The album is Sam Fender's third and was released in February. It became number one on the top list and cemented the artist as one of Britain's largest young stars. The rock singer has come to be called Newcastle's equivalent to Bruce Springsteen by critics.
Among the twelve nominees for the prize were, among others, also Fountaines DC, Emma-Jean Thackray, Wolf Alice and Pulp.
The Mercury Prize has been awarded since 1992 to the best British or Irish album of the year. The prize jury does not take into account commercial success and the award has to a greater extent gone to critic favorites or less established artists than the prizes at, for example, Brit Awards.
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