 28th Brit Awards in 2008 to Adele and has been awarded annually since. Tom Odell was the first male recipient, winning in 2013. Jacob Alon is the current holder of the award, winning in 2026.
Winners and nominees
YearImageRecipientNomineesRef. 2008 (28th) Adele Duffy Foals 2009 (29th) Florence and the Machine Little Boots White Lies 2010 (30th) Ellie Goulding Delphic Marina and the Diamonds 2011 (31st) Jessie J James Blake The Vaccines 2012 (32nd) Emeli Sandé Michael Kiwanuka Maverick Sabre 2013 (33rd) Tom Odell AlunaGeorge Laura Mvula 2014 (34th) Sam Smith Ella Eyre Chlöe Howl 2015 (35th) James Bay George the Poet Years & Years"Brit Awards 2015: Winners list". BBC. Retrieved 26 February 2015 2016 (36th) Jack Garratt Izzy Bizu Frances 2017 (37th) Rag'n'Bone Man Anne-Marie Dua Lipa 2018 (38th) Jorja Smith Stefflon Don Mabel 2019 (39th) Sam Fender Lewis Capaldi Mahalia 2020 (40th) Celeste Beabadoobee Joy Crookes 2021 (41st) Griff Pa Salieu Rina Sawayama 2022 (42nd) Holly Humberstone Bree Runway Lola Young 2023 (43rd) FLO Cat Burns Nia Archives 2024 (44th) The Last Dinner Party Caity Baser Sekou 2025 (45th) Myles Smith Elmiene Good Neighbours 2026 (46th) Jacob Alon Rose Gray Sienna Spiro
References