News: Mercury Music Prize
Judge presiding over award says there are no "standout" albums on this year's shortlist
Photography Tom Oldham
MERCURY Music Prize judge Simon Frith has admitted that there is “no standout record” on this year’s shortlist.
Frith, who is chairman of the judges, suggested that, of the albums nominated for the 2012 award, there is no obvious winner. “There was no equivalent of an Adele record [21 was nominated last year] or the Arctic Monkeys record [Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not won the prize in 2006],” he told The Telegraph. “Whether there’s a record that you think is going to change the way people make music — probably not”.
Asked why big names like Kate Bush, Florence + The Machine and Coldplay were omitted from the list, Frith reasoned that “there was nothing that seemed to be an absolute must and so the field became much more wide open”.
You can see the full list of artists who have been nominated for this year’s award here. The list includes Django Django (pictured).
