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.

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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.”

Cat has recently teamed up with singer, Sam Fischer, and created a brand new version of known single, “Go”. In an interview with the OfficialCharts, she spoke about her recent blow up of her single, stating, “I’m really glad that, of all the songs I’ve released, it’s Go that’s done really well. That’s the music that I want to make going forward; I want to make meaningful pop that’s acoustic-led. That’s what I’ve always loved making. The fact that’s the song people have loving most makes me feel confident. All the songs I have now are, in my opinion, better than Go, so I’m like ‘let’s go!’ This is the music that I want to make, so I’m very happy.”

The south London hit, produces songs over warm infused melodies, whilst drawing out lyrical content that revolve around deeper themes such as anxiety, relationships and queer acceptance. When speaking to the OfficialCharts, Burns confirmed that her new EP will contain lyrical content that is just as intimate as what we’ve seen, voicing, “Upcoming music is going to be just as personal as Go, but I’ll be talking about different situations. My new EP discusses friendship break-ups and that weird, sombre feeling when you drift apart. I’m talking about taking mental health breaks, my struggles with anxiety and even how emotionally-unavailable this generation is.The artists I’ve always loved are those who wrote about specific situations that I could relate to and thought ‘they’ve written this for me.’ I’ve always wanted to be that artist to other people. It’s about where we’re at right now [in society] in, I hope, a very tasteful and mature way.”

Cat has a busy 2022 lineup ahead, starting with her upcoming tour later this week (19/05 – 28/05), where she will be performing as a supporting act for Years & Years.

There are still a limited selection of tickets available – tickets can be found here.