- New ranking reveals the most successful BRIT Award Rising Star artists of all time
- Sam Smith tops the ranking of breakout success, followed by Lewis Capaldi and Adele in 5th
- The BRITs Rising Star panel was most successful in predicting “the next big thing” in 2019 – and least successful in 2020
A new ranking of BRIT Awards Rising Star recipients has revealed Sam Smith as the most successful breakout artist since the category began in 2008, beating Adele and Lewis Capaldi to the top spot.
The research by Insure4Music, analysed six indicators of UK chart success for all 42 artists in the year immediately following their inclusion within the Rising Star category. This created a weighted score based on the performance of each artist’s breakout album and single. The ranking shows which artists most lived up to expectations.
Breakout album
Breakout single
Rank
Year
Placement
Artist
Peak Chart Position
Weeks on Chart
Weeks at Number One
Peak Chart Position
Weeks on Chart
Weeks at Number One
Weighted Score /100
1
2014
Winner
Sam Smith
1
424
8
1
74
1
100
2
2019
Runner-up
Lewis Capaldi
1
193
10
1
183
7
95
3
2017
Runner-up
Dua Lipa
3
291
0
1
66
2
74
4
2012
Winner
Emeli Sandé
1
136
10
2
42
0
62
5
2008
Winner
Adele
1
223
1
2
25
0
60
6
2008
Runner-up
Duffy
1
102
5
1
57
5
58
7
2009
Winner
Florence + The Machine
1
196
2
12
21
0
56
8
2015
Winner
James Bay
1
99
1
2
74
0
53
9
2017
Winner
Rag’n’Bone Man
1
113
2
2
51
0
52
10
2015
Runner-up
Years and Years
1
69
2
1
59
1
49
The data shows that Sam Smith reigns supreme. Their first album “In the Lonely Hour” topped the album charts for eight consecutive weeks and remained in the Top 40 for a whopping 424 weeks altogether. The album’s lead single, “Stay with Me”, became a worldwide hit, winning a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2015 – just 15 months after the ‘Rising Star’ was awarded.
Sam Smith is followed by Lewis Capaldi and Dua Lipa who, despite only being named as runners-up in their respective award years, also went on to do incredible things. The former secured 10 weeks at number one with his debut album “Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent”, while Dua Lipa’s number one breakout single “New Rules” remained in the UK Top 40 for a huge 66 weeks.
The research also looked at the poorest breakout performance of Rising Star alumni. At the other end of the spectrum, singer-songwriter Chloe Howl’s hotly tipped 2014 album and single “Rumour” unfortunately didn’t manage to secure significant commercial success, with the latter charting at a disappointing 84 in the UK. This places her top of the list of underperformers.
| Breakout album | Breakout single | |||||||||
| Rank | Year | Placement | Artist | Peak Chart Position | Weeks on Chart | Weeks at Number One | Peak Chart Position | Weeks on Chart | Weeks at Number One | Weighted Score /100 |
| 1 | 2014 | Runner-up | Chloe Howl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2015 | Winner | George the Poet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 2016 | Runner-up | Frances | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 2020 | Runner-up | Beabadoobee | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 2021 | Runner-up | Rina Sawayama | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | 2020 | Runner-up | Joy Crookes | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | 2021 | Runner-up | Pa Salieu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 8 | 2016 | Runner-up | Izzy Bizu | 23 | 4 | 0 | 90 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | 2019 | Runner-up | Mahalia | 28 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
| 10 | 2011 | Runner-up | The Vaccines | 4 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
Winner George the Poet and runner-up Frances also make the top three, with the latter only achieving 47th place in the UK chart for 2017 album “Things I’ve Never Said”.
The data also found that:
- Winning the BRIT Award Rising Star accolade doesn’t always mean most chart success. Four in 10 of the top performing artists were runners-up, and not winners, in the category
- 60% of the 10 top performing artists are female
- 2019 produced the most successful BRIT Award Rising Stars, with an average score of 41/100. The prize was won by Sam Fender with Lewis Capaldi and Mahalia as runners-up
- The poorest performing year, meanwhile, was 2020, with an average weighted score of just 8/100. The award was won by Celeste and runners-up were Joy Crookes and Beabadoobee
John Woosey, Founder of Insure4Music, commented: “What’s clear from this data is the exceptional musical talent that the UK has to offer, as well as the success we have in identifying and nurturing that talent. It’s also interesting to reflect on those who struggled to live up to the hype and make it in this notoriously tough industry.
“The diverse range of artists in the list were all recognised for their exceptional talent and potential to impact the global music scene in an exciting way, so we look forward to seeing what FLO, this year’s winner, produce in the coming 12 months!”
Credit Insure4Music research for providing the a
