The Rising Star Award is where the iFANN Awards look forward. It is dedicated to the emerging talents who are showing exceptional promise right now, and who deserve to be noticed before the rest of the world catches up.
Every major career starts somewhere. This award exists to encourage the newcomers at that early, fragile stage, and to tell them clearly that their creativity, effort, and impact are already being seen.
What the award honors
The Rising Star Award recognizes emerging talents across different industries who are breaking through with exceptional work. It celebrates the viral songs, the breakout roles, and the fresh names whose momentum is impossible to ignore.
It is not about who is already established. It is about who is on the way up, the artists and performers surging right now, often before their first major award.
Who it is for
This award is for the newcomer who may never have received a major award before. It is for the artist whose song just took over, the performer whose breakout role turned heads, and the creator whose star is clearly rising.
Recognition this early can change a career. The Rising Star Award is a way to give it at the moment it matters most.
Our selection philosophy
The process begins with the fans. Fans nominate the names they believe deserve recognition, and our panel of journalists, critics, and cultural experts reviews each nomination to confirm it fits the spirit and standards of the award.
Winners are then decided the way every iFANN Award is decided: fan votes account for 60% of the result, and the professional panel accounts for the remaining 40%. Here the weight sits on genuine promise and the strength of early fan support, not on established fame.
Why it matters
Emerging talent is easy to miss. The biggest platforms and ceremonies tend to reward those who have already arrived, which leaves the most exciting new voices waiting years for acknowledgment.
The Rising Star Award exists to close that gap. It encourages and motivates people at the start of their journey, letting them know their work is noticed and appreciated while it is still new.
What a Rising Star honor includes
Winners are celebrated and actively promoted across the iFANN social platform, given proper media coverage, and featured on the iFANN Pop Show, which reaches entertainment and pop culture fans around the world.
Each winner is also recognized with a professionally designed physical trophy, shipped directly to them or kept safe in the iFANN library until they are ready to receive it, along with a permanent place in the iFANN awards archive.