Mercury Prize 2024: English Teacher Wins Over Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and More

Thomas Smith and Paul Grein
·4 min read

UPDATE (Sept. 6): This Could Be Texas, the debut studio album by British group English Teacher, won the 2024 Mercury Prize on Thursday Sept. 5, beating such high-profile challengers as Charli XCX’s Brat and The Last Dinner Party’s Prelude to Ecstasy.

This Could Be Texas was released in April through Island Records and has climbed as high as No. 8 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. It was produced by Marta Salogni, an Italian record producer, mixer and recording engineer. It’s the first debut album to win the Mercury Prize since Arlo Parks’ Collapsed in Sunbeams three years ago.

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The judging team said: “This has been a really tough year for the Mercury Prize judges, with the final 12 albums being so reflective of our diverse & rich musical landscape. There was so much passion and enthusiasm for each one. In the end, though, we did agree that This Could Be Texas by English Teacher stands out for its originality & character. A winning lyrical mix of surrealism and social observation, alongside a subtle way of wearing its musical innovations lightly, displays a fresh approach to the traditional guitar band format. This Could Be Texas reveals new depths on every listen; the mark of a future classic. The Mercury Prize was set up to celebrate the album as an artistic format in its own right and all the judges agreed that this charismatic body of work deserves to be the 2024 Mercury Prize Album of the Year.”

Albums by British and Irish artists with a U.K. release date between July 15, 2023 and July 12, 2024 were eligible for the 2024 Prize.

PREVIOUSLY (July 25): Charli XCX’s Brat was among the albums shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize on Thursday (July 25). It’s the second time that the recent Billboard Cover star – whose album recently charted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 – has been nominated for the prize, following a nod for 2020’s How I’m Feeling Now.

The Mercury Prize is awarded annually and celebrates the best of British and Irish music across a wide range of genres. The Last Dinner Party’s Prelude To Ecstasy, Beth Gibbons’ Lives Outgrown, Corinne Bailey Rae’s Black Rainbows and CMAT’s Crazymad, For Me are also up for the award. The winner will be announced in September.

The shortlisted albums were announced at a launch event in London this morning. It follows the news that this year’s live event – traditionally held at the capital Eventim Apollo and featuring performances from the nominated acts – will not be taking place. Coverage across the BBC on TV, radio, online and social media will replace the usual live performance.

The announcement comes admidst a huge summer for Charli. Earlier this week, the pop star endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris following the news that President Joe Biden would not seek the Democratic nomination in this year’s U.S. presidential election. Fans on social media quickly spliced together clips of songs from Brat with footage of Harris, and the presumptive democratic party nominee changed the banner on her campaign’s X feed to the signature Brat green palette and font. In addition, talking heads on CNN, Fox News and late-night talk shows scrambled to clumsily explain this sudden explosion of memes to their audiences. In September, Charli will join Troye Sivan on a co-headline tour in the U.S. before a string of solo arena shows in the U.K. later this fall.

The Mercury Prize was first awarded in 1992. Recent winners include Ezra Collective (2023), Little Simz (2022), Arlo Parks (2021) and Michael Kiwanuka (2020). PJ Harvey, who won the prize in 2001 and 2011, and is the only artist to have won the award twice.

A panel of judges, chaired by Jeff Smith, head of music, Radio 2 & 6 Music, selects the winner and it also includes the following: Danielle Perry – broadcaster & writer; Jamie Cullum – musician & Radio 2 broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – 6 Music broadcaster & DJ; Lea Stonhill – music programming consultant;  Mistajam – songwriter, DJ & broadcaster; Phil Alexander – creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo; Sian Eleri – Radio 1 broadcaster & DJ; Will Hodgkinson – chief rock & pop critic, The Times; Sophie Williams – music writer & broadcaster.

Here’s the complete list of 2024 Mercury Prize album of the year nominees:

  • Barry Can’t Swim, When Will We Land?

  • BERWYN, Who Am I

  • Beth Gibbons, Lives Outgrown

  • Cat Burns, early twenties

  • Charli XCX, Brat

  • CMAT, Crazymad, for Me

  • Corinne Bailey Rae, Black Rainbows

  • corto.alto, Bad with Names

  • English Teacher, This Could Be Texas

  • Ghetts, On Purpose, With Purpose

  • Nia Archives, Silence Is Loud

  • The Last Dinner Party, Prelude to Ecstasy

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