Mercury Prize 2026: check out this year’s shortlisted albums

The full shortlist for the Mercury Prize 2026 has been revealed, with Paul McCartney, JADE, Nia Archives, Dave, Suede and the War Child ‘Help(2)‘ compilation all among this year’s nominated albums. READ MORE: James Ford talks us through the huge new War Child ‘Help(2)’ album – track-by-track The winner will be revealed on October 22 at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, returning after hometown hero Sam Fender bagged the prize last year for his third album ‘People Watching‘. To be eligible for this year’s prize, albums must have been released by British or Irish artists released between August 30 2025 and July 17 2026 (inclusive) – meaning that Charli XCX’s recent ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ won’t be able to enter until next year, while Nia Archives‘ acclaimed ‘Emotional Junglist’ just made the cut. Sam Fender on stage accepting the Mercury Music Prize for the album ‘People Watching’ 2025 awards. CREDIT: JMEnternational/Getty Images Big names to make this year’s 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ list include Dave with ‘The Boy Who Played the Harp’ after he won in 2019 with ‘Psychodrama‘, Florence + The Machine being nominated for a fourth time with sixth LP ‘Everybody Scream’, Olivia Dean landing a secon...