After months of speculation, the prestigious Mercury Prize nominees have been revealed.
The Barclaycard Mercury Prize is one of the most highly regarded awards in the UK, and many of the acts that win it go onto great things. You only have to look at the most recent winners like Alt-J (who won last year for An Awesome Wave), The xx (2010’s winner with xx) and Dizzee Rascal (2003 for Boy in da Corner) to see a who’s who of British talent, so this years winner will surely join that elite club in the years to come.
David Bowie made the cut for his 24th studio album The Next Day. This is only the second time the legend has been nominated, having previously got a nod in 2002 for Heathen, his 22nd studio album.
However, it was the debut records which took up a chunk of the nominations with Disclosure, Savages, Laura Mvula, Jake Bugg, and Rudimental all being praised for their innovative music in the last 12 months.
The nomination of Arctic Monkeys’ AM took few by surprise, having already won the accolade in 2006 for Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, and also getting nominated in 2007 for Favourite Worst Nightmare.
Shockingly, hot up-and-comers London Grammar didn’t make the cut for their stunning debut If You Wait. With 9/4 odds on Paddy Power to win outright earlier this week, and a whole host of positive reviews and hype surrounding their debut record, it’s surprising that they failed to make the cut.
The full list of all twelve nominees includes:
Rudimental – Home
Foals – Holy Fire
Jon Hopkins – Immunity
Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg
Laura Mvula – Sing To The Moon
Villagers – Awayland
David Bowie – The Next Day
Savages – Silence Yourself
Disclosure – Settle
Laura Marling – Once I Was An Eagle
James Blake – Overgrown
Arctic Monkeys – AM
The winner of the Mercury Prize 2013 will be announced at the Awards Show in the Roundhouse on 30th October.
