Not Many Experts

#1 Katy B

Well, we’re going to start with Katy B for two very good reasons. Firstly, she has already “made it”, and secondly, we don’t really like her at all. The premise of dubstep, its genius, was echoing the dark, paranoid and innovative streets of South London. Brit-Schooled packages designed to exploit and mine the ridiculous hype that has accrued around the term “dubstep” over the past year is not within its original ideas. That said, the development from “Untrue” to the stage where floppy haired Libertines-loving Eton boys were joining groups on Facebook called things like “dubstep choones so filthy u’ll need a SHOWA!!” made this sort of inevitable, and her success will only eclipse itself. Preferable to young Mr. Bieber but, still, slightly sickening. (Hope you won’t mind if we point you towards the shockingly good Benga original from 2009 just to demonstrate the extent of Katy B’s input)

Katy B – Katy On A Mission by NotManyExperts

#2 Rosanna

Where in the past inclusion on the BBC’s “Sound of…” longlist, BRIT award nominations and being championed by Neon Gold may have been the common precursors to success, the decision of pop music’s true connoisseurs, Pop Justice, to launch a record label under the recognisable guise of Pop Justice Hi-Fi has established their intentions not only to forecast great pop music but to launch careers themselves. Smart bets would certainly be on them succeeding; Pop Justice Hi-Fi look set to become pop’s next benchmark of quality.

Early evidence comes courtesy of the innocuously titled Rosanna, who released her “Waterfall/Runaway” single on the label last week. Superficially, she seems the perfect package; predictably Swedish, blonde and beautiful. And, for once, the superficial seems in no need of being contradicted, as she’s equipped with a set of heart-tearing vocals mapped out over intricate production most in evidence on the incredible Rocket Boy version of her equally incredible b-side, “Runaway”. Whether in 2010 or 2011 is irrelevant, things are certainly going to start happening for her.

Rosanna – Runaway (Rocket Boy Remix) by NotManyExperts

Rosanna – Waterfall by NotManyExperts

#3 Clare Maguire

An obvious choice. But it’s the very fact that this choice is obvious that makes us the more certain that success lies in her path. Having earned herself a major label deal without huge amounts of exposure thanks to her reputably jaw-destroying voice, she followed this up with those enormous amounts of exposure thanks to a combination of her impressive, albeit not genre-pushing, music and the fact that she had been signed by a major label. Early indications in the form of “Strangest Thing” and a short clip of her Polydor debuting single “Aint Nobody” (download the former and watch the latter here) promise much. We can’t wait to hear more and you can be sure that Polydor will make sure that we all hear a lot more from her when the release date creeps closer.

Clare Maguire – Strangest Thing (Bloodshy & Avant Version) by NotManyExperts