Sam Fender‘s People Watching won the Mercury Prize on Thursday (Oct. 16) in a ceremony held in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Launched in 1992, The Mercury Prize is an esteemed annual prize that celebrates the best of British and Irish music across a range of music genres. For the first time in its history, this year the ceremony was held outside of London, taking place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Albums by British and Irish artists with a U.K. release date between July 13, 2024, and Aug. 29, 2025, were eligible for the 2025 Prize. Broadcaster and 6Music host Lauren Laverne hosted the ceremony, which featured live performances from nine of the shortlisted acts. Fender performed the album’s title track during the ceremony.
People Watching, Fender’s third studio album, is his second to be nominated for the prize following 2021’s Seventeen Going Under. People Watching hit No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart upon release back in February and scored an opening-week debut of 110,000 copies, the highest for a British solo artist since Harry Styles in 2022.
With his victory, Fender wins a cash prize of £25,000 ($33,400), while the exposure will likely tip the winning record back onto the U.K. chart over the coming weeks. The winner was chosen by an independent panel, which each year judges the entries on artistic achievement.
In 2024, the award was won by Leeds-formed band English Teacher for their debut album This Could Be Texas. Other previous winners include Ezra Collective (2023), Little Simz (2022), and Arlo Parks (2021), while the likes of Arctic Monkeys, PJ Harvey, Dave and The xx have also scooped the trophy over the years.
The other albums in contention for the top prize were CMAT’s Euro-Country; Emma-Jean Thackray’s Weirdo; FKA Twigs’ Eusexua; Fontaines D.C.’s Romance; Jacob Alon’s In Limerence; Joe Webb’s Hamstrings & Hurricanes; Martin Carthy’s Transform Me Then Into A Fish; Pa Salieu’s Afrikan Alien; PinkPantheress’ Fancy That; Pulp’s More; and Wolf Alice’s The Clearing.
The judging panel was chaired by Jeff Smith (head of music, BBC Radio 2 and 6Music) and also included Danielle Perry – broadcaster & writer; Jamie Cullum – musician & Radio 2 broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – 6 Music broadcaster and 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 (Billboard U.K. staff writer) & broadcaster.
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