Tuesday, July 15, 2014 5:06am ET by  
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BBC Radio 1Xtra defends placing Ed Sheeran at No.1 on Power List

BBC Radio 1Xtra has explained why they named Ed Sheeran as the most important British music act in the urban scene.

The radio station, which calls itself the "new black music network", recently published their Power List, which features twenty musicians who they feel are the most important in the scene.

Some eyebrows were raised, however, when Sheeran topped the list, with Wiley taking to Twitter to question the move.

Austin Daboh, BBC Radio 1Xtra's music manager, responded to say that the list's results may have been taken out of context.

He said: "Every single day of the week, every single hour of the day we support black artists and other races that make black music sounds. I think that anyone who wants to bring race into the discussion is probably a little bit misguided.

"The top 20 changed numerous times during the three and a half hours that we were locked in that room together. At one point there was debate about whether Tinie Tempah should be number one, there was talk about Emile Sande, should Lethal B [Lethal Bizzle] be higher up the list? Ed Sheeran's another example of who 1Xtra found, we helped nurture. Maybe his journey onto eventually the Radio 1 playlist and other big playlists around the world might have been a little bit slower if it wasn't for 1Xtra's support."

The full list meanwhile is as follows:

  • 1. Ed Sheeran
  • 2. Disclosure 
  • 3. Tinie Tempah
  • 4. Sam Smith
  • 5. Rudimental
  • 6. Emeli Sande
  • 7. Naughty Boy
  • 8. Katy B
  • 9. Krept & Konan
  • 10. Fuse ODG
  • 11. Boy Better Know
  • 12. Rita Ora
  • 13. Lethal Bizzle
  • 14. DJ Fresh
  • 15. Jessie J
  • 16. Wiley
  • 17. Giggs
  • 18. Laura Mvula
  • 19. Wretch
  • 20. Dizzee Rascal

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Watch Ed Sheeran being interviewed below: