• News

• All

Jul 27, 2017 Loyle Carner By Christopher Roberts

This year’s Mercury Prize nominees have been announced and they include the latest albums by alt-J, The xx, Glass Animals, Sampha, The Big Moon, Kate Tempest, and… Ed Sheeran. The last one seems like bit of a mainstream choice for The Mercury Prize. The full list is below.

Since 1992 the Mercury Prize has been awarded to the best British album of the year, meaning an album created by a citizen of the U.K. and Ireland. It’s become one of the biggest honors a British musician can receive and can also boost an album’s sales in the U.K., especially if it wins. Both alt-J and The xx have won before, for their debut albums.

Some potential snubs include Rose Elinor Dougall, Marika Hackman, Kelly Lee Owens, Saint Etienne, Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales, Elbow, Temples, London Grammar, and no doubt others we’re not thinking of.

Last year Skepta won and the year before it was Benjamin Clementine. The Mercury Prize started out strong with Primal Scream’s Screamadelica winning in 1992 and Suede’s self-titled debut winning in 1993. There have been lots of great artists who have also won since, including PJ Harvey (the only artist to win it twice), Pulp, Elbow, Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, and others. Although they don’t always get it right and there have been some forgettable winners as well.

We’ll have to wait until the September 14th ceremony to see who the winner is.

Mercury Prize 2017 Nominees:

alt-J: Relaxer
Blossoms: Blossoms
Dinosaur: Together, As One
Ed Sheeran: ÷
Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being
J Hus: Common Sense
Kate Tempest: Let the Eat Chaos
Loyle Carner: Yesterday’s Gone
Sampha: Process
Stormzy: Gang Signs & Prayer
The Big Moon: Love In the 4th Dimension
The xx: I See You

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.