Mercury Prize 2013 shortlist revealed

David Bowie’s The Next Day and Arctic Monkeys’ AM lead the nominations for this year’s Mercury Prize.

The 12 finalists for the Mercury Prize 2013 were announced earlier this evening (Wednesday, September 11). The shortlist, chosen from over 220 submissions, was revealed by BBC 6 Music DJ Lauren Laverne at The Hospital Club in London's Covent Garden.

David Bowie’s Number 1 album The Next Day and Arctic Monkey’s newly release AM (which is Number 1 on today’s Official Albums Chart Update) lead the charge, while Number 1 albums from Disclosure (Settle), Rudimental (Home) and Jake Bugg’s debut album have also received nods from the judges.

The annual awards ceremony, which seeks to celebrate recorded music by British and Irish artists, is noted for shining the spotlight on some lesser known acts, too. The music on the album is the only thing taken into account, offering a level playing field to artists of all genres and styles.

Awayland by Irish band Villagers, Immunity by London producer Jon Hopkins and post-punk outfit Savages’ Silence Yourself have also made the shortlist.

While the Mercury Prize isn’t necessarily about big selling albums, a by-product of being nominated is often a dramatic uplift in sales. During the nominations period last year, sales of Plan B’s Ill Manors rose by more than 43,000 copies, while Alt J, who went on to win the Mercury Prize, saw sales of their album An Awesome Wave surge by nearly 32,000 copies during the same period. It has now sold more than 271,000 copies in the UK.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, October 30.

The full list of nominations is as follows:

Arctic Monkeys – AM
David Bowie – The Next Day
Disclosure – Settle
Foals – Holy Fire
Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg
James Blake – Overgrown
Jon Hopkins – Immunity
Laura Marling – Once I Was an Eagle
Laura Mvula – Sing to the Moon
Rudimental – Home
Savages – Silence Yourself
Villagers – Awayland