The 6 Incredible Rising Talents You Need To Know For 2014

You might not recognise their names yet, but you'll be hearing a lot about these guys next year. So do your homework now...

1. The Music Dude: Sam Smith

They say it ain't what you know, it’s who you know and Sam Smith’s certainly had a stellar introduction to the music scene, storming the charts with Disclosure’s 2012 single Latch and more recently on Naughty Boy’s smash hit La La La. But the time has come for the 21-year-old quiff-haired one to be a mega star in his own right. Already the recipient of the 2014 Brit’s ‘Critics Choice’ award, his long-awaited debut album In The Lonely Hour will be released in May.

2. The Hollywood Hunk: Jack Reynor

We love a homegrown boy done good so three cheers for super-hot Irish actor Jack Reynor, 21, who follows up his US debut (alongside Vince Vaughn) in January’s LOLsome Delivery Man with a starring role in the fourth Transformers movie (and blockbuster of the summer) opposite Marky Mark. Fit.

3. The Band Name To Drop: Preatures

If you love what musos have dubbed Haim’s fusion of R&B and country – ‘R&C’ – get onto the Preatures now. Fronted by a new rock goddess, Isabelle Manfredi (check out those cheekbones), we defy you to listen to debut single, Is This How You Feel (out spring), without dancing like a crazy frog.

4. The Red Carpet Starlet: Dakota Johnson

You’d got to have been hiding under a rock for the last three months to have not heard of Dakota Johnson – cast as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades movie. But here’s what you might not know: she’s the granddaughter of Tippi Hedren, she’s the daughter of Melanie Griffith and she’s going to be owning that red carpet. See her next in March’s Need For Spade opposite Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.

5. The Music Gal: Ella Eyre

The hair, that voice, those tuuunes… that hair. We’ve been crushing on Ella Eyre ever since she sang on Bastille’s cover of TLC's No Scrubs, then of course Waiting All Night, her number one with Rudimental didn’t exactly do her any harm. We can’t get enough of her debut EP Deeper. More, Ella, please!

6. The TV Darling: Rose Leslie

Game of Thrones fans will recognize the new star of C4’s brilliant conspiracy thriller Utopia as flame-haired 26-year-old actress Rose Leslie – who’s also been in Downton Abbey. See? The 26-year-old Scot is making all the right moves. And we kind of love that her actual name is Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie.