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From day jobs at Starbucks to recording on a £20 microphone, discover how these 7 nominees got their start on SoundCloud and dive into their archives.
1. Jorja Smith
Nomination: Best R&B Act
Joined: November 25, 2012
SoundCloud Journey: Jorja was working a day job at Starbucks when she uploaded ‘Blue Lights’ (2016) to SoundCloud. At the time she was “excited but didn’t have any expectations.” Days later, she’d picked up 100,000 streams and support from international artists such as Skrillex. The track was eventually released on all platforms and formed part of her 2018 debut album, ‘Lost & Found.’. This debut project charted at No. 3 in the UK and earned her the award for Best Female Solo Artist at the BRITs in 2019.
2. Raye
Nomination: Best R&B Act
Joined: September 29, 2014
SoundCloud Journey: RAYE’s debut EP, ‘Welcome To The Winter’(2014), was uploaded exclusively to SoundCloud when she was 16. One of the tracks, “HOTBOX,” was discovered by Olly Alexander of Years & Years, leading to her signing a record deal. RAYE eventually went independent in 2021 and shot to stardom with the release of “Escapism” and her long-awaited debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues’ (2023). Then, in 2024, a decade after she first dropped on SoundCloud, RAYE broke the record for the highest number of BRIT Award wins in one year. In a full circle moment, “Genesis” (2024), the first solo release since her BRITs haul, was cryptically teased as an exclusive 15-second snippet on her SoundCloud profile.
3. Fred again..
Nomination: Artist of the Year, Best Dance Act
Joined: May 17, 2019
SoundCloud Journey: For a while, Fred again.. had been playing around with ideas “in the style of actual life,” sampling videos that he found on his phone or online. After Brian Eno told him that he couldn’t learn from unreleased music, Fred took to SoundCloud to share his first track, “Valentina (Tokyo)” (2019). In the description, Fred explains how he made the song from the memories of a trip to the Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo. He continued to upload a track a month for the rest of the year, developing the diary-like concept that would eventually become ‘Actual Life.’ Several years on, Fred still uses SoundCloud to discover new artists and to share mixes and snippets of unreleased music with his fans.
4. Little Simz
Nomination: Best Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap Act
Joined: September 14, 2011
SoundCloud Journey: SoundCloud was an “unfiltered and authentic hub” for Little Simz to build her online following and meet other artists in the early days of her career. After dropping a steady-flow of mixtapes, refixes and freestyles, by 2015, she had amassed 50,000 SoundCloud followers and co-signs from Mos Def, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, who said Simz “might be the illest doing it now.” Several years later, she landed her first BRIT Award, winning Best New Artist in 2022. To encourage remixes of her latest EP, 2024’s ‘Drop 7,’ Simz uploaded the project instrumentals and acapellas exclusively to SoundCloud.
5. Rachel Chinouriri
Nomination: Artist of the Year, Best New Artist
Joined: December 17, 2015
SoundCloud Journey: Using a £20 microphone and her mum’s laptop, Rachel started making music from her bedroom when she was just 17 years old. Her first upload, ‘Weight of the World’ (2016), became part of a SoundCloud-exclusive “diary of songs” that she called ‘Bedroom Tales’ (2016). Nine years later, Rachel has picked up her first two BRIT nominations and is heading on tour with Sabrina Carpenter. During the rollout of her critically-acclaimed project ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events’ (2024), Rachel took to SoundCloud to share exclusive snippets and a “Behind The Tracks” version.
6. Jazzy
Nomination: Song of the Year
Joined: March 4, 2022
SoundCloud Journey: Jazzy first appeared as the vocalist on Belters Only’s “Make Me Feel Good” (2021), which blew up on SoundCloud and peaked at No. 1 in the country. After the trio’s follow up single “Don’t Stop Just Yet” (2022) also made a chart impact, Jazzy landed herself a solo record deal. After launching her solo career with a series of exclusive ‘GEWAH’ mixes on SoundCloud, she uploaded her solo debut single, 2023’s “Giving Me” which instantly soared to No. 1 on SoundCloud in Ireland. She was subsequently featured in SoundCloud’s emerging artist program, Ascending, and, soon after, became the first Irish female artist to reach number one in the official Irish singles chart in 14 years. Jazzy regularly uses SoundCloud to send unreleased music to top fans and upload exclusive versions and mixes.
7. Charli XCX
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Nomination: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Act, Best Dance Act
Joined: March 29, 2011
SoundCloud Journey: 13 years after uploading her first mixtape to SoundCloud, Charli is the most nominated artist at this year's awards.
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