After its last-minute postponement due to Queen Elizabeth’s death last month, the 2022 Mercury Prize ceremony has been confirmed to take place on October 18th at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London.
The Mercury Prize is an annual music prize celebrating the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. Created in 1992, previous winners have included Wolf Alice with Visions of a Life (2018), Dave with Psychodrama (2019) and Arlo Parks with Collapsed in Sunbeams (2021).
Each year, 12 submitted albums are shortlisted for the prize, based solely on their musical merit rather than how popular the album or act has been during the previous calendar year. This shortlist is chosen by an independent panel of musicians, music presenters and producers, music journalists, festival organisers and other figures in the UK and Irish music industry. A few names from this years judging panel include musician and songwriter Loyle Carner, musician and broadcaster Jamie Cullum and broadcaster and DJ Annie MacManus.
Here is a rundown of this year’s shortlist:
The third solo album from Harry Styles, ‘Harry’s House’, which was released in May 2022. Both the album and lead single ‘As It Was’ topped the UK charts with the track also becoming most streamed tracked by a male on Spotify in 24 hours. Showcasing a noticeable growth from his two previous solo albums, home, for Styles, appears to be a state of mind that we have been lucky enough to gain insight to.
Released in April 2022, jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie’s third studio album ‘Forest Floor’. The record debuted at number one on the UK’s Official Jazz and Blues Album Chart Top 30 and is said to be strongly influenced by Scottish traditional music.
Joy Crookes’ debut album ‘Skin’ which was released in October 2021. Featuring the singles ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now’ and ‘When You Were Mine’, this modern soul-jazz record was praised by critics upon release due to its subject matter, production and Crookes’ vocal performance.
Featuring the singles ‘Payback’ and ‘Silk’, Kojey Radical’s latest project ‘Reason to Smile’. This is the east London’s musician’s defining project, particularly showcasing his impressive lyricism as he has been welcomed into the British hip-hop music scene.
Featuring singles ‘Woman’ and ‘Introvert’, rapper Little Simz and her album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, which was released in September 2021. The album was also nominated for ‘British Album of the Year’ at this year’s Brit Awards.
Second album from rock duo Amy Love and Georgia South, best known as Nova Twins, ‘Supernova’, released in June 2022. The album was praised by NME for its dynamic and experimental nature as the twins bend and blend genres to generate a sound specific to them.
Released in October 2021, Sam Fender’s second album ‘Seventeen Going Under’. Including lead single and title track ‘Seventeen Going Under’, this album was already named ‘Best Album in the World’ at this year’s NME Awards.
Duo Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album, released in April 2022, featuring hit singles ‘Chaise Longue’ and ‘Wet Dream’. Topping the UK Official Album Charts, this album reached global success also topping Australia’s ARIA Album Chart.
Leeds-based rock band Yard Act with their debut album ‘The Overload’, which was released in January 2022. Ranking at number two on the UK Official Album Chart, this album has the humour and storytelling of classic Britpop.
Sung almost entirely in Cornish, Gwenno Saunders’ third solo album ‘Tresor’, released in July 2022. Reviving linguistic heritage, this album is said to require no translation at all to connect with Saunders’ pop artistry.
Released in June 2022, the debut collaboration between Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler ‘For All Our Days That Tear The Heart’. This meeting of an Academy Award-nominated actress and singer and a Brit Award-winning producer and musician originated over a facetime call to create an obscure and organic collection of songs.
The second solo album from Rebecca Lucy Taylor, also known as Self Esteem, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ which was released in October 2021. Mixing intimate and conversational topics into her work, this big pop album embodies girlboss culture.
The Mercury Prize can be watched on BBC Four and iPlayer at 9pm on Tuesday 18th October 2022, where the shortlisted artists will perform and the winner will be crowned.
Image Credits: Mercury Prize Awards