Entertainment
Laura Mvula says she was ‘robbed’ of the Mercury Prize: ‘They can lose my number’
Laura Mvula lost out for the third time (Picture: JMEnternational/Getty Images)
Laura Mvula has hit out at the Mercury Prize, saying that she was ‘robbed’.
The 34-year-old’s third album Pink Noise was one of the 12 nominees for this year’s Hyundai Mercury Prize, with the ceremony being held last night at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.
However, it was newcomer Arlo Parks’ debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams that won the £25,000 prize, and Laura was not happy with missing out.
The singer tweeted: ‘I get robbed. A lot’, adding: ‘Mercury Prize can lose my number.’
Laura signalled that she was not objecting to Arlo’s win, after a critic wrote: ‘Be happy for Arlo smh’ and she replied: ‘You miss my point.’
Jo Whiley responded to the star: ‘Your performance was stunning’, while comedian Alison Spittle tweeted: ‘You’re brilliant your body of work is the prize. No one can claim that.’
Laura’s first two albums, 2013’s Sing To The Moon and 2016’s The Dreaming Room, were also nominated for the Mercury Prize, but were beaten by James Blake’s Overgrown and Skepta’s Konnