The Mercury Prize is Britain's most prestigious music award. Earlier today (July 26), the annual shortlist of 12 albums nominated for the prize were announced. Harry Styles, Wet Leg, Sam Fender, and Little Simz are among the 2022 Mercury Prize nominees.
Styles is up for Harry’s House, which was released earlier this year, while indie rock duo Wet Leg were nominated for their self-titled debut album. As for Fender, he's up for the award thanks to his sophomore album Seventeen Going Under. Meanwhile, Little Simz – up for her LP Sometimes I Might Be Introvert – sees her second time on the shortlist, as her third album, Grey Area, was nominated in 2019.
“We’re so freakin lucky that we got to make the album that we made,” Wet Leg wrote on Twitter. “These past couple of years have been full of surprises and unexpected adventures. Here’s perhaps one of our fave surprises so far…Our debut album has been shortlisted for a @MercuryPrize !?”
“Sometimes I Might Be Introvert has been shortlisted for the @MercuryPrize 22. so grateful,” Little Simz wrote on Twitter. “Love to my brother Inflo for always backing it, and pouring love in abundance into the music. And to YOU, the people. Thank you for the continued support on this album.”
Other nominees this year include Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, Yard Act, Joy Crookes, Kojey Radical, Self Esteem, Nova Twins, Gwenno, and Fergus McCreadie. The 2022 eligibility period ran from July 2021 to July 2022, and a panel of British music critics, artists, and industry professionals will judge the records on the shortlist.
“Getting down to 12 albums this year was not easy, simply because there were so many remarkable ones to choose from,” the Mercury Prize judges said in a public statement. “That serves as proof that British and Irish music thrives during unsettled periods in history, with the albums chosen covering everything from imaginative pop to pioneering rap to Cornish language folk-rock. We feel that these 12 amazing albums each have something to say artistically and socially, all in their own unique, enriching ways.”
Previous Mercury Prize winners include Pulp, James Blake, Skepta, and PJ Harvey. Last year, Arlo Parks won the award for her critically-acclaimed debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams. This year's Mercury Prize ceremony will be held September 8 at London's Eventim Apollo. Tickets are available here.
See the official shortlist below.
The Shortlist for the 2022 Mercury Prize with @FreeNow_UK has been revealed! 🏆⚡️@fergusmccreadie@gwennosaunders@Harry_Styles@buckleyxbutler@JoyCrookes@KojeyRadical@LittleSimz@NovaTwinsMusic@SamFenderMusic@SELFESTEEM___ @wetlegband@YardActBand#MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/VbIV8nubON
— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) July 26, 2022
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Article Image: Harry Styles singing and playing guitar during a show in Denver, Colorado in 2018, Hester Chambers from Wet Leg plays her red electric guitar and yells on a stage. (Lovclyhes [CC BY-SA 4.0] and Paul Hudson [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons.)
