Musicians Jorja Smith, Mabel and Stefflon Don are all in line for the 10th Critics’ Choice prize at next year’s Brit Awards.
The winner from the all-female shortlist will be announced on Monday, following in the footsteps of previous winners Adele, Emeli Sande, Sam Smith and last year’s Rag ‘N’ Bone Man.
Rapper Stefflon Don (real name Stephanie Allen) recently signed a £1 million deal with Universal and has been working with Drake, while On My Mind star Smith has been nominated for three Mobo Awards this month and took part in the Artists For Grenfell track, Bridge Over Troubled Water.
In 2015, Swedish musician Mabel (full name Mabel McVey) saw success with her debut track Know Me Better at the age of 19.
The Bedroom singer said of the honour: “Being nominated for the Critics’ Choice award really is a dream come true for me. So much hard work has gone into getting to this point, so to be acknowledged by something like the Brit Awards means the world.”
Whoever is named winner will be the first to received the Brits’ brand new trophy, designed by acclaimed artist Anish Kapoor.
The three finalists were picked from a selection of more than 100 artists who have boosted their musical career over the last year.
Judges included music editors from newspapers, magazines and websites, as well as a variety of music heads at radio and TV stations.
The Critics’ Choice prize comes weeks before the official Brit Awards ceremony, which will next year mark its 38th show.
It will take place at London’s O2 Arena, and will be broadcast on ITV.
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