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The xx Win Britain’s Mercury Prize

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The winner of Britain’s esteemed Barclaycard Mercury Prize was unveiled Tuesday night during a London ceremony, and the award went to electronic goth-pop trio the xx for their self-titled debut album!

The band beat 11 other shortlisted acts, including bookies’ favorites Paul Weller, singer Corinne Bailey Rae, and past winner Dizzee Rascal, to nab the $30,000 prize.

Frontman Oliver Sim was surprised by the xx’s victory: “I don’t know what we were expecting but we weren’t expecting this.” [Via AP] Added 21-year-old lead-singer Romy Madley Croft: “We’d like to put the [prize] money towards a recording studio.” [Via CNN]

Since 1992, the Mercury Prize has been awarded to the year’s best album by a British or Irish artist, as chosen by a panel of musicians, producers, and media representatives.Previous winners include the Arctic Monkeys and Scot rockers Franz Ferdinand.