From dark alt-pop to mind-melting techno-rock, the 10 acts to look out for in 2025
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Many have yet to release their debut albums, but they’ve done enough to convince Roisin O’Connor and Annabel Nugent that they’re worth paying attention to. The concept of the “breakout artist” was close to being written off until 2024, when both Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan exploded into the public consciousness as two very different, but equally huge new pop queens. Yet they were far from “overnight sensations” – former Disney star Carpenter was on her sixth album by then, while Roan first began releasing songs in 2014. A decade later, both are nominated in most if not all of the Big Four categories at the Grammys – including “Best New Artist” – and still firmly in the ascendant.
![[Scottish singer Jacob Alon writes beautiful and devastating poem-like songs]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/20/10/newFile-8.jpg)
When it comes to choosing our own best new artists, there’s no talk of genre or streaming numbers, and it doesn’t matter if they don’t all scoop Brit Awards or Grammy nods in the next 12 months. On this year’s list, we’ve fallen for everything from Scottish folk-punk to dark alt-pop, soul to mind-melting techno-rock. Many have yet to release their debut albums, but they’ve done enough to convince us they’re worth paying attention to.
![[Alt-pop singer Lola Young lands lyrics about terrible men and mental health]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/20/10/newFile-10.jpg)
Here are the 10 artists to watch in 2025. In November, lit by a simple spotlight, Jacob Alon performed on Later… With Jools Holland wearing a skirt of golden feathers. Paired with their gold eyeshadow, cherubic curls and glitter-dusted skin, they resembled some fantastic, mythical creature. The Fife-born artist’s voice, too, is otherworldly – as spectral and strong as a spider’s web.
![[Scottish band Brògeal channel the spirit of The Pogues]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/11/22/newFile-4.jpg)
