Who would win in a Music World Cup? Radio 1 DJs and listeners share their picks

By Luke Morgan Britton, 22 June 2018

At The Biggest Weekend in May, Christine and the Queens' Héloïse Letissier (AKA Chris) proved that she's one of the most captivating performers in pop right now. Radio 1's Clara Amfo agrees, choosing the French musician as her world-beating pick.

"For me, she is one of the most exciting and progressive artists that we have at the moment, especially in the pop music sphere," Clara says. "She makes really cool, thoughtful and considered music. She has a really playful sense of humour but she’s a proper, full-on performer."

"She spent a lot of time doing cabaret and you can really see that in her performance style," Clara adds. "To watch her and to listen to her are equally as joyous, so I’m a fan."

Where to start with Christine and the Queens, though? Probably with new single Girlfriend and then work your way back. Clara says: "We’re halfway through 2018 and Girlfriend is one of my favourite songs of the year so far. It’s instantly infectious. There’s a bit of darkness to the song, but it’s still quite playful in its sound. She’s very smart at doing that with her music. That bassline too, you can’t really beat it."

With Afrobeats experiencing a massive boom at the moment, Annie Mac opted for Nigeria-born, Ghana-bred and now London-based crossover star Mr Eazi, who recently performed to over 20,000 people at London's inaugural AfroRepublik festival.

"He’s already a massive star in Nigeria," Annie explains, "but I love how Mr Eazi's winning the hearts of the UK while properly immersing himself in the music scene over here."

Mr Eazi recently teamed up with Giggs for new single London Town and Annie Mac feels like the track is really shining a light on the genre for UK audiences. "As one of the leading lights of the scene, he’s helped make Afrobeats popular up and down the country," she says.

For many of us, there's that one artist that made such a profound impact that you recall the first time you encountered them. For Breakfast Show host Nick Grimshaw, that artist is none other than Björk. Grimmy remembers heading to a record shop in Oldham to buy her single Hyperballad in 1996.

Therefore, for Grimmy, "it has to be Björk representing Iceland". But it's not just for nostalgic reasons either. He adds: "She’s such a prolific musician and unashamedly expressive in her art. I love how progressive she is."

He describes Björk as a "true icon" and we're sure her recent Jools Holland appearance in May, where she performed her tracks The Gate and Blissing Me, proved exactly that.

Having met the global icons-in-making earlier this year, the Early Breakfast Show host Adele Roberts says there could "only be one winner of the Music World Cup" for her, and that would have to be South Korea’s BTS. The boy band recently became the first K-pop outfit to top the US albums chart with new album, Love Yourself: Tear, and are going from strength to strength.

"They can sing, they can rap, they can dance," Adele adds. "In fact, they’re so perfect it’s like they have super powers. Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, Jungkook: The 7 power rangers of music."

They’re so perfect a pop act, Adele says, that they make as much noise online to rival the likes of Justin Bieber and even Donald Trump, thanks in no little part to their loyal and feverish fanbase. Labelled the 'BTS Army', Adele is adamant that the BTS fandom is among the greatest fans in the world".

For his pick, Greg James went for a bit of a curveball: Ludovico Einaudi, the Italian composer and pianist known for his film scores for This Is England and I'm Still Here. Einaudi has even popped into Radio 1 to take on some familiar hits too, delivering piano-tinkling covers of Sia and Sam Smith.

Greg explains how Einaudi's music is perfect for this time of the year - when the Venn diagram of revision season and World Cup fever precisely meets.

"His music kept me calm during endless summer days revising," Greg says. "It’s unsurprising that he can often be heard soundtracking dramatic moments in films and TV shows."

Greg adds: "Not a bad shout to use some of his sadder songs when they put together the inevitable 'England losing a crucial game' montage, too".

And here are some picks from Radio 1 listeners...

Clearly, there was one clear winner among Radio 1's Twitter following...

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