John Marshall
Little Simz has won the 2022 Mercury Prize for her third album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.
The London-born rapper beat fellow nominees including Wet Leg, Harry Styles, and Sam Fender to win the annual award, which comes with a £25,000 ($28,000) prize. The decision was made by a panel of judges and handed out at a ceremony in London on Tuesday evening. The winner was originally meant to be named on September 8 but the ceremony had to be postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II earlier that day.
Speaking on stage after receiving the award, Simz said she was "very overwhelmed and grateful" to receive the honor. Speaking to her fellow nominees, she added: "We all made incredible albums. We all changed people's lives with our music, and that's the most important thing."
The Mercury Prize, awarded to the best British or Irish album of the year since 1992, has previously been given to albums including Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea by PJ Harvey and Dave's Psychodrama. Last year's prize was awarded to Arlo Parks' Collapsed In Sunbeams.
This year's list of nominees featured a typically eclectic array of artists, including Oscar-nominated actress Jessie Buckley, pianist Fergus McCreadie, post-punk band Yard Act, and Gwenno, whose album Tresor was recorded primarily in Cornish.
Mercury Prize 2022 nominees:
Fergus McCreadie, Forest Floor
Gwenno, Tresor
Harry Styles, Harry’s House
Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, For All Our Days That Tear the Heart
Joy Crookes, Skin
Kojey Radical, Reason to Smile
Little Simz, Sometimes I Might be Introvert
Nova Twins, Supernova
Sam Fender, Seventeen Going Under
Self Esteem, Prioritise Pleasure
Wet Leg, Wet Leg
Yard Act, The Overload
