Sam Fender, Fontaines D.C. & PinkPantheress Among 2025 Mercury Prize Nominees – See Full List

The afloat database of nominees for the 2025 Mercury Prize has been announced, with the shortlist including Sam Fender, Fontaines D.C., PinkPantheress and more.

Celebrating the enactment of some esteemed and emerging artists from U.K and Ireland, the Mercury Prize is awarded annually and recognizes creator accomplishment successful LPs crossed a scope of genres. Recent winners see English Teacher (2024), Ezra Collective (2023), Little Simz (2022), Arlo Parks (2021) and Michael Kiwanuka (2020). The Prize was archetypal awarded successful 1992 to Primal Scream for Screamadelica, and winners see collections by Pulp (1996), PJ Harvey (2001, 2011) and Arctic Monkeys (2006).

Among those featured connected the 12-strong shortlist are Fontaines D.C., who person enjoyed a banner twelvemonth pursuing the merchandise of 4th LP Romance, successful August 2024. The Irish set besides received a Mercury Prize information for their debut album, 2019’s Dogrel, and person since gone connected to header London’s Finsbury Park arsenic good arsenic arenas crossed the U.K. and Ireland. Fontaines D.C. snagged champion planetary radical astatine the 2025 BRIT Awards, their 2nd triumph successful that category.

Sam Fender, who boasts 2025’s biggest opening week income successful the U.K. truthful far, is nominated for People Watching. The North Shields-born instrumentalist was antecedently nominated for his 2nd LP Seventeen Going Under and performed a fig of ample header shows this summer, including the 80,000-capacity London Stadium and Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park.

FKA twigs is besides recognised for 3rd LP EUSEXUA, her highest-charting grounds yet connected the Billboard 200 (No. 24). CMAT’s Euro-Country, which precocious peaked astatine No. 2 connected the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, gives the Irish country-pop prima her 2nd information for a Mercury Prize pursuing Crazymad, For Me (2023). 

Wolf Alice’s The Clearing picks up a nod, and follows their 2018 triumph for Visions of a Life. Pulp’s comeback LP More, their archetypal since 2001, and PinkPantheress’ mixtape Fancy That besides diagnostic connected the nominations list.

The database is rounded retired by Jacob Alon’s In Limerance; Emma-Jean Thackray’s Weirdo; Joe Webb’s Hamstrings & Hurricanes; Martin Carthy’s Transform Me Then Into A Fish; and Pa Salieu’s Afrikan Alien. View the nominations successful afloat below.

The 2025 awards amusement volition beryllium presented Oct. 16, astatine the Utilita Arena successful Newcastle – the archetypal clip the ceremonial has been hosted extracurricular of London successful its 33 twelvemonth history. The lawsuit volition diagnostic unrecorded performances from nominees and volition culminate successful the announcement of the wide winner.

The shortlist was revealed astatine a motorboat lawsuit for the British press, held successful cardinal London. It was besides announced unrecorded connected BBC Radio 6 Music by big Lauren Laverne. As the Mercury Prize’s broadcast partner,...