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The organisers behind the Mercury Prize have revealed that this year’s winner will be announced on Thursday 5 September.
Twelve albums by British and Irish artists have been shortlisted for the annual music award, including Charli XCX’s critically adored Brat and This Could Be Texas by indie-rock band English Teacher.
The shortlist was unveiled in July, around the same time it was disclosed that there would be no live ceremony for the first time since the award’s inception.
This year’s prize will be instead be filmed and broadcast live from Abbey Road Studios in London, with the programme shown on BBC Four from 8pm to 9.15pm.
BBC Radio 6 Music will share a broadcast presented by Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant from 7pm to 11pm, while Matt Everitt will interview each of the 12 artists ahead of the winner’s announcement.
The overall winner will be revealed at around 9pm. All 12 shortlisted artists have been invited to attend the announcement at Abbey Road, where they will watch recent recorded performances from across the BBC.
This year’s Mercury Prize matches 2020 as the greatest gender balance in the award’s history, with eight out of 12 shortlisted acts being female or female-fronted.
Corinne Bailey Rae received her first Mercury Prize nomination in 14 years, thanks to her critically hailed fourth album, Black Rainbows, which was inspired by an exhibition on Black history that she visited in Chicago.
She was first shortlisted in 2010 for her second album, The Sea.
Meanwhile, Beth Gibbons of Portishead fame also received her first solo nomination following her debut, Lives Outgrown, which was written over the course of a decade and tackles themes of motherhood, menopause and mortality.
Portishead won the Mercury Prize in 1995 for their groundbreaking trip-hop debut, Dummy. Charli XCX, born Charlotte Aitchison, was previously shortlisted in 2020 for her fourth album, How I’m Feeling Now.
Last year’s Mercury Prize went to British jazz quintet Ezra Collective for their second album, Where I’m Meant to Be.
Other recent winners include rapper Little Simz (2022), singer-songwriter Arlo Parks (2021), soul singer Michael Kiwanuka (2020) and rapper Dave (2019).
The full shortlist for the 2024 Mercury Prize is as follows:
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
