After its last-minute postponement due to Queen Elizabeth’s death last month, the 2022 Mercury Prize ceremony has been confirmed to take place at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on Tuesday, 18 October.
The Mercury Prize is an annual music prize celebrating the best albums released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. Created in 1992, previous winners include 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, producers, music journalists, festival organisers and other figures in the UK and Irish music industry. A few names from this year’s 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’ was released in May 2022. Both the album and lead single ‘As It Was’ topped the UK charts with the track becoming the most streamed track 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.
This April, jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie’s third studio album ‘Forest Floor’ was released. 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’ 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.
Singles ‘Payback’ and ‘Silk’ are featured on Kojey Radical’s latest project ‘Reason to Smile’. This is the East London musician’s defining project, particularly showcasing his impressive lyricism as he has been welcomed into the British hip-hop music scene.
‘Woman’ and ‘Introvert’ are singles featured on rapper Little Simz latest album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, released in September 2021. The album was 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 released ‘Supernova’ in June 2022. The album was praised by NME for its dynamic and experimental nature as the twins blend genres to generate a sound specific to them.
Released in October 2021, Sam Fender’s second album ‘Seventeen Going Under’ includes lead single and title track ‘Seventeen Going Under’. This album was already named ‘Best Album in the World’ at this year’s NME Awards.
Image Credits: Mercury Prize Awards