Mercury Shortlist Announced

This morning, the nominees for Britain’s Nationwide Mercury Prize were announced. The prize was established by BPI and BARD (and is now sponsored by Nationwide) to honor the year’s greatest album hailing from the United Kingdom or Ireland. A small ceremony was held today to announce the nominees for the prize, the winner of which is set to be announced on September 9.

This morning, the nominees for Britain’s Nationwide Mercury Prize were announced. The prize was established by BPI and BARD (and is now sponsored by Nationwide) to honor the year’s greatest album hailing from the United Kingdom or Ireland. A small ceremony was held today to announce the nominees for the prize, the winner of which is set to be announced on September 9.

Former winners of the prize include the likes of Klaxons (2007), Arctic Monkeys (2006), Franz Ferdinand (2004), and PJ Harvey (2001). The prize is well known for honoring a wide variety of genres and not necessarily choosing the twelve top selling records of the year. Nationwide Mercury Prize’s website explains their process simply, stating “the music on the album is the only thing taken into account.”

Notable snubs from this year’s lineup include Coldplay’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends and Duffy’s Rockferry, both of which fared well on the charts as well as with critics.

The 12 nominees are:
Adele, 19
British Sea Power, Do You Like Rock Music?
Burial, Untrue
Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
Estelle, Shine
Laura Marling, Alas, I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon, Stainless Style
Portico Quartet, Knee Deep in the North Sea
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, The Baims
Radiohead, In Rainbows
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Raising Sand
The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age of the Understatement