The album was released in January to much acclaim as critics praised its compassion and insight into topics like mental health and sexuality. Parks told the BBC she had written the album “about the things I was scared to talk about or the things that moved me” and composed the first song, “Eugene”, “sitting on the floor eating pasta” while she was still at school.

Parks performed “Too Good” at the event in London, with host Lauren Laverne revealing that Parks told her she used to cycle past the venue on her way to school. You can see her perform the track below.

When she received the reward the singer said “I am completely speechless. I don’t have the words. I just want to say a big thank you to my family. My mum and my dad are somewhere in the room today,”

Arlo Parks or Anais Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho was born in west London to Nigerian and French-Chadian parents. She began writing to escape into a fantasy world, quickly establishing a style combining both emotional directness and rich sensory palate.

She draws much of her inspiration from artists like Elliott Smith, Jill Scott, Frank Ocean and Portishead and was only 17 when she began sending demos to the BBC. Success soon followed with trip-hoppy 2018 debut single “Cola”, which featured heavily in Michaela Coel’s BBC drama I May Destroy You which was written with producer Luca Buccellati and has been streamed over 23 million times on Spotify. You can see her excepting her prize here.

The Mercury Prize, is given to the best British or Irish album of the past 12 months and has been going for 30 years. Previous winners include records such as Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, Pulp’s Different Class and Dave’s Psychodrama.

The Mercury Prize took to their Instagram to announce the news whilst counting down until next week’s event.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mercury Prize (@mercuryprize)

The prize will be rewarded to the winner chosen from the shortlist of 12 nominees and the album which garnered their nomination and inclusion. Along with the winner announcement, the ceremony will also include short films by SAULT and Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the LSO which concern their albums. The event’s website provides the following description for the Mercury Prize. “The Hyundai Mercury Prize promotes the best of UK and Irish music and the artists who produce it. This is done through the celebration of the 12 ‘Albums of the Year’, recognising artistic achievement across a range of contemporary music genres. It is the music equivalent to the Booker Prize for literature and the Turner Prize for art. The main objectives of the Prize are to recognise and celebrate artistic achievement, provide a snapshot of the year in music and to help introduce new albums from a range of music genres to a wider audience.”

The celebrated DJ and industry figure will take the stage at London’s Eventim Apollo on 9th September 2021 to hand the prestigious award to the winner of this year’s prize.  The former BBC Radio 1 DJ will be joined by fellow BBC broadcaster Lauren Laverne who will be responsible for hosting this year’s event. Mac has spoken on her involvement within this year’s ceremony and expresses the hard decision to choose a winner from the shortlist full of high calibre albums. “This year’s Hyundai Mercury Prize shortlist highlights how remarkably creative and diverse British music is at the moment. Choosing one overall winner from these 12 outstanding albums will be a tough challenge for the judging team. I’m looking forward to announcing our decision at the Awards Show.”

Mac will also be joining the judging panel; the award’s panel are comprised of top industry experts and professionals as well as last year’s winner Michael Kiwanuka who won the Mercury prize for his third studio album Kiwanuka. Joining the singer-songwriter on the judging panel includes famed musician Jamie Cullum and three-time Mercury prize nominee Anna Calvi. Heading the judging panel is the head of Music at stations 6 Music and Radio 2, Jeff Smith who is also the chair of the judging committee. Also included within the respected list of music professionals is Broadcaster and DJ Danielle Perry, presenter and writer Gemma Cairney, Music consultant Mike Walsh, Lanterns on the Lake band-member Hazel Wilde, editorial director for Vice.com Tshepo Mokoena, creative director for Kerrang! and contributing editor of Mojo Phil Alexander and Will Hodgkinson, known as the top rock and pop critic for The Times.

The judges for this year’s event have provided the following statement concerning their involvement in the process. “It is testament to the strength of British music that, during a year which saw musicians face the toughest challenges of their lives, so many remarkable albums came out nonetheless. There was an embarrassment of riches for this year’s Hyundai Mercury Prize judges to choose from, but the final twelve show how diverse, vibrant and far-reaching British music continues to be. Choosing one winner out of twelve albums that bring so much hope for the future will be a challenge indeed.”

The twelve shortlisted albums for the 2021 Mercury prize include Collapsed in Sunbeams by Alro Parks, DEMOTAPE/VEGA released by BERWYN, For the First Time by Black Country, New Road, Celeste’s album Not Your Muse, Promises by Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra, Conflict of Interest by Ghetts, Fir Wave released by Hannah Peel, Pink Noise by Laura Mvula, As the Love Continues by Mogwai, SOURCE by Nubya Garcia, Untitled (Rise) released by SAULT and Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice.

