This year has been one of the best years for emerging female artists in recent memory. With hundreds of albums released and countless live shows, the choices were plentiful and there were many worthy of inclusion. However, with so many great choices, we could only pick five as finalists.

The 2012 nominees for Best New Female Artist: Ellie Goulding, Grimes, Lianne La Havas, Cate Le Bon and Yuna.

British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding earned UK headlines by winning several UK music awards and for performing at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Canadian multi-instrumentalist Grimes put out one of the most interesting albums of the year, which combined multiple genres for which she could call her own.  Britain’s Lianne La Havas is a singer-songwriter with sultry vocals and has appeared on many of the U.S. late night TV shows this fall.  Cate Le Bon is a strikingly original singer-songwriter, whose cool alto is delivered in her distinctive Welsh accent.  The Malaysian-born singer-songwriter Yuna has a voice that blends beautifully with her acoustic guitar.

You can vote by commenting on BestNewBands.com’s Newbie Awards Facebook posts or responding to BestNewBands.com’s Newbie Awards Tweets on Twitter. BestNewBands.com will announce the 2012 winners during the week of December 17.

You can check them out below:

Ellie Goulding

 

Grimes

 

Lianne La Havas

 

Cate Le Bon

 

Yuna