14 British R&B/Soul Artists To Watch (2022 Edition)
Written by SOURCE on March 15, 2022
Once again, for those at the back: UK R&B is NOT dead. It’s still alive, still thriving, and continues to grow year on year, with promising new artists popping up seemingly every other week. Seek, and ye shall find…
When this annual list began in 2016, initially as a one-off piece, it couldn’t have been foreseen just how much more growth the British R&B scene would have over the years to come. But with artists such as Jorja Smith, Cleo Sol, Sinead Harnett, Ella Mai, NAO, Mahalia, Tiana Major9, James Vickery, Samm Henshaw and JVCK JAMES flying the flag, the UK has since become a leading destination in today’s global R&B space.
The issue has never been about talent but more so visibility. The Brit Awards recently announced four new fan-voted genre categories, including Best Pop/R&B Act, which was understandably met with criticism. “Putting pop and R&B in the same category is really nuts to me and proves that the powers that be once again just do not get it,” Mahalia tweeted. “I love the Brits. I have since I was a kid. But as an R&B singer/songwriter, this feels completely unprogressive to the whole UK R&B scene.”
It’s hard to dismiss such comments when you see this year’s category dominated by mainstream pop juggernauts like Adele, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa. Yes, it would be great if R&B could be respected as its own entity instead of merely being an afterthought, but, fortunately, despite the continued challenges the genre faces with being fairly represented across the media, the UK scene is continuing to grow at a rapid rate with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Here are 14 R&B/soul acts to watch in 2022 and beyond.
