The Mercury Prize has revealed this year’s shortlist for the best UK and Irish album of the year. They are:
- Dave – The Boy Who Played the Harp
- Dove Ellis – Blizzard
- Florence + the Machine – Everybody Scream
- JADE – That’s Showbiz Baby!
- Knats – A Great Day in Newcastle
- Kojey Radical – Don’t Look Down
- Nia Archives – Emotional Junglist
- Oliva Dean – The Art of Loving
- Paul McCartney – The Boys From Dungeon Lane
- RAYE – This Music May Contain Hope
- Suede – Antidepressants
- War Child / Various Artists – HELP(2)
This is the first time Paul McCartney has been nominated for the Mercury Prize (which was founded in 1992), and also getting their first Shortlist nods are Dove Ellis (who also appears on HELP2), JADE, Knats, and Olivia Dean.
This is Florence‘s fourth Mercury Prize Shortlist nomination (she’s never won); the third for Suede who won in 1993 for their self-titled debut; the second for DAVE, who won for his 2018 debut album Psychodrama; RAYE‘s second album in a row to get nominated; Kojey Radical was also nominated for his 2022 debut Reason to Smile; the second album in a row for Nia Archives, whose new album Emotional Junglist was released on the last day of eligibility; and War Child charity album HELP(2) is only the second compilation to get a Shortlist nom (the first was the original 1995 HELP album) .
The 2026 Mercury Prize will be awarded on October 22 at a gala ceremony at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.
Sam Fender’s People Watching won last year.