It's officially one year since Catford RnB talent Ray BLK was crowned Sound of 2017 winner. Since then, she's played massive festival slots, released brilliant airwave-hogging singles, all while staying independent as an unsigned act.
Ahead of the big Sound of 2018 reveal (the top five is announced from Monday 8th January), Ray BLK has kindly picked out five of her standout moments from a stellar 2017.
1. Being interviewed the day she won Sound of 2017
On 6th January 2017, Ray BLK became the first unsigned artist to ever win the prize. She described being "teared up" when she first found out the news, and she told Victoria Derbyshire show host Joanna Gosling about her aims for the future: "I need to have my autonomy for now, until I'm prepared to be assisted by a label - and that may never be the case. I don't know what the future will hold, but I'm still growing as an artist and learning what path I want to take."
2. Playing Glastonbury 2017
In June, Ray BLK made her Glastonbury debut, performing in the Silver Hayes area. Speaking at the festival, she told the 成人快手: "It's one massive party. There's so much going on everywhere, and so many other artists here. The last six months have been pretty crazy!"
3. Selling out London's Village Underground
4. Touring with Emeli Sand茅
As well as selling out shows in her hometown, she also took to her first US headline tour and supported Scottish star Emeli Sandé back in February. "It's been a whirlwind of my dreams coming true, to be honest," she said in June. "It's just ridiculous. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year's got in store for me."
5. Winning Best New Artist at Women In Music, Music Week Awards
The Sound of 2017 wasn't Ray BLK's only accolade last year. In November, she won Best New Artist at Music Week's Women in Music Awards. After accepting the prize from MOBOs founder Kanya King, she gave a powerful speech in keeping with the awards: "Society tells us that we have to compete with each other, whether that’s for the attention of men, or the exclusivity of being one of the few women or the only woman respected in your field," she said. "The more of us there are as female artists or executives, the more we can attain equality and inspire and give hope to those who will come after us."
