The BBC Sound Of 2017 winner has been announced
South London's R&B/pop riser Ray BLK has been named the BBC Sound Of 2017 winner, as announced moments ago on BBC Radio 1.
This week has seen the broadcaster revealing one runner up each day, with BLK crowned overall champion this morning.
BRITs Critics' Choice winner Rag 'N' Bone Man came second, while RAYE placed third - she's one of our Ones To Watch for 2017. Jorja Smith and Nadia Rose round off the Top Five.
The Catford-based 22 year old might seem new but she's been working on her music for years. She formed a band with in-demand producer MNEK (Beyoncé, Zara Larsson) aged 13 - it was called New Found Content, which she now admits was a "terrible name". She never let that music into the world, but BLK moved to pastures new and nurtured her innate talents. That hard graft's clearly paid off, and in just the past few months she's been showered with plaudits (she's got a MOBO nod to her name too) and put out some truly stunning music.
Some say she's "the Lauryn Hill of the UK", and while it remains to be seen if BLK can shoulder that mantle, it's clear 2017 is gonna be big.
Oh, and the BLK bit stands for 'Building Living Knowing' - her "three main values".
Last year's BBC Sound Of winner was producer/singer Jack Garratt.
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