Gabrielle Alpin - MTV announce Brand New 2013 shortlist

MTV announce Brand New 2013 shortlist

Gabrielle Alpin, K Koke, Rascals and seven more acts have been chosen for MTV UK's Brand New 2013.

The shortlist of emerging acts to be supported and championed by the channel in 2013 was announced yesterday (28.11.12), at a showcase event in London.

Also nominated are recently signed artists Angel Haze, Disclosure, Haim, Kodaline, Little Nikki, Tom Odell and unsigned act Ebony Day.

Speaking at the launch event, Gabrielle Alpin - who has recently recorded a version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'The Power of Love' for the advert to the Christmas advert for London department store John Lewis - told BANG Showbiz: '' I was so excited to be offered the advert, I didn't think about it. Then the next day I was recording it and I was picking it apart and that's when the pressure started to kick in.

''It was number one before I was born in 1992, so it was a bit weird that it was such a classic I knew it, but it was a massive honour.''

The shortlist was whittled down from over 500 unsigned artists who entered the competition, and over 30,000 votes were cast to influence the shortlist, before MTV whittled it down to 10.

Speaking at the launch, K Koke, who has just signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, said: ''My music is reality, true stories, that's the difference between me and a lot of other people. The most personal stories are the hardest ones to tell, music is therapy for me, that's how I get it all out.''

Ebony - who has had over 19 million views of her YouTube channel - said she is hoping to ink a record deal soon.

She said: ''One day I want to sign something, but at the minute we're just having meetings with everybody. I'm trying to find what I want to do at the minute, so I want to keep things acoustic and simple now, and will build on it later. Because I have always done my cover versions acoustically, and I want to keep that element.''

Public voting for the overall MTV Brand New for 2013 winner will start on January 14, 2013, on brandnew.mtv.co.uk, and the winner will be announced on February 1, 2013.