Rising Star Award with Amazon Music

Introducing ...

A recent astronomical survey found that there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of stars visible to the naked eye over the past 10 years.

And, as with the skies at night, so with the music industry. In the modern, ultracompetitive business, it has become increasingly difficult for new creators to make themselves seen or heard.

But, thankfully, there is one place you’re still guaranteed to catch sight of some stellar creatives. The Rising Star Ivor Novello is now in its fourth year – it has already featured the likes of Holly Humberstone, Griff and Rachel Chinouriri on previous shortlists – and this year’s nominees once again feature an astounding wealth of fresh songwriting talent.

The soon-to-be-famous five will be part of Amazon Music’s global developing artist programme, Breakthrough. Breakthrough provides long-term, customised global plans for emerging artists during crucial moments in their careers. This support includes video and audio content, global marketing, increased visibility across Amazon Music playlists and programming and high-profile Amazon Original tracks available only on Amazon Music.

And, whoever ultimately takes home the Ivor on May 18th, you can bet every name on this list will be reaching for the stars soon…

Take CAT BURNS for example.

The singer-songwriter was wellnamed. The stealthy, slowburn success of her song Go – first released in 2020 but one of the biggest-selling singles of 2022, and a song with a feline-like number of lives – perfectly illustrated the emotional depths of her writing.

Burns describes her songwriting style as “honest, vulnerable and relatable”, adding: “My approach is dependent on my mood. If I see something that inspires me, I’ll write down a rough concept and then, if I’m going into a session with someone I feel safe with, I can explore that with them.”

Those songwriting skills have already won her an army of fans, including Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, and the Ivor nomination might even have her believing in herself as much as others do.

“I often doubt my songwriting abilities,” she says. “So, having this validation from people I massively admire is amazing.”

And with ambitions to “continue to touch people with my words and make people feel seen and heard through my lyrics and songwriting”, Burns’ songwriting fire will never go out.

INES DUNN is also heading for the top. The topline writer has already made a name for herself as a fearless writer with a knack for crafting irresistible pop songs for her generation, working on Maisie Peters’ viral smash Not Another Rockstar and Mimi Webb’s global hit House On Fire.

“I’m the age of the audience I make music for,” notes Dunn. “I think about what my friends and I want to hear, and then write that. Learning the ‘rules’ and then choosing to ignore them is, in my opinion, the only way to make something that feels special.”

And the Rising Star nomination has convinced her she’s chosen the correct path.

“As someone who spends every day trying to perfect the skill of making a great pop song, I’ve always looked to The Ivors as a yellow brick road of how to do just that,” she says. “This nomination feels like a nod that I’m headed in the right direction.”

And, once she arrives, expect this topliner to be at the summit for decades to come.

TENDAI’s songwriting craft is also built to last.

“I wish to use the art that comes through me, to be of service to those around me,” says the singersongwriter. “I seek to inspire and inform my generation of the possibility – no, the responsibility of transcendent art. I’d hope to gently shift our gaze onto the path of timeless moments in art once again.”

And he’s already getting started. Raw, authentic songs such as Not Around and Time In Our Lives have inserted themselves into the fabric of people’s lives, while his brilliant work on Stormzy’s This Is What I Mean album has marked tendai out as a serious prospect.

No wonder he sees The Ivors as “a symbol of excellence” and Rising Star recognition as “a sign from God that my artistry is moving in the right direction”.

“I always go back to a quote from Joni Mitchell: ‘I am not a singer; I’m an actress’,” he says. “She understood that our responsibility as songwriters is not just to tell stories; but to be the story.”

Also displaying some serious main character energy is VENBEE. Being a spokesperson for your generation is a big ask for anyone, but Erin Doyle is already shaping up to be just that.

“I’m making songs I can dance to but simultaneously make myself and hopefully others feel something,” she says. “I want people to know they aren’t alone when they listen to my music.”

And, certainly, she’s already highly skilled in articulating the concerns of a nation, from mental health (Low Down) to addiction (her surprise Top 3 hit with Goddard, Messy In Heaven).

“The community I have been blessed to start building is beautiful,” she says. “It’s a safe space where people feel seen and heard. My songwriting has always come from a place of honesty, often using metaphors to help me get my messages across.”

Her “melodic drum and bass” anthems speak the lingua franca of youth and have already made her a TikTok sensation but you just know that, for venbee, there is so much more to come.

As there is for VICTORIA CANAL. The singersongwriter started writing aged 11 but says the Rising Star shout-out means she can “really start feeling the momentum” her career has been gathering.

And there’s certainly been no shortage of connection for her deeply personal songs. When the planet shut down, her songwriting opened up: lockdown and her grief at a close relative’s incurable illness really saw her channel the full range of emotions.

“I think of songwriting as an opportunity to say what people don’t usually feel brave enough to say,” she smiles. “When I hit on a lyric that feels scary to say out loud, I know it’s good, or at least has potential.”

An online songs series attracted mentorship from Jon Hopkins and Coldplay’s Chris Martin and, while she admits her unapologetically deep brand of songwriting can sometimes be personally “taxing”, she retains a long list of ambitions. Those range from winning a Grammy to becoming “the first limb-different artist with a platform to truly normalise disability”.

“Above all,” she adds, “What’s important is to make exactly what I want to make, and really say something with my music.”

And that’s true of all The Ivors Rising Star Class of 2023. Because, however dark the skies may get elsewhere, you can be sure this group of brilliant songwriters will always be shining bright.