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Fifteen of the best rising music stars have been named on the longlist for the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Sound Of 2010.

Now in its eighth year, ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Sound Of… list is run by bbc.co.uk/entertainmentnews and aims to highlight the best new music.

Little Boots, Adele, Mika, Keane and 50 Cent are among the previous winners.

The acts on the list were chosen by 165 UK-based tastemakers – from magazine editors and music writers through to DJs and producers – who each named their favourite three new acts.

The 15 acts with the most votes are on the longlist. The winner as well as the top five will be revealed in early January.

The final longlist in alphabetical order:
Daisy Dares You
Delphic
Devlin
The Drums
Everything Everything
Giggs
Gold Panda
Ellie Goulding
Hurts
Joy Orbison
Marina & the Diamonds
Owl City
Rox
Stornoway
Two Door Cinema Club

Little Boots came top of ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Sound Of 2009, followed by White Lies, Florence & the Machine, Empire of the Sun and La Roux.

The winner as well as the top five will be revealed in early January.

Each act from the top five will be featured on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ News website entertainment section and will perform live sessions and interviews on ´óÏó´«Ã½ 6 Music's Lauren Laverne show.

Jeff Smith, Head of Music, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 2 and 6 Music, said: "Music has become more available then ever before in 2009 and The Sound Of 2010 list will be the place for the people who programme, review and play music to help direct music lovers to where they think it is going in the next year.

"´óÏó´«Ã½ 6 Music has been involved with this for the last few years and is proud to remain at the forefront of music as well as continuing to represent The Sound Of… exciting and authentic music from the Sixties right through to next year and beyond!"

Lauren Laverne said: "The Sound Of… list is one of the year's most keenly-watched reference points and 2010 looks like it will be an exciting year in music.

"The artists on the Sound Of 2010 long list have genuine talent and the potential to be pretty special. I look forward to playing many of them on my ´óÏó´«Ã½ 6 Music show over the coming year."

One pundit, Krissi Murison, Editor of NME magazine, said: "Usually you can predict who's going to be in the list but this time it's much more interesting. There's a fair amount of unsigned artists and some pretty leftfield choices too.

"If 2009 was all about pop, then 2010 has no dominating force – there's everything here from grime to dubstep, guitars to soul singers. Personally I'm routing for Peckham's own Giggs and The Drums who are opening the NME Awards Tour in February."

Notes to Editors

The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Sound Of... list is now in its eighth year.

The previous winners are: Little Boots (2009); Adele (2008); Mika (2007); Corinne Bailey Rae (2006); The Bravery (2005); Keane (2004) and 50 Cent (2003).

Other artists in the top fives in previous years have included: Franz Ferdinand; Razorlight; Duffy; Kaiser Chiefs; The Ting Tings; Joss Stone; Bloc Party; The Feeling; Klaxons and Glasvegas.

The tastemakers were selected for being experts in current and new music, whose tastes and decisions are regularly reflected in the media and are capable of setting the musical agenda and influencing audiences. Most are newspaper and magazine critics and editors, radio DJs or producers, TV presenters or producers, or website editors or respected bloggers.

The participants were each asked to name their favourite three new acts, in order of preference.

The criteria given to participants when choosing artists were: They can be performers of any description - bands, singers, MCs etc. They should be the best, most exciting acts, in your opinion. Please base your choices on quality, not on hype or size of record deal. They must not have had a UK top 20 single or album by 15 November 2009. They can be from any musical genre and any country. They must not already be famous (eg member of a hit band going solo, or soap star). No X Factor/American Idol/etc. New means new to the British public. They may have been around for a while if you believe they are ready to step up to the next level of quality and recognition. You must not be related (eg relative, close friend) or have any financial or other commercial connection with your chosen acts. You must not have worked for them or on their behalf, or be planning to do so – eg PR, label, managing, promoting etc.

The 15 artists with the most votes have been put onto the longlist. The top five will be ranked and revealed in reverse order in the week commencing 4 January 2010, with one act named each day until the winner is unveiled on 8 January.

PH