Sampha has been crowned the winner of the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize for his debut album 'Process'.
The Awards Show was hosted by BBC Music’s Lauren Laverne and guest presenter, Idris Elba announced the overall winner at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
On collecting the winner’s trophy and cheque for £25,000, Sampha proclaimed his triumph as ‘incredible’, thanking the judges and dedicating the award to his parents and his brothers. He then performed a second rendition of the song ‘(Nobody Knows Me) Like The Piano’ to a standing ovation from the audience.
The judging panel said “Sampha’s ‘Process’ is a beautifully intimate record. With its unique creativity, rich musicality, depth and vulnerability, it resonates emotionally and speaks to the heart. When you discover this record you’ll want to live with it, share it and celebrate it”.
The Show featured live performances from the 2017 shortlisted ‘Albums of the Year’ including Alt-J, Blossoms, Dinosaur, Glass Animals, J Hus, Kate Tempest, Loyle Carner, Sampha, Stormzy, The Big Moon and The xx. The 2016 winner of the Prize, Skepta also gave a special performance of ‘Man’ at the Show.
The Prize’s broadcast partner BBC Music broadcast the show on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music, both of which are available on BBC iPlayer.
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.
Hyundai Motor is very proud to support innovation in British music and has celebrated all the shortlisted artists in the build up to this year’s awards show.