Mercury Prize 2022 Albums of the Year shortlist revealed

26 July 2022, 11:58 | Updated: 28 July 2022, 17:57

Sam Fender, Little Simz, Harry Styles and Wet Leg albums have all been given a Mercury Prize nod. Picture: 1. Jon Mo Photography 2. Hollie Fernando 3. Press 4. Press

By Jenny Mensah

Sam Fender, Little Simz, Harry Styles, Wet leg and Self Esteem among those honoured this year. See the full list of 12 albums here.

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The 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW Albums of the Year have been announced.

The award - which celebrates and promotes the best of British & Irish music - has recognised 12 albums including Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under, Little Simz's Sometimes I Might be Introvert, Yard Act's The Overload, Self Esteem's Prioritise Pleasure and Wet Leg's self-titled debut.

The winner of the Mercury Prize is awarded with a £25,000 prize.

The Shortlist for the 2022 Mercury Prize with @FreeNow_UK has been revealed! 🏆⚡️@fergusmccreadie @gwennosaunders @Harry_Styles @buckleyxbutler @JoyCrookes @KojeyRadical @LittleSimz @NovaTwinsMusic @SamFenderMusic @SELFESTEEM___ @wetlegband @YardActBand #MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/VbIV8nubON
— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) July 26, 2022

See the Mercury Prize 2022 shortlist:

Fergus McCreadie - Forest Floor
Gwenno - Tresor
Harry Styles - Harry’s House
Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler - For All Our Days That Tear the Heart
Joy Crookes - Skin
Kojey Radical - Reason To Smile
Little Simz - Sometimes I Might be Introvert
Nova Twins - Supernova
Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under
Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure
Wet Leg - Wet Leg
Yard Act - The Overload

The 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW judges are: Anna Calvi – Musician & Songwriter; Annie MacManus – Broadcaster & DJ; Danielle Perry – Broadcaster & Writer; Hazel Wilde (from Lanterns on the Lake) - Musician & Songwriter; Jamie Cullum - Musician & Broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – Broadcaster & DJ; Jeff Smith - Head of Music, 6 Music & Radio 2; Lea Stonhill – Music Programmer, Radio X; Loyle Carner – Musician & Songwriter; Phil Alexander – Creative Director, Kerrang!/Contributing Editor, Mojo; Tshepo Mokoena – Music Writer & Author; Will Hodgkinson - Chief Rock & Pop Critic, The Times.

The Chair of the judging panel is Jeff Smith.

The 12 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW Albums of the Year. Picture: Press

The judges said: " Getting down to 12 albums this year was not easy, simply because there were so many remarkable ones to choose from. That serves as proof that British & Irish music thrives during unsettled periods in history, with the albums chosen covering everything from imaginative pop to pioneering rap to Cornish language folk-rock. We feel that these 12 amazing albums each have something to say artistically and socially, all in their own unique, enriching ways. Now comes the really hard part... choosing only one overall winner".