Photo: Danny Payne
Around 170 influential music industry experts, including Gigwise, were asked to name their top three acts from any genre, and the top 15 have been announced.
It's a remarkable achievement for any band to make it on to this influential list that has helped launch the careers of Adele, Ellie Goulding, Blossoms, Sam Smith, and many more.
There's little surprise to see Manchester's Fat White Family / Dead Kennedy's-esque band Cabbage making the list this year; they're phenomenal live and a good bet to make the top five, which is announced from January 2 on Radio 1, with one act being announced every day until January 6.
Declan McKenna, who's been touring a lot with Blossoms and Cabbage, and who won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition has been impressing tastemakers throughout 2016. He made a great debut appearance on Jools Holland, which certainly will have helped land him on the longlist.
Rag 'n' Bone Man's soulful voice has already landed him at the upper echelons of the music industry, with nearly 30 million streams to his single 'Human'. If he makes the top five or not, he's going to have a blinding 2017 - BBC Radio 2's Jo Wiley recently told Gigwise that he's one of her favourite new artists in the world right now.
Reading-based indie rockers The Amazons have some fantastic feel-good anthems up their sleeve, and will certainly be a staple on big stages at festivals over the summer.
Meanwhile, The Japanese House have had a great 2016 making a strong impression with their support slots for The 1975 and Reading/Leeds Festival shows. Their cool electronic sound can't help but delight and they're deserved entrants, with a strong chance of making the shortlist.
There are many other great acts to check out, see the full list below:
AJ Tracey
Anderson .Paak
Cabbage
Dave
Declan McKenna
Jorja Smith
Maggie Rogers
Nadia Rose
Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
Ray BLK
RAYE
Stefflon Don
The Amazons
The Japanese House
