Sam Fender's 2022 could be about to bring him another accolade as he has landed on the shortlist for the coveted Mercury Music Prize, two years after his fans were left angry that he didn't make the cut.
The award is highly regarded by those in the music industry and fans, with past winners including Dizzee Rascal, Ms Dynamite and most recent recipient Arlo Parks. And now North Shields singer Sam is in contention this year, alongside the likes of Harry Styles and Little Simz, the rapper who followed in Sam's footsteps by winning the new equivalent of the Critics Choice trophy in February.
Sam has landed on the shortlist with his second album Seventeen Going Under, which outsold the rest of the top 10 combined when it soared to number 1 in the autumn. Seventeen Going Under is the follow up to Sam's chart-topping debut Hypersonic Missiles, which, while critically acclaimed, was among the Mercury contenders two years ago, when Michael Kiwanuka triumphed.
