Daley

Compared to Simply Red's Mick Hucknall due to his Manchester, England origin, red hair, and R&B roots, Gareth Daley kicked his career into gear once he submitted a low-key but affecting ballad, "Rainy Day," to the BBC. BBC 1Xtra placed the song in rotation. The following year, Daley co-wrote and appeared on the Gorillaz single "Doncamatic" and was nominated in the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll. In 2011, he collaborated with Wretch 32 on "Long Way Home." The same year, he issued a remarkably polished ten-track mixtape, Those Who Wait. Signed in the U.S. to Universal Republic, his label released the Marsha Ambrosius duet "Alone Together"; the song entered Billboard's U.S. Hot R&B/Hip Songs chart in late May 2012. ~ Andy Kellman