Arctic Monkeys and Fred Again.. lead Mercury Prize album of the year shortlist
The prize recognises the best British and Irish album of the year.
Arctic Monkeys and Fred Again.. are among the 12-strong shortlist in the running for the Mercury Prize album of the year.
After two decades of making music, the Arctic Monkeys announced their return in August 2022 with their seventh studio album, The Car, which has made the 2023 Mercury Prize shortlist, it was announced on Thursday.
The rock band performed hits from the album, as well as revisiting their chart-topping back catalogue, for their headline slot at Glastonbury this year, despite frontman Alex Turner being diagnosed with acute laryngitis.
All six of Arctic Monkeys’ previous studio albums have gone to number one in the UK, while The Car peaked at number two, according to the Official UK Chart.
Meanwhile, Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022) from Fred Again.. has also been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, which recognises the best British and Irish album of the year.
The British songwriter, producer and DJ, who made history in 2020 as the youngest musician to become producer of the year at the Brit Awards, had his first worldwide hit with the 2022 album, peaking at number four in the UK album chart.
This year’s Mercury Prize shortlist also features a host of first-time nominees, including Raye, with her debut album My 21st Century Blues which features her number one single Escapism.
It follows a year of success for the singer-songwriter who also won the award for best contemporary song at the Ivor Novello Awards.
Among the acts in the running for the prestigious Mercury Prize is London-born singer Jessie Ware with her 2022 album That! Feels Good!, which peaked in the UK albums chart at number three.
Rapper J Hus also made the shortlist with his album Beautiful And Brutal Yard, alongside Where I’m Meant To Be by the Ezra Collective and the debut album Messy from singer-songwriter Olivia Dean.
The debut from UK duo Jockstrap titled I Love You Jennifer B is also in the running for the prize, with Irish folk group Lankum’s album False Lankum, and album Nymph from rapper and singer Shygirl.
Meanwhile, album Hugo from hip-hop artist Loyle Carner and Scottish band Young Fathers with Heavy Heavy also feature.
The shortlist was chosen by an independent judging panel including BBC DJs Jamz Supernova and MistaJam.
The Mercury Prize awards ceremony will take place on September 7 at the Eventim Apollo in London’s Hammersmith and will feature live performances from some of the shortlisted artists.
