It’s almost time for one of the biggest nights in the music calendar to begin, as the Mercury Prize 2025, hosted by Lauren Laverne, kicks off in just a few hours.
The prize, which has been running since 1992, when it was won by Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, aims to champion the album format as well as new music in the UK and Ireland across an eclectic range of genres.
What do the artists win?
Meet the judges!
The Mercury Awards are dished out following the decision of an independent judging panel of music professionals. It includes musicians, journalists, broadcasters and producers.
They based their decisions on the musical merit of the 12 albums that have been shortlisted to the ‘Albums of the Year’ with one overall winner.
This year, the juding panel include Jamie Cullen, Phil Alexander, Sian Eleri, Lea Stonhill, Will Hodgkinson, Danielle Perry, Jeff Smith and Sophie Williams.
CMAT says Irish music success comes from ‘generation of trauma’
Irish singer CMAT has said her music success has stemmed from a “generation of traumatised people”. She is nominated alongside fellow Irish act Fontaines DC for her album Euro-Country.
Before the awards ceremony, CMAT told PA news agency their success came as a result of “a lot of bad fruits coming to harvest”. She said: “I think that this is a bit of a generation of traumatised people that are getting to make music now.
“I wish I could pinpoint it to anything else, but it’s just the fact that everything is coming up through the rafters so quickly, and there’s a lot of artists from a very small, not very densely populated country, making a lot of music that feels quite important, as opposed to trivial.
“I think everybody is a bit earnest and has had their head screwed on a little bit because we all went through something 20-odd years ago my age group (the 2008 Irish economic downturn referenced on her album), and we’re now really dealing with the fall-out and the repercussions of it.”
Mercury Award nominee CMAT helped by Beyoncé
CMAT is favourite to win big tonight and she believes Beyonce has played a huge part in her success. The Irish singer has credited Beyonce with opening the door for different types of country music.
CMAT, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, explained: “Beyoncé winning a Grammy (this year) for it is particularly interesting, and I think is a really good sign of how she’s opening it up to so many other people, because this is a woman who got it really badly in the neck from the Country Music establishment in 2016 when she brought the Dixie Chicks out – or the Chicks out – at the Country Music Awards.
Who won the Mercury Prize last year?
English Teacher beat off stiff competition from the likes of Charli xcx and The Last Dinner Party to be crowned the winners of the 2024 Mercury Prize.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror on Friday, ahead of their War Child gig in Liverpool, the band reflected on how surprised they were to win for their debut album, This Could Be Texas.
“We definitely didn’t know we would win, and we didn’t prepare a speech as well,” they recalled.
“We thought if that on the off chance that we did win, we would just wing it and it would be fine, and it was. I think we got quite a few compliments from that speech!”
English Teacher revealed that CMAT, who is nominated for her third LP Euro-Country, is their tip to take home the prize this year. You can read more about our chat with the band here.
How to watch the Mercury Prize on TV
If you’re not lucky enough to be inside Newcastle’s Utilita Arena this evening, fear not – you can see all the performances and see the winner be announced live on TV.
Who is nominated for the 2025 Mercury Prize?
Britpop band Pulp, Irish singer CMAT and singer-songwriter Sam Fender are among the artists whose albums have been nominated for the 2025 Mercury Prize.
Fontaines DC, Wolf Alice, FKA Twigs, PinkPantheress, Pa Salieu, Emma-Jean Thackray, Jacob Alon, Joe Webb, and Martin Carthy complete the 12-artist shortlist.
Pulp, who won the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, have been nominated for More, their first album in more than 20 years. The group were also nominated in 1994 for His ‘N’ Hers, and in 1998 for This Is Hardcore.
Source: Mirror
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