UK Edition
Mercury Prize goes pop with Ed Sheeran among Album of the Year shortlist
The Mercury Prize has long rewarded British music's more niche offerings. In 2014, punk-hip-hop trio Young Fathers took home the prize after selling just 561 copies of their debut album Dead, while Talvin Singh, who blended Indian tabla music with drum and bass, won in 1999 for a record that didn't even make the Top 40.
But after chart-topping grime album Konnichiwa saw Skepta receive the coveted gong in 2016, this year's shortlist has even more mainstream appeal, with record-breaking chart act Ed Sheeran making his debut in the shortlist among three other number one albums.
Sheeran's third album ÷ (pronouned "divide") has sold 1.3 million copies in the UK, and all of its tracks have reached the top half of the UK Top 40 through streaming.
Sheeran is joined by his collaborator and fellow chart-topper, Stormzy, the grime artist whose debut album Gang Signs and Prayers reached number one in its first week in March.
The artist said he is "aware he won't win" but that just being nominated had fulfilled a childhood dream.
In an Instagram post, he wrote: "My dream when I first started music was to sell out Shepherd's Bush empire and have a Mercury nominated album.
"Did the latter on the first album but have never been nominated on either album so just assumed it would ever happen, as I'm aware, I'm not the most critically acclaimed artist out there.
"But today, low and behold, woke up to find out Divide has been shortlisted.
"Now I'm aware I won't win, but to be put on the shortlist is a real honour, and something that makes both 26 year old me and 13 year old me very happy and proud."
The xx are also shortlisted with a number one album, I See You, which sees the London trio return to the Mercury Prize shortlist after winning the award in 2010 with their eponymous debut. Manchester rock band Blossoms' album of the same name, which reached number one last August, has also been recognised by the panel.
Other records on the list performed well in the charts more generally. Alt-J, who won the Mercury Prize in 2012 for their debut An Awesome Wave, got to number six in the album charts with their third, and shortlisted, record, Relaxer.
The same position was achieved by hip-hop artist J Hus for his debut album Common Sense. Process, the debut album from soul singer Sampha, reached number seven upon its release in February.
Elsewhere, Kate Tempest, who became the first published poet shortlisted for the prize in 2014 with her debut album Everybody Down, reached number 28 with her shortlisted follow-up, Let Them Eat Chaos.
The Mercury Prize aims to "celebrate and promote the best of UK music recognising artistic achievement across a range of contemporary music genres", according to a statement, and was again judged by an independent panel of musicians, industry experts and journalists.
This year's judges included Mumford and Sons frontman Marcus Mumford, jazz musician Jamie Cullum and pop stars Ella Eyre and Jessie Ware and BBC broadcasters Clara Amfo and Mistajam.
The overall winner will be announced during the 2017 Mercury Prize Awards Show at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
Here is the shortlist in full
- alt-j, Relaxer
- Blossoms, Blossoms
- Dinosaur Together, As One
- Ed Sheeran, Divide
- Glass Animals, How to be a Human Being
- J Hus, Common Sense
- Kate Tempest, Let Them Eat Chaos
- Loyle Carner, Yesterday’s Gone
- Sampha, Process
- Stormzy, Gang Signs & Prayer
- The Big Moon, Love in the 4th Dimension
- The xx, I See You