ACCENT ON AUTHENTICITY

Duos are de rigueur in 2013 with British brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence of Disclosure delighting with their house music including new single "Latch", and MS MR from New York the enigmatic pair who have music critics drooling.

"Prepare to be blown away," wrote Paul Lester in the Guardian. "This duo could be the first superstars of chillwave."

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London electro pop pair AlunaGeorge have been championed by the same newspaper and were runner-up in BBC's poll this year.

The surveys have a patchy track record in predicting chart success, and are crammed with dozens of acts already signed to record labels and so well on the way to success.

But they are closely watched by a music industry facing falling sales and desperate to spot the next Rihanna, Lady Gaga or One Direction.

While no one is suggesting the chart reign of Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift is over, there is growing optimism about a new crop of acts who have commercial ambition as well as musical ability and originality.

"I think across all genres there is a thirst from the audience for authenticity, whether it's from folk acts or rappers or dance artists," said David Mogendorff, digital media director of talent and music at MTV International.

He was involved in drawing up the music channel's "Brand New" list of 10 artists destined for greatness overseen by Anna Karatziva, head of talent and music at MTV UK.

Outside Britain and North America, K-pop sensation Psy will seek to build on his global hit "Gangnam Style" which became the first video on YouTube to reach one billion views last month.

Whether he can prove more than a one-hit wonder in the West remains to be seen, while other South Korean acts including Girls' Generation are gearing up to follow in his footsteps.

NME has singled out Australia's indie-dance duo Jagwar Ma for special attention, while Russian-German dance music producer Zedd has begun to make inroads in the US market.