Skepta has won the 25th Mercury Prize for his album 'Konnichiwa', following in the footsteps of PJ Harvey, Pulp, and last year's winner Benjamin Clementine.
Shaun Keaveny hosted the first part of the Awards Show featuring live performances from the shortlisted ‘Albums of the Year’ including The 1975, Kano, Bat For Lashes, Jamie Woon, Laura Mvula, Michael Kiwanuka, Savages, The Comet Is Coming, Anonhi and Skepta. There was also a special performance by Michael C. Hall, the principal performer in the play ‘Lazarus’, to represent the David Bowie ‘Blackstar’ album. Radiohead premiered a 'Present Tense.'
Lauren Laverne hosted the second part of the Awards Show and revealed the six finalists; Laura Mvula, Skepta, The 1975, David Bowie, Radiohead and Michael Kiwanuka.
The Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ celebrate and promote the best of UK music, recognising artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres. The 12 albums were chosen based solely on artistic merit by a panel of judges including Jessie Ware, Naughty Boy, Jamie Cullum, Clara Amfo and Jarvis Cocker.
You can view The 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize shortlist here. The 2017 Awards Show will take place on Thursday 14 September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith. The event will feature live performances by many of the 12 shortlisted artists and the evening will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize for ‘Album of the Year’. You can buy tickets here.