{"id":793210,"date":"2026-07-30T11:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/793210\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T11:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:21:09","slug":"mercury-prize-2026-check-out-this-years-shortlisted-albums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/793210\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury Prize 2026: check out this year’s shortlisted albums"},"content":{"rendered":"

The full shortlist for the Mercury Prize 2026<\/a> has been revealed, with Paul McCartney<\/a>, JADE<\/a>, Nia Archives<\/a>, Dave<\/a>, Suede<\/a> and the War Child \u2018Help(2)<\/a>\u2018 compilation all among this year\u2019s nominated albums.<\/p>\n

The winner will be revealed on October 22 at Newcastle\u2019s Utilita Arena, returning after hometown hero Sam Fender bagged the prize last year for his third album \u2018People Watching<\/a>\u2018.<\/p>\n

To be eligible for this year\u2019s prize, albums must have been released by British or Irish artists released between August 30 2025 and July 17 2026 (inclusive) \u2013 meaning that Charli XCX\u2019s recent \u2018Music, Fashion, Film<\/a>\u2019 won\u2019t be able to enter until next year, while Nia Archives<\/a>\u2018 acclaimed \u2018Emotional Junglist<\/a>\u2019 just made the cut.<\/p>\n

\"MercurySam Fender on stage accepting the Mercury Music Prize for the album \u2018People Watching\u2019 2025 awards. CREDIT: JMEnternational\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Big names to make this year\u2019s 12 \u2018Albums of the Year\u2019 list include Dave<\/a> with \u2018The Boy Who Played the Harp<\/a>\u2019 after he won in 2019 with \u2018Psychodrama<\/a>\u2018, Florence + The Machine<\/a> being nominated for a fourth time with sixth LP \u2018Everybody Scream<\/a>\u2019, Olivia Dean<\/a> landing a second Mercury nod but this time for the hugely successful \u2018The Art Of Loving<\/a>\u2018, RAYE<\/a> returning this time for \u2018THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE<\/a>.\u2019 and Beatles<\/a> icon Paul McCartney<\/a>\u2018s reflective \u2018The Boys of Dungeon Lane<\/a>\u2019 finding him on the Mercury shortlist for the first time.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, War Child Records\u2019 indie star-studded charity compilation album \u2018Help(2)<\/a>\u2018 \u2013 which featured the likes of Arctic Monkeys<\/a>, Fontaines D.C.<\/a>, Depeche Mode<\/a>, Damon Albarn<\/a>, Young Fathers<\/a>, English Teacher<\/a> and Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> \u2013 has found a spot on the shortlist, 20 years after the first \u2018Help\u2019 compilation<\/a> managed to do so in 1996.<\/p>\n

Completing the list are \u201cgenerational voice\u201d Irish singer Dove Ellis with \u2018Blizzard<\/a>\u2019, former Little Mix star JADE\u2019s huge solo debut \u2018THAT\u2019S SHOWBIZ BABY<\/a>!\u2019, Geordie jazz and poetry outfit Knats with \u2018A Great Day In Newcastle\u2019 for the hometown crowd, Kojey Radical\u2019s <\/a>making his second Mercury shortlist appearance with \u2018Don\u2019t Look Down\u2019, and art-rock veterans Suede returning with \u2018Antidepressants<\/a>\u2019 \u2013 their third nomination, including a win for their self-titled debut in 1993.<\/p>\n

Surprise snubs in this year\u2019s shortlist include Lily Allen\u2019s \u2018West End Girl<\/a>\u2018, Harry Styles\u2019 \u2018Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally<\/a>\u2019, \u2018Essex Honey\u2019 by Blood Orange<\/a>, Yard Act\u2019s new \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music<\/a>\u2018, The Last Dinner Party\u2019s sophomore \u2018From The Pyre<\/a>\u2018 and Boards Of Canada\u2019s long-awaited comeback LP, \u2018Inferno<\/a>\u2018.<\/p>\n

The Mercury Prize ceremony in Newcastle in October will feature live performances from many of the artists, with coverage broadcast across the BBC.<\/p>\n

The full shortlist for the Mercury Prize 2026 is:<\/p>\n

Dave \u2013 \u2018The Boy Who Played the Harp\u2019
Dove Ellis \u2013 \u2018Blizzard\u2019
Florence + The Machine \u2013 \u2018Everybody Scream\u2019
JADE \u2013 \u2018THAT\u2019S SHOWBIZ BABY!\u2019
Knats \u2013 \u2018A Great Day In Newcastle\u2019
Kojey Radical \u2013 \u2018Don\u2019t Look Down\u2019
Nia Archives \u2013 \u2018Emotional Junglist\u2019
Olivia Dean \u2013 \u2018The Art of Loving\u2019
Paul McCartney \u2013 \u2018The Boys of Dungeon Lane\u2019
RAYE \u2013 \u2018THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.\u2019
Suede \u2013 \u2018Antidepressants\u2019
War Child Records \u2013 \u2018HELP(2)\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s victors will join the recent likes of English Teacher, Ezra Collective<\/a>, Little Simz<\/a>, Dave, Arlo Parks<\/a>, Wolf Alice<\/a>, Young Fathers and more, as well as legendary past winners such as Arctic Monkeys<\/a>, Elbow<\/a>, Pulp<\/a>, Portishead<\/a>, PJ Harvey<\/a> and Franz Ferdinand<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The winner will be decided by a judging panel made up of music writer and broadcaster Sophie Williams, The Times\u2018 rock and pop critic Will Hodgkinson, composer, DJ and radio broadcaster AFRODEUTSCHE, and broadcaster and musician Danielle Perry.<\/p>\n

Alongside them will be Radio 2\u2019s Jamie Cullum, Jeff Smith, Lea Stonhill, MistaJam, Kerrang\u2018s creative director Phil Alexander, Sian Eleri, with Jeff Smith The Chair of the judging team.<\/p>\n

Tickets to the Mercury Prize 2026 are on sale and available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Mercury Prize saw nearly 8,000 visitors travel to Newcastle for the events, and generated a combined spend of \u00a3874,724. It also added an estimated \u00a3552,868 GVA to the regional economy, and led to 35 local people gaining work experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The full shortlist for the Mercury Prize 2026 has been revealed, with Paul McCartney, JADE, Nia Archives, Dave,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,129092,216],"class_list":["post-793210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-mercury-prize","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}