Mercury Music Prize- and the Winner is...

It's that time of year again...the winner of the Mercury Music Prize was announced on Thursday (14th September) and I was so excited! Each year, a judging panel selects 12 critically acclaimed albums to be nominated, with the winner receiving a winner's trophy and £20,000. The nominees also each win their own nomination trophy.

Often it is a mixture of new and current artists and every year, there is stiff competition. But...who won?

First of all, let's check out the competition...

Alt-J - Relaxer

Alt J have previously won the award in 2012, with An Awesome Wave. Question is can they do it again? The only musician to achieve this is PJ Harvey. They have had three years away from the limelight, with their last release being This is All Yours. In terms of where it ended up on the UK album charts, Relaxer entered the top 10 at number 6. Can Alt J continue the success of their comeback by winning the Mercury Music Prize again?

Dinosaur -Together, as One

Dinosaur are quite a niche band, because they are a jazz band, something that, in my opinion, I would not have expected to be on the Mercury Music Prize nomination list. However, why shouldn't the genre of jazz be featured? For those of you who listen to BBC Radio 3, you may have heard of them, as they have featured on the Radio 3 Jazz Show. They were also nominated for the UK Jazz Artist of the Year 2017 by Jazz FM. Now, their debut album, Together, as One, has managed a Mercury Music Prize nomination. Will they win and bring jazz back into the mainstream?

Blossoms- Blossoms

For me, Blossoms have been a breath of fresh air for the indie music market. Okay, we have had new indie bands emerge, such as Bastille, Royal Blood and Wolf Alice but Blossoms, in my opinion, are different. I feel that everyone can like them. It seemed everyone did like them when their album, Blossoms, was released in August 2016, as it went straight to the Number one spot in the UK album chart. Will this album continue with its success by winning the Mercury Prize?

Glass Animals - How to be a Human Being

So...the reaction to Glass Animals has been mixed this past year. Among the fans, everything has been great. Glass Animals have gained big crowds at festivals, their second album, How to be a Human Being, became their first top 30 album, entering at number 23 on the UK album chart, and, thanks to their habit of incorporating pineapples into their stage sets when performing, an interesting tradition has developed for their fans: they have started bringing pineapples to their shows. However, this lead to pineapples being banned at festivals, such as Reading and Leeds! (Yep...really...I'm not making this up.) Do you think they will win the Mercury Music Prize?

J Hus- Common Sense

J Hus, it seems, has emerged out of no where and listening to Radio 1, I have got to know about his song, Spirit, and it is beautiful. Often, people complain about a relatively unknown artist getting the Mercury Music Prize. I mean, look at 2013, when James Blake won. However, despite this, I believe that it is a good thing. In fact, it is mainly the unknown artist that wins. Will J Hus win the Mercury Music Prize? We'll see.

Kate Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos

Kate Tempest had previously been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2014, with Everybody Down. However, she was pipped to the post by Young Fathers' Dead.  Let Them Eat Chaos was released two years after Everybody Down, and it did great in the UK album charts, entering at number 28, becoming Tempest's first top 40 album. Now, the question is, will she also do better with this album at the Mercury Music Prize and win?

Ed Sheeran- Divide

To be honest, this list could not miss out Ed Sheeran, considering the huge success he has had with this album, and his comeback in general. Ed's Divide album notched up a total of 17 weeks at Number 1 on the official UK album charts. Furthermore, every song ended up in the top 20 of the UK singles chart, a first for a musician. His arena and forthcoming stadium tours have both been sell-outs and he had the honour of performing at the 2017 BRIT awards, featuring a collaboration with fellow Mercury Music Prize nominee, Stormzy. Surprisingly, Ed has previously never been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Will his success with this album continue with a win?

Loyle Carner - Yesterday's Gone

Loyle Carner started to emerge into the music scene way back in 2014, when he released his first bit of music, in the form of an EP, A Little Late. Since then, he has played at Glastonbury and on Huw Stephens' Radio 1 show, Piano Sessions in 2015, supported Nas on tour and collaborated with fellow nominee Kate Tempest. In January 2017, he released Yesterday's Gone. Carner himself has received positive reviews, such as those from the NME, who said he was "sensitive and eloquent" Will these positive reviews help him win the Mercury Music Prize?

