The shortlist for the Hyundai Mercury Prize Album Of The Year will be exclusively revealed on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music show from 10.30am to 11.30am on Thursday (July 23).
The 12 albums will be announced one-by-one and there will be interviews with some of the shortlisted artists.
The 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize judges are Anna Calvi (artist) Annie Mac (broadcaster & DJ); Danielle Perry (broadcaster & writer); Gaz Coombes (artist); Gemma Cairney (broadcaster & DJ); Jamie Cullum (artist & broadcaster); Jeff Smith (BBC Radio 6 Music & Radio 2); Jorja Smith (artist); Mike Walsh (music consultant, Kendal Calling/Bluedot), War Child; Phil Alexander (creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo); Tshepo Mokoena (editorial director, Vice.com); Will Hodgkinson (journalist, The Times). The judging panel will be chaired by Jeff Smith.
Creatively, the past year has been an amazing year for British music
David Wilkinson, Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize chairman David Wilkinson said: "This has been a difficult and challenging year, so we are grateful to all the artists and labels that have supported the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize by entering their albums. Thanks also to the hardworking judges who have spent the last few months in lockdown listening to all the albums that were entered.
"Creatively the past year has been an amazing year for British music – so choosing just 12 Albums of the Year will be tough for the judging team. We’re looking forward to this year’s shortlist being announced by Lauren Laverne on her BBC Radio 6 Music show on July 23."
Albums by British artists with a UK release date between July 20, 2019 and July 17, 2020 are eligible for the 2020 Prize. Dave won the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize with Psychodrama (Dave Neighbourhood/Universal Music), which also triumphed at February's BRIT Awards.
Matt Dunnakey, Hyundai Motor UK head of marketing, said: "Whilst our title partnership of the Hyundai Mercury Prize has been integral to growing awareness of our brand here in the UK over the past few years, we are also pleased that our support has enabled continued innovation within British music. It has been a challenging time for us all in the last few months and there is no doubt that music in all its forms has helped us get through it. We look forward to seeing the highlights in the 2020 shortlist."
The Prize’s broadcast partner, BBC Music, will provide coverage across BBC TV, radio, online and social media. Meanwhile, YouTube Music is coming on board as digital music partner, partnering with the prize from the shortlist announcement onwards. YouTube Music will also host the official Prize playlist featuring the 12 shortlisted artists and albums.
This year's awards show is currently scheduled for Hammersmith's Eventim Apollo on Thursday, September 10, subject to government guidelines.
