FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE THIRD IN BBC SOUND OF 2009 LIST

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE THIRD IN BBC SOUND OF 2009 LIST

Singer-songwriter Florence and the Machine have been named in third place on the BBC's Sound of 2009 list.

The quirky act - headed by Florence Welch - won the Critics' Choice prize at the Brit awards last year and might have been expected to follow in fellow winner Adele's footsteps in topping the BBC's new music list.

However, she has finished third on the BBC's list of bands to watch for 2009.

Electropop duo La Roux and Australian pair Empire of the Sun have placed fifth and fourth respectively, with the top five being unveiled on a daily basis this week.

Welch said her songs - such as Kiss With A Fist and Dog Days Are Over - are "stories with consequences and weird morality issues".

"I write about love and I write stories and I write about things I've seen or walls or picked up on pieces of paper," she told the BBC.

"I write about things people have said to me, I write about things I've done. And then it all gets stuck together and it sometimes becomes a story with characters, like a bird or a donkey."

Adele topped the list in 2008 - holding off competition from the likes of Glasvegas, the Ting Tings and Vampire Weekend - and the BBC's pick as her successor as the next big thing will be named on Friday January 9th.