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2022 Mercury Prize Albums of the Year Revealed

The 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW ‘Albums of the Year’ were announced today, which promote the best of British and Irish music, recognising artistic achievement across a range of contemporary music genres.

The 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW ‘Albums of the Year’ are:

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 shortlist was chosen by an independent judging panel and was revealed at a launch event, hosted by BBC Music’s Huw Stephens on 26 July 2022.

The 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW judges are:

Anna Calvi: musician and songwriter

Annie MacManus: broadcaster and DJ

Danielle Perry: broadcaster and writer

Hazel Wilde (from Lanterns on the Lake): musician and songwriter

Jamie Cullum: musician and broadcaster

Jamz Supernova: broadcaster and DJ

Jeff Smith: head of music, 6 Music and Radio 2

Lea Stonhill: music programmer, Radio X

Loyle Carner: musician and songwriter

Phil Alexander: creative director, Kerrang! / contributing editor, Mojo

Tshepo Mokoena: music writer and author

Will Hodgkinson: chief rock and pop critic, The Times

The Chair of the judging panel is Jeff Smith.

“Getting down to 12 albums this year was not easy, simply because there were so many remarkable ones to choose from,” said the judges in a joint statement.

“That serves as proof that British and 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.”

The 2022 Awards Show will take place on Thursday 8 September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.

The event will feature live performances from many of the shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW ‘Album of the Year’.

The Prize’s broadcast partner, BBC Music, will be providing coverage of the event across BBC TV, BBC Radio 6 Music, online and social media.

FREE NOW, the Mobility Super App, is the new headline sponsor of the Mercury Prize. The sponsorship is part of a multi-year commitment from FREE NOW to support British music.

Amazon Music is the digital music partner of the 2022 Mercury Prize. The music streaming service will be supporting the Mercury Prize shortlisted artists with playlists and programming from the launch of the shortlist until the Awards Show.

British audio brand Bowers & Wilkins continues as the official audio partner of the Mercury Prize.