(Ian West/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)Harry Styles, Jessie Buckley and Sam Fender lead the list of stars shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize.
Former One Direction singer Styles received a nod for his third solo studio album Harry’s House while Sam Fender is nominated for his second full-length record, Seventeen Going Under.
Actress Buckley meanwhile impressed the judges with her and former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler’s joint debut effort For All Our Days That Tear the Heart. Also earning a nomination is Little Simz with her fourth studio album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.
Fresh from being crowned Best New Artist at this year’s Brit Awards, the rapper and singer is the only person on the list to have been previously nominated after receiving recognition for her third release Grey Area back in 2019.
Others up for the coveted gong this year include indie rock duet Wet
Leg’s self-titled debut album and post-punk band Yard Act’s take on Brexit-era Britain, The Overload.
Kojey Radical’s musical debut Reason to Smile, Nova Twins’ Supernova and Self Esteem’s Prioritise Pleasure are also up for the award.
Pianist Fergus McCreadie’s Forest Floor, musician Gwenno’s third album Tresor and influencer Joy Crookes’s debut album Skin round off the 12-strong list, revealed today at Marylebone’s The Langham.
It was chosen by a panel including Annie Mac, Jamie Cullum and new judges Loyle Carner, Jamz Supernova and Lea Stonhill who said their picks “serve as proof that British and Irish music thrives during unsettled periods in history”.
The winner will be announced at a show on September 8 at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.