Radio coverage will be available via the event’s partner, fans will be able to listen to the ceremony on BBC four and BBC radio 6 music. The featured segments will include live performances from the nominees and will countdown live to the event’s winner. From 9 pm until 10:15 pm BBC Four will feature Hyundai Mercury Prize 2021 Live: Album of the Year and Tom Ravenscroft will host the coverage entitled The Mercury Prize on BBC Radio 6 Music via BBC Radio 6 Music from 8 pm until 12 am. Two days before the event BBC Radio 6 Music will also provide a nostalgic look back at past winners entitled The Mercury Prize: Winners’ Playlist from 4 am until 5 am. BBC Sounds will also include the station’s programme as well as information regarding this year’s shortlist.

WAKE TF UP ARCTIC MONKEYS ARE ALIVE pic.twitter.com/AivixFkgCU

— َ AM7!!! (@tongueinostril) August 14, 2021

Fans of the Sheffield four-piece have responded to the post, which has racked up over 1000 likes in 5 hours.

The band toured relentlessly following their 6th album release and decided to go their separate ways in 2019, following a long and successful spell of playing shows worldwide.

Due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, the band was unable to meet each other. One-half of the band resides in LA and the other half in London. In recent months, fans have debated on Twitter whether or not the Arctic Monkeys would have produced more music if it hadn’t been for the global pandemic of 2020. Drummer Matt Helders set the record straight in a podcast with Shapel Lacey, explaining that the band would have been ready to get the ball rolling again for album number 7 if it wasn’t for the global pandemic.

That said, there may be good news on the horizon for fans after all, as a new album is reportedly in the works. According to a statement taken from the Butley Priory’s website, the band has used the venue to record new material. The Priory bodes well as a venue that provides many possibilities for musicians: “Musicians love the acoustics in the Great Hall and Drawing room, with their huge vaulted ceilings.”

Nothing has been confirmed yet by the band.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @crispygeniusfish

#TimsTwitterListeningParty pic.twitter.com/8O0GkRf0Se

— Tim’s Listening Party (@LlSTENlNG_PARTY) August 28, 2020

#TimsTwitterListeningParties have only gained in popularity throughout the duration of lockdown. Tim Burgess initially brought them back at the height of isolation, and they proved to be one of the best ways that social media could be used as a force for good. There have been at least 400 Listening Parties – at least one almost every night since March 23 2020, when they kicked off with the Charlatans’ Some Friendly. 

The premise is that everyone puts an album on at the same time and then a commentary is produced by a number of people who were responsible for putting the album together. These range from the informative to the hilarious, and Bonehead always cries when he comes to the end of hosting a Listening Party. At the same time, you can ask questions or share opinions in real time.

It’s also worth noting that there is a degree of excitement that you get when you know that all over the world people are listening to the same album at the same time. In the absence of live music, knowing that everyone is going to put on a great song at the same time feels like a unifying event. Each Listening Party is then available forever at https://timstwitterlisteningparty.com/, where the tweets are archived in the order that they were sent out.

Digging even deeper into archive for this one — original demos, all sorts https://t.co/u9AJYCAbgz

— Sports Team (@SportsTeam_) August 28, 2020

The 2020 Mercury Prize nominees were announced earlier this month. Other than the ones listed above, they are Charli XCX, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Dua Lipa and Stormzy. This year, for the first time ever, there are more female solo artist nominees than male.

This is Laura Marling’s fourth Mercury Prize nomination, so she comes in at joint second for the most nominations ever, alongside PJ Harvey and Arctic Monkeys. The group who have been nominated most in the Prize’s 29-year history are Radiohead, who have had five albums up for the Prize. Stormzy’s Heavy Is the Head, on the other hand, is the grime star’s first ever nomination. Everything you need to know about the 2020 Prize is here.

Like everything, the Mercury Prize has had to do a little adapting this year. What you can expect on the day of the awards is a whole lot of great TV and radio coverage from the Mercury Prize partner BBC Music, in place of a live event. This isn’t completely confirmed yet, but in the meantime, you can get involved in the Listening Parties to get excited! Times and dates are below.

Wednesday 2 September 2020
8pm – Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter
9pm – Moses Boyd – Dark Matter

Thursday 3 September
7pm – Georgia – Seeking Thrills
8pm – Anna Meredith – Fibs
9pm – Porridge Radio – Every Bad

Wednesday 9 September
8pm – Lanterns on the Lake – Spook the Herd

Thursday 10 September
9pm – Sports Team – Deep Down Happy