Mercury Prize 2023 Nominees Announced: Charli XCX, Ghetts, and The Last Dinner Party Lead the Pack
Singer-songwriter Charli XCX, rapper Ghetts, and indie rock band The Last Dinner Party are among the nominees for this year’s Mercury Prize, organizers of the British music award announced on Thursday. Notably, debut albums make up more than half of the shortlist.
First awarded to Primal Scream in 1992, the annual £25,000 ($32,202) prize shortlists 12 albums released by British and Irish acts in the United Kingdom in the past year. Considered less mainstream than Britain’s BRIT Awards, the Mercury Prize is open to all music genres.
Charli XCX is nominated for her album “Brat,” whose lime green cover was recently adopted by U.S. presidential hopeful Kamala Harris’ campaign for her “Kamala HQ” social media account after the pop star referenced her in a post.
Ghetts is in the running for his fourth studio album “On Purpose, with Purpose,” while The Last Dinner Party are nominated for their debut “Prelude to Ecstasy.”
Other debut albums making the shortlist include “Silence Is Loud” by producer, DJ, and singer Nia Archives, “Early Twenties” by British-Liberian singer Cat Burns, “When Will We Land?” by Scottish electronic producer and DJ Barry Can’t Swim, and “Who Am I” by Trinidad-born rapper Berwyn, who was previously nominated for his debut mixtape “Demotape/Vega.”
Portishead singer and lyricist Beth Gibbons is nominated for her first solo album “Lives Outgrown,” while musician and producer corto.alto is in the running for his debut “Bad With Names.”
The shortlist is completed by group English Teacher’s debut “This Could Be Texas,” singer Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Black Rainbows,” and Irish musician CMAT for “Crazymad, for Me.”
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in September.
Last year, Ezra Collective won for “Where I’m Meant to Be,” the first jazz album to ever take home the award.
Source: Reuters
