SONY U.K.'S CLASS OF 2020
Sony Music U.K. is working on a number of developing artists who are set to make waves in 2020. Read on for the lowdown on Joy Crookes, Young T & Bugsey, Koffee, Morrison, AWA and Sam Fischer.
Signed to Insanity, Crookes is a young singer/songwriter who hails from South London with Bangladeshi and Irish roots. She was one of three nominees on the BRITs Rising Star shortlist and came in fourth in the BBC Sound of 2020 poll. Last year, her debut U.K. and EU tour sold out in just under a week, and her three London shows across the year were sold out within minutes. Crookes has released three EPs and has 30m worldwide streams, 66k monthly listeners and 85k Spotify followers. Her tracks have appeared in 660+ collective playlists in the last year. Instagram followers stand at 142k and Crookes has 85k YouTube subscribers with 10.5m video views. Expect new music in the spring, followed by a summer of festival plays. Management is Charlotte Owen and publisher is BMG.
Nottingham rap duo Young T & Bugsey, who joined forces at the tender age of 15, have been under development at Black Butter over the last few years. In 2019, they released their summer anthem “Strike A Pose” f/Aitch, which made it into the Top 10 of the Official U.K. Singles Charts, peaking at #9. It has since been certified gold with 55m worldwide streams. Top 20 track “Don’t Rush” f/Headie One quickly followed. They’ve had support from both BBC Radio 1 and Capital XTRA, as well as Clash, Fact, Complex and MTV. This year, expect a new music project and several “huge live performances” to be announced soon. Management is Kilo and Moe at 2K Management and publisher is Sony/ATV.
Grammy Award-winner Koffee is a 19-year-old reggae artist signed to Columbia who hails from Spanish Town in Jamaica. She started writing lyrics in her bedroom after being inspired by the likes of Proteje and Supercat. Today, she also counts Chicago rapper Smino and U.K. artist Giggs as influences. Her debut EP, Rapture, has racked up more than 150m global streams since arriving last year and this month she became the first woman to win the Best Reggae Album Grammy. Koffee was Apple Music’s Up Next artist for June (the first domestically signed Sony Music artist to be chosen), and her COLORS session is the third most viewed of 2019, currently sitting at 5.5m views. Live wise, she supported Daniel Ceaser on his 27-date U.S. tour in addition to her own headline shows at Brooklyn Steel and Gramercy Theatre, and sold out her first headline show at Shepherds Bush Empire in London in 12 minutes. Festival plays this year will include Coachella, Primavera and Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Management is Pierre Bost and Tamara Chang and publisher is Kobalt.
R&B/pop artist AWA is also signed to Columbia. She won the X Factor in her native Sweden at the age of 15, and later struck a deal with Sony after moving to London when finishing her studies. Since then, she’s been in the studio with Ebenezer (Stefflon Don, Duke Dumont), Aston Rudi (Mahalia, Anaïs), Levi Lennox (ZAYN, Anne-Marie) and Tre Jon Marie (Kaytranada, Mabel). Her debut single, “F**kin Love Songs” f/Ebenezer, was supported by Beats 1 and BBC 1Xtra and has been streamed more than 1.6m times to date. She’s since had support across BBC, Capital and The Fader for further singles, and has been tipped as one to watch by Vevo and Hunger. Expect her debut EP to drop soon. Management is Torbjörn Sten at Mr Radar Management and Pia Ashcroft for the U.K., and publishing is Mr Radar.
Since 93-signing Morrison, a rapper who comes from London, is described as a “poet of his generation” who delivers “hard hitting and impactful messages in society.” He started his life in music with mixtape, Currently Getting Currency, and later exploded in the underground rap scene when he was featured on Krept & Konan’s Top 20 single, “I Spy.” Latest release “Bad Boys” has surpassed 2m views in two weeks and has been supported by BBC Radio 1Xtra. A debut EP will be released in June. Management is Gavin Green.
Australian singer/songwriter Sam Fischer is under development at RCA and is becoming known for a soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. He has been touring North America with Lewis Capaldi over the past year, and has written for the likes of Demi Lovato, Elle King, Louis Tomlinson, Jessie J and Sabrina Claudio. After consistently releasing music since 2017, his latest track, “This City,” has more than 40m streams on Spotify and 20m on Apple, and is a viral sensation on TikTok. Management is Brad Beausir and publisher is Sony/ATV.
