BBC Music Sound of 2015 nominees announced

The eclectic list includes folk-pop singer-songwriter James Bay, indie-punk duo Slaves, electro-pop trio Years and Years and south London rapper Stormzy, all of whom will doubtless be hoping their inclusion on the list will mean their careers will be as distinguished as some of the award’s alumni.

It's been a particularly good week for acts Years & Years, spoken word artist George the Poet and James Bay, who were also nominated for the Critics’ Choice category of the 2015 Brit awards last Wednesday.

Founded in 2003, the award’s previous recipients include rapper 50 Cent, Adele, Ellie Goulding, Keane and HAIM, while Florence and the Machine, Dizzee Rascal, Plan B and Franz Ferdinand made the top five.

The rules exclude anyone with a UK top 20 single prior to the 27^th October 2014, and anybody already known to the public through other musical projects. In addition, nominees can’t have taken part in the semi-finals or finals of any UK talent shows (e.g. the X Factor or The Voice) in the last three years.

The full list:

George The Poet
A spoken word artist and musician from north-west London, with an interest in social and political issues.

James Bay
A folk singer-songwriter from Hertfordshire, who has found success supporting acts like Tom Odell and Kodaline.

Kwabs
A soul singer from Camberwell, south London, who has been described as “the new Seal”, and combines gospel with electronica to great effect.

Låpsley
Real name Holly Fletcher, Låpsley is a 17-year-old singer from Liverpool who favours an acoustic set-up with minimal electronic production.

Novelist
A grime artist from Lewisham, south London, who free-styles on his YouTube channel and built his following through pirate radio stations Rinse, Flex and NTS.

Rae Morris
An English singer-songwriter from Blackpool, Rae Morris (full name Rachel Anne Morris) has worked with acts like Bombay Bicycle Club and Clean Bandit, and performed her brand of pop at the Reading and Leeds festivals.

Raury
A much-touted up-and-comer from Atlanta, this 17-year-old both raps and sings as well as producing music.

Shamir
An American singer-songwriter from Las Vegas who describes himself as a "musician, comedian, singer, rapper, twerker, chef, writer, filmmaker, tumblr, skinny fat ass."

Shura
A producer, remixer and video editor as well as a singer, Shura is best known for break-up anthem “Touch”, which took the web by with a home-made music video in February.

Slaves
A garage-punk duo known for their intense live performances, originally from Kent. They recently impressed on an episode of Later...with Jools Holland.

SOAK
A teenage singer-songwriter from Derry, real name Bridie Monds-Watson, whose songs have been described as intense psychodramas.

Stormzy
A rapper from south London who became a viral sensation free-styling under the banner #wickedskengman.

Sunset Sons
A British-Australian quartet with a large fanbase in the European surfing community, who often encourage crowd-surfing on actual boards at their live shows and started life as a covers band.

Wolf Alice
A four-piece alternative rock band from north London, named after a short story by Angela Carter. Originally folky, the addition of rhythm musicians has seen the band become more rock-orientated.

Years & Years
An electro-pop duo who have won a loyal following after a summer on the festival circuit.

Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens will announce the top five acts in January while sitting in for Nick Grimshaw on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

He said: “It's always an exciting time of year to take stock and look at what might be making us dance, cry and jump for joy into the year ahead. I'm excited because there are a lot of artists I and my fellow DJs have supported on the list, and it's another great chance to share the music we love with an even bigger audience”.

George Ergatoudis, Head of Music for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, added: “It’s a list full of talent and promise and I very much look forward to seeing how each artist’s story unfolds over the coming year.”