The 12 albums that are nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize have been revealed today (July 25), with Charli XCX and The Last Dinner Party. The winner of the award is set to be revealed in September, however this year we won’t have the usual ceremony and the Hammersmith Apollo with the traditional live performances as this has been dropped and replaced with “other extensive promotional activity” in partnership with the BBC.
Other artists to feature on the list for the prestigious award are Scottish electronic DJ and Producer Barry Can’t Swim, Jungle artist Nia Archives, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Corinne Bailey Rae, and grime artist Ghetts. The remaining nominees are Berwyn, Cat Burns, CMAT, Corto.alto, and English Teacher.
The full list of Albums nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize are:
Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?
Berwyn – Who Am I
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
Cat Burns – Early Twenties
Charli XCX – Brat
CMAT – Crazymad, For Me
Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows
Corto.alto – Bad With Names
English Teacher – This Could Be Texas
Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose
Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud
The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy
The mercury Prize is undoubtedly a great opportunity for up-and-coming artists. So, it therefore makes sense that the list of nominees this year has been dominated by debuts with 8 of the 12 albums nominated being debuts which is double what it was last year.
One of the debut albums on the list being The Last Dinner Party’s ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ and this is the biggest selling album so far on the list, however, Charli XCX’ ‘Brat’ has momentum at the moment and is likely to overtake ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ this week.
Among the eight debut albums that made the list this year is Beth Gibbon’s ‘Lives Outgrown. Although Gibbons has released numerous albums as a member of Portishead this record is her debut as a solo artist. According to Music Week Gibbons said: “Really great surprise to be part of the 12 Mercury albums of the year, something I never expected. Big thanks to all who have supported the album, it means so much.”
Nominees Charli XCX, Corinne Bailey Rae and Ghetts have all been nominated for the Mercury Prize before but none of them have won the award.
The list of nominees, as well as the winner, has been chosen by an independent Judging panel and has been taken from a wide range of genres. Albums released by British and Irish artists between July 15, 2023, and July 12, 2024, were eligible for the award.
Earlier in the week it was revealed that the traditional award ceremony with live performances has been dropped this year. More details of what this entails are set to be revealed closer to when the winner is announced but Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the BPI, home to the Mercury Prize, said: “For the 2024 Mercury Prize we will work imaginatively with the BBC to deliver a premium programme of music content and digital engagement that will, as ever, benefit all 12 artists in reaching a wider audience, providing an important platform for their evolving career and musical journey.”
