resented in partnership with mobility app Free Now, the Mercury Prize is back for another year. It shortlists 12 albums for its award, to be announced in a live show next week.
While tickets have sold out, viewers can watch at home on BBC Four from 9pm to 10.15pm, in a show hosted by Lauren Laverne.
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming award ceremony, including all 12 nominated artists.
When is the Mercury Prize 2022?
The 2022 Awards Show will take place on Thursday 8 September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
Featuring live performances from most of the shortlisted artists, the event will culminate in the announcement of the winner. Only Harry Styles, who will be on tour at the time, will not be there but will instead show a filmed live performance.
Who is nominated for the Mercury Prize 2022?
The full shortlist of nominees includes:
- Fergus McCreadie – Forest Floor
- Gwenno – Tresor
- Harry Styles – Harry’s House
- Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler – For All Our Days That Tear the Heart
- Joy Crookes – Skin
- Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile
- Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
- Nova Twins – Supernova
- Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under
- Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure
- Wet Leg – Wet Leg
- Yard Act – The Overload
Who are the judges for the Mercury Prize 2022?
Alongside the chair of the judging panel, Jeff Smith, the 2022 Mercury Prize judges are:
- Anna Calvi – musician and songwriter
- Annie Mac – broadcaster and DJ
- Danielle Perry – broadcaster and writer
- Hazel Wilde (from Lanterns on the Lake) – musician and songwriter
- Jamie Cullum – musician and broadcaster
- Jamz Supernova – broadcaster and DJ
- Jeff Smith – head of music, 6 Music and Radio
- Lea Stonhill – music programmer, Radio X
- Loyle Carner – musician and songwriter
- Phil Alexander – creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo
- Tshepo Mokoena – music writer and author
- Will Hodgkinson – chief rock and pop critic at The Times
“Getting down to 12 albums this year was not easy, simply because there were so many remarkable ones to choose from,” said the judges in a collective 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. Now comes the really hard part – choosing only one overall winner.”
What are the bookies odds for the winner of the 2022 Mercury Prize?
The latest bookies odds for the winner of the 2022 Mercury Prize ahead of tonight’s ceremony have been released, and Little Simz, Self Esteem and Wet Leg are among the favourites.
Prioritise Pleasure by Self Esteem and Sometimes I Might be Introvert by Little Simz are currently favourites to take home the prize on aggregate bookies website Oddschecker, with odds of 11-4, closely followed by Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album with odds of 4-1.
Gwenno’s Tresor is further back at 16-1, while Yard Act’s The Overload is 14-1. Supernova by Nova Twins’ has been tipped at 16-1 while Harry Styles’ Harry’s House is at 20-1.
Kojey Radical‘s Reason To Smile is at 22-1, closely followed by albums by Sam Fender and Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler.