Get the latest gossip
Mercury prize 2024: Charli xcx, the Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons among nominees
The British music industry’s award for outstanding albums features eight debuts, from the likes of Nia Archives and Barry Can’t Swim, as the prize fails to find a sponsor
Photograph: Roberto Ricciuti/RedfernsEight of the 12 nominees this year are women or contain female members, equalling the prize’s 2020 list for progressive gender representation. But acts who may feel disregarded include Radiohead side project the Smile, for their second album, Wall of Eyes; dance legends Pet Shop Boys with their return to form Nonetheless; Blur with The Ballad of Darren; Charli xcx collaborator AG Cook, for the producer’s opus Britpop; Sheffield metallers Bring Me the Horizon, for seventh album Post Human: Nex Gen; 2017 Mercury winner Sampha for Lahai; British-Albanian pop superstar Dua Lipa, for third album Radical Optimism; jazz musician Shabaka for his solo debut Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace; folk legend Linda Thompson, for Proxy Music; songwriter Rachel Chinouriri for her debut What a Devastating Turn of Events; experimental band Still House Plants for If I Don’t Make It, I Love U; dance group Mount Kimbie, for The Sunset Violent; and post-punks Yard Act for Where’s My Utopia? This year’s Mercury prize has failed to find a sponsor, meaning there will be no live winner’s presentation ceremony, traditionally featuring performances from all the nominated acts and broadcast on the BBC.
Or read this on The Guardian
