Charli xcx has crowned the so-called summer of Brat – the name of her sixth album album, whose lurid green aesthetic has even reached the US presidential race – with a nomination for this year’s Mercury prize. It is the Hertfordshire musician’s second nod, following one in 2020 for her lockdown album, How I’m Feeling Now.
She is one of four musicians nominated this year to have been previously recognised by the UK music industry’s flagship prize for albums by British and Irish artists, alongside Trinidad-born, London-raised rapper Berwyn, for his debut album Who Am I (following a nod for his mixtape Demotape/Vega in 2021); Leeds songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, for her fourth album, the psychedelic opus Black Rainbows; and London rapper Ghetts, for his fourth album On Purpose, With Purpose.
Standing between the stalwart nominees and the artists on their debut albums is Beth Gibbons. She won the prize in 1995 as a member of Portishead, for their debut album, Dummy, and receives a nod this year for her acclaimed debut solo album, Lives Outgrown.
Including Gibbons, the eight first-time nominees span a wide range of genres: Bradford jungle producer Nia Archives for Silence Is Loud; Dublin indie-pop songwriter CMAT, with Crazymad, for Me; London songwriter Cat Burns for Early Twenties; Edinburgh dance producer Barry Can’t Swim for When Will We Land?; Leeds indie band English Teacher for This Could Be Texas; and the most hyped new UK band of the year, London’s baroque-poppers the Last Dinner Party, for Prelude to Ecstasy. Glasgow composer corto.alto receives the Mercury’s infamous “token” jazz nomination for his full-length debut, Bad With Names. But there are none of the prize’s historic cursory nods to folk, while rock and metal, as ever, remain absent from the list.
The highest number of first-time nominees for the award was nine, in 2005, when the prize was won by Antony and the Johnsons (now Anohni and the Johnsons) for their second album, I Am a Bird Now.
Eight of the 12 nominees this year are women or contain female members, equalling the prize’s 2020 list for progressive gender representation.
Artists submit themselves for the prize, making it impossible to determine who may feel snubbed – or who simply opted out. But acts who may feel disregarded include Radiohead side project the Smile, for their second album, Wall of Eyes; dance legends Pet Shop Boys with their return to form Nonetheless; Blur with The Ballad of Darren; Charli xcx collaborator AG Cook, for the producer’s opus Britpop; Sheffield metallers Bring Me the Horizon, for seventh album Post Human: Nex Gen; 2017 Mercury winner Sampha for Lahai; British-Albanian pop superstar Dua Lipa, for third album Radical Optimism; jazz musician Shabaka for his solo debut Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace; folk legend Linda Thompson, for Proxy Music; songwriter Rachel Chinouriri for her debut What a Devastating Turn of Events; experimental band Still House Plants for If I Don’t Make It, I Love U; dance group Mount Kimbie, for The Sunset Violent; and post-punks Yard Act for Where’s My Utopia?
The Mercury describes its remit as “highlighting the work of both exciting emerging talent and more established bands and artists”. This year’s judges are broadcaster and writer Danielle Perry; musician and Radio 2 presenter Jamie Cullum; DJ and BBC 6 Music presenter Jamz Supernova; BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music head of music Jeff Smith; music programming consultant Lea Stonhill; broadcaster, songwriter and DJ Mistajam; BBC Radio 1 presenter and DJ Sian Eleri; and the journalists Will Hodgkinson, Sophie Williams and Phil Alexander.
This year’s Mercury prize has failed to find a sponsor, meaning there will be no live winner’s presentation ceremony, traditionally featuring performances from all the nominated acts and broadcast on the BBC. Instead, the winner will be announced in September, with details of the unveiling yet to be revealed.
The 2024 Mercury prize nominees
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