The Brit Awards Critics’ Choice (formerly Rising Star) has an unmatched track record for spotting future superstars. From Adele and Sam Smith to Florence + the Machine, Sam Fender and last year’s winner Myles Smith, almost every recipient has gone on to global success. The 2026 shortlist—Sienna Spiro, Rose Gray and Jacob Alon, continues that tradition, with three distinctly different talents now firmly in the spotlight.
The announcement comes just months before the Brits make history by moving outside London for the first time in almost 50 years, with the 2026 ceremony taking place in Manchester on 28 February.
Rose Gray – Dance-Pop Firestarter
The 28-year-old east Londoner could barely process the news at first. “I genuinely thought my team were winding me up,” she laughed.
A BRIT School graduate (alongside alumni like Amy Winehouse and Raye), Gray burst into 2025 with her punchy, euphoric debut album Louder, Please. Rooted in ’90s rave nostalgia and unapologetic club energy, the record turned heads and earned her opening slots for Kesha in North America, plus shows with Sugababes and Confidence Man.
With only one album behind her, Gray insists she’s just getting started and the Critics’ Choice nod feels like rocket fuel.
Sienna Spiro – The 20-Year-Old Chart Conqueror
Still only 20, Sienna Spiro has already landed a UK Top 10 single with “Die On This Hill” and released the acclaimed debut EP Sink Now, Swim Later.
Her voice soulful, intimate yet commanding, pairs with lyrics that feel like diary entries set to sweeping, cinematic production. When the nomination was confirmed, the emotion hit hard: “I was so overwhelmed I actually felt sick,” she admitted.
For fans and industry insiders alike, Spiro feels like the heir to Britain’s great confessional pop tradition, blending raw vulnerability with serious commercial clout.
Jacob Alon – Modern Folk’s Poetic Voice
Edinburgh-raised and non-binary, Jacob Alon found their creative home again in the city’s folk scene after a challenging stint in London.
Their debut album In Limerence earned a Mercury Prize shortlist and widespread praise for its tender guitar work and unflinchingly personal lyrics. Winning BBC Introducing Artist of the Year in 2025 was a landmark not just for Alon’s career but for queer and non-binary visibility in British music.
Quietly powerful and deeply introspective, Alon’s inclusion on the Critics’ Choice list signals that folk storytelling updated for a new generation is very much part of the UK’s future.
A Prize That Changes Everything
Reverting to its original “Critics’ Choice” name for 2026, the award continues to champion artists on the cusp of breakthrough. This year’s trio couldn’t better reflect where British music is heading: bolder, more diverse, and fiercely authentic.
Whoever lifts the trophy in Manchester, all three Sienna Spiro, Rose Gray and Jacob Alon, are about to step into a much bigger story. 2026 is their year.