Sampha - Process

For those who may have watched the Glastonbury coverage on television, you may have caught Sampha doing an acoustic set. For fans of Jessie Ware, he collaborated on two songs of hers, Valentine and What you won't do for love. He has also collaborated with Drake. However, now he has branched out on his own and released (No-one knows me) like the Piano, which has gained popularity thanks to being played on Radio 1. Process itself has gained positive reviews, with the NME calling it "finely crafted," and Entertainment Weekly noted that it helped Sampha to "build on his enormous potential." Will the judges take note and award him the prize?

Stormzy- Gang Signs and Prayer

Stormzy has had a great year, whether it be getting the chance to perform at Glastonbury or collaborating with Ed Sheeran on a new remix on Shape of You. He has since gained numerous fans, notably Jeremy Corbyn, when Stormzy used his platform to encourage people to vote, and even got his single, Too Big for Your Boots, quoted in Eastenders (Yes...really). His debut album Gang Signs and Prayer entered the UK album charts at Number One. In fact, last year's winner was also a Grime artist, in the form of Skepta. Will the popularity of Grime continue to dominate the Mercury Music Prize? Only time will tell.


The Big Moon - Love in the 4tth Dimension

The Big Moon are a new band, from London. Fans of bands such as The Maccabees and The Vaccines will have heard of them, as they have supported these bands on their tours. They have already released an EP, The Road, with Love in the 4th Dimension being their debut album. Although the debut did get a disappointing chart position, it still managed to get to number 66 and for an unknown band, this is pretty good. Will they manage to beat popular artists, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, etc to win the Mercury Music Prize?

The XX- I See You

Like Alt-J, The XX have previously won, with their album, XX, in 2010. Also, like Alt-J, they have had a long hiatus, with their last album, Co-exist, being released in 2012. They have since returned with comeback single, On Hold, played numerous festivals, and earned a number one on the UK album chart, for I See You. Will they continue their successful comeback with a Mercury Music Prize?


So...the winner is...Sampha! 

Yep, Sampha managed to defeat a strong competition (I mean, the list had Ed Sheeran...). what I like about the Mercury Music Prize is that they don't pick an obvious winner and I think this is good. It also puts musicians into the spotlight that might not have been noticed, had they not been nominated. Anyway, congratulations Sampha. His performance of (No-one Knows me) like the Piano was beautiful and he deserved to win based on that, let alone the whole album.



Here's to next year's Mercury Music Prize. I wonder who will be nominated?

Em x

Sam Smith is Back!

So, this weekend, we see the long awaited return of Sam Smith. Apart from the soundtrack to the James Bond film Spectre, Writing on the Wall, we haven't really heard from Sam since he did the 2015 Comic Relief single, Lay Me Down. Well...guess what? He's back with a brand new single, which is called Too Good at Goodbyes.

The good news is, if you like Sam Smith's original sound, then this song is perfect. It is another beautiful ballad, telling the story of a protagonist who is in love with someone, who keeps letting the protagonist down, with lyrics, such as "I'm never gonna let you close to me/Even though you mean the most to me/'Cause every time I open up, it hurts." However, it soon becomes clear in the song that the more times the protagonist is let down, the less they have feelings for their loved one. In fact I'm sure many people have been through that situation before, right?



In my opinion, I feel that this new song is a slight let down. Ok, I admit that I liked Sam Smith's songs before his break from music but I had hoped he may have changed his style of music. However, despite this view, maintaining the same musical style works for Sam, as soft, gentle ballads suit his voice. Can you imagine if he had decided to release some upbeat songs? As much as it would make it more interesting, it just wouldn't seem right would it?

So, what's next for Sam Smith? Well, Radio 1 have announced that he will be doing a Live Lounge special, as part of Live Lounge month, on Friday 29th September so if you're in the UK and you are a Sam Smith fan, I would listen out for this. Also, he has teased details of his new album, revealing to Zane Low it will be released "just before Christmas." Also, I would not be surprised if he makes a few festival appearances next year.

Welcome Back Sam Smith!

Em x

Reading and Leeds 2017 Rocked!

On the bank holiday weekend (25th-27th August) music fans came in their thousands to watch the world's best rock acts. Ok, there are some pop and grime acts but Reading and Leeds is first and foremost a rock festival.

