The shortlist for the U.K.’s annual Mercury Music Prize was announced this morning. According to NME.com, oddsmakers listed the Kaiser Chiefs’ debut album Employment as a 4-to-1 favorite to win this year’s £20,000 prize; the band reportedly backed up their cause with a £2 bet today. Also in the running are M.I.A., Hard-Fi, Bloc Party, the Magic Numbers, Coldplay, the Go! Team, Antony and the Johnsons, KT Tunstall, Maximo Park, Seth Lakeman, and Polar Bear. According to the Mercury Prize’s official site, the mission of the prize is “to champion U.K. music by promoting the 12 Albums of the Year by British or Irish artists.” If you’re a bettin’ man, you should put your music money on the Go! Team. At odds of 12-to-1, the dark horse favorites would return a healthy sum. Recent prizewinners include Franz Ferdinand, Dizzee Rascal, PJ Harvey, and Badly Drawn Boy.
Links:
Mercury Prize official site
