It was a big year for young female singers and performers to establish themselves. BestNewBands.com’s Best New Female Artist of 2013 Newbie Awards nominees include a teenager and a pair of 21-year-olds and range, quite literally, from A-Z across a wide range of musical genres.  Not surprisingly, many noteworthy performers received votes from our panel but narrowly missed the cut. 

Our five nominees (in alphabetical order):

VOTING’S CLOSED – WINNER ANNOUNCED SOON

 

Midwesterner Angel Olsen might be the least known of our five nominees but if there’s any justice, the Midwesterner will start to get attention for her strong LP, Half Way Home, released by Jagjaguwar Records earlier this year.  The album showcases her songwriting abilities as well as her husky, bluesy voice.

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Charlotte Aitchison, better known as Charli XCX, is a 21-year-old electronica-pop songstress from Hertfordshire, England, who scored with her album, True Romance, on Atlantic.  (Our reviewer called it “synth-based ecstasy.”)  She was introduced to worldwide audiences by “I Love It,” the worldwide smash she wrote (and performs on) for Icona Pop.  Just prior to the start of her fall U.S. tour, she enthusiastically told our interviewer: “I love to sweat when I play live.”  And she can barely contain her excitement for her follow-up album, coming in 2014: “I feel like it’s the best music I’ve ever made.”

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been less than two months since Lorde’s Pure Heroine album was released.  The 16-year-old New Zealander, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, has since dominated the pop charts with her hit single, “Royals,” which, as of this writing, has topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for six weeks.  Our reviewer wrote that Pure Heroine “lives up to all of the hype.”  You have to keep reminding yourself that the multi-talented teenager wrote all of the material herself.

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The debut studio album from our second 21-year-old nominee, Sky Ferreira, just made it into our eligibility period (Nov. 1, 2012 – Oct. 31, 2013). And that’s a good think for our readers as Night Time, My Time (on Capitol Records) is a bit of fresh air as we head into the holiday season.  Our reviewer wrote: the “exciting” album, from the “electro-pop phenom…blends catchy hooks with buzz saw guitars.”  The headline-grabbing, NYC-based singer is finishing a U.S. club tour; larger crowds will see her in ’14 when she opens for Miley Cyrus’s North American arena tour beginning in February.

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ZZ Ward is the “veteran” of this group of nominees and the singer-songwriter has worked essentially non-stop this year, promoting her album, Til The Casket Drops.  The smoky-voiced and hard-to-define Ward has been on the road seemingly without stopping, alternating between headlining dates and all the major festivals.  That hard roadwork is paying off for the Los Angeles (by way of Oregon)-based singer, who is building quite a fan base.  As she told our interviewer earlier this year, “the venue doesn’t matter as much as the crowd.  It can be six people or 6,000.  If they’re into it, I’m having a great time.”

 

This year, we’re encouraging our readers to vote online for their favorite nominee in each category.  You’ll find the simple voting form on each of the four category pages:

 

See our nominees for Best New Band and vote for your favorite HERE

 

See our nominees for Best New Male Artist and vote for your favorite HERE

 

See our nominees for Best New Album and vote for your favorite HERE

 

Eligibility was based on artists’ recording and touring activity from November 1, 2012 – October 31, 2013.  Voting ends Friday, December 6.  The winners will be announced the following week.