Of course, like the other festivals, all eyes were on the headliners. This year, there were festival favourites, Kasabian and Muse, and...erm...Eminem, who had previously headlined four years ago, in 2013. So, what did I think of them? and what about the other acts? Well...here we go.

Kasabian

Kasabian are known for being a great live band, and a festival favourite. Therefore, they were not going to disappoint. I have to admit, I am not a massive fan of Kasabian, yet you cannot deny that they put proper energy into their shows, which is what makes them a fan favourite at festivals.

A couple of months ago, Kasabian released their sixth studio album, For Crying Out Loud, so have they run out of steam? Have the fans got tired of them? Erm...it is quite the opposite. They delivered a great set from start to finish, from bringing out classics, such as Empire and Underdog, to performing newer tracks, including Bless This Acid House and You're in Love With A Psycho. Furthermore, as some extra special surprises, they did covers of Daft Punk's Around the World and Nirvana's All Apologies. In addition, they invited Noel Fielding onto the stage during Vlad the Impaler, dressed as...erm...Vlad the Impaler. In fact, it is Serge we have to thank for Noel hosting The Great British Bake Off (apparently).

Of course, no Kasabian set would be complete without their best selling single, Fire and this was their final song during their encore. With all these hits, special surprises and special guests, it is clear to see why Kasabian always have the audience at the palm of their hands during their shows.

Eminem

Unfortunately, Eminem did not allow his set to be filmed for the BBC. However, I still saw some clips of his set thanks to social media (Seriously, how did we ever cope without it?).

From the looks of it, he did his classic hits, including Without Me, Lose Yourself and of course, The Slim Shady. It seemed like he was well received and missed by fans. Apparently, he is going to release his album pretty soon so if you're an Eminem fan, I recommend you keep an eye out for that.

Muse

Whenever you hear the words Muse and festival together, we know already that the festival is going to be hugely popular. As always, they did not disappoint. Matt Bellamy was his usual eccentric self, wearing glasses that flashed the lyrics to Madness across the lenses and carrying a light up electric guitar.  However, this set was extra special. Along with the usual culprits turning up on the set list, such as Hysteria, Uprising and Starlight, as well as newer song, Dig Down, they also had a special guest in the form of AC/DC's Brian Johnson, to perform Back in Black.

 They finished their set with the ultimate Muse festival anthem, Knights of Cydonia, complete with elements of Once Upon A Time in the West's Man With a Harmonica. This song, along with the special guest and other classics meant that Muse were met with a positive reaction from fans and helped to prove why Muse are considered one of the best rock bands around.



Other highlights

So...apart from the headliners, what were the other highlights? Well...firstly, there was the special guest, Drake, who turned up to collaborate with Giggs on Giggs' song KMT. Also, someone actually managed to predict this on Twitter. Amazing!

Another highlight among festival crowd was the return of Liam Gallagher. Leading up to the release of his new album, the former Oasis frontman has been doing the festival rounds, previewing some new material, such as Wall of Glass and singing some Oasis classics, like Slide Away, Morning Glory and Wonderwall.

One highlight that I can never leave out is Blossoms. "But you always mention them!" I hear you yell but they are a good band. However, you have got a point. I do like them but their sets seem to always have the same songs on. This includes Honey Sweet, Getaway and songs that have quickly become classics, At Most a Kiss and Charlemagne. However, I'm still so pleased with how far they have come and I definitely see them headlining in the future.


As well as Blossoms, I can't forget about Bastille. However, again, I take issue with this. As much as I love Bastille, they seem to be always on a festival line up with the same setlist. Despite this, I still enjoyed watching them. Here's hoping they headline in a couple of years.

Of course, no festival would be complete without some secret sets and this year's Reading and Leeds secret sets came in the form of Wolf Alice and Queens of the Stone Age, with the latter last appearing as a headliner in 2014. Queens of the Stone Age have already released their new album, Villains, and Wolf Alice are due to follow their debut, My Love is cool, with their next album, Visions of a Life. Both bands were met with a huge response to their returns.  Could they both return to the festival to headline in the future?

So...Reading and Leeds is now over for another year. Here's to next year's festival!

Em x