Hotly Tipped For 2010

Twenty Ten's going to be a crucial year in rock and pop — building on the changes of the '00s (the irresistible rise of electro-pop, the mainstreaming of grime, the power base of the ubiquitous vocal talent show), the artists who truly stand out over the coming months are going to shape the sound of the next decade. We expect a big showing from Ellie Goulding, whose early work hints at substantial creative depths, while Mayer Hawthorne (part Buddy Holly, part Smokey Robinson) is set to take his unique brand of sophisticated but smooth geek-soul to the next level, and Marina and the Diamonds (aka Welsh-Greek goddess Marina Diamandis) harnesses new wave catchiness, sassy glamour and lyrical kookiness. Throw in some Joshua Radin (mellow) and Tinie Tempah (pumped), then acquaint yourselves with the bright young things among our Next Steps.

If you fancy putting a whimsical foot forward into 2010, you might like to do so alongside Eliza Doolittle, who possesses charm in bundles and borrows her name from the Cockney flower girl immortalised on screen by Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. Roses Kings Castles — which started out as a side-project for Babyshambles' Adam Ficek, but has taken on an intriguing life of its own — promotes a natural, organic approach to songcraft, and lacks nothing in authenticity, while Fool's Gold (who started out on the backyard barbecue scene in Los Angeles) is doing interesting things with exotic Afropop. London's Goldhawks started out as new folkies, but have since plugged in, cranked it up, and found their true calling as rock 'n' rollers, and all-girl French outfit Plasticines offer a generous fix of razzle, muscle and melody. Smoke Fairies enchant and Exlovers jangle, in Deep Cuts.

You want something a little cosmic and a lot funky, with a hint of rainforest? Then try on the sonic cocktail fabricated by Magic Wands, a boy/girl alliance forged in Nashville, of all places (seeing as there's not a drop of country in their chalice), while something smooth and soulful can be found in the pipes of Irish singer-songwriter Wallis Bird, who plays a right-handed guitar upside down (a lawnmower accident when she was young caused serious damage to her left hand) and has the kind of vocal tones that can charm the birds from the trees. There something ancient and mesmerising about Smoke Fairies — aka Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire — who seem to have bridged the considerable chasm between Olde Englande and the 21st Century; Exlovers jangle and rock in a glorious sunburst of sound; and Atlas Sound gets experimental with the past while shaping the future.

Looks like there isn't going to be a dull minute in Twenty Ten — it's the International Year of Biodiversity, there's a World Cup to be contested in South Africa . . . and in the realms of rock and pop, these artists are poised to set our iPods ablaze. Some of the talent we've showcased here you'll already know about: after all, it's virtually impossible to avoid the major buzz-generators. But there are plenty more bands and performers here you may have missed and, believe us, you positively need to know all of them if you're going to get your bearings on 2010's musical landscape. From West Coast invaders who variously pedal lo-fi noise pop out of San Francisco and garage-revivalist distortion from L.A., to new Canadian folkies and bright young Mancunians, all the year's most inspiring music-makers are just a swift click away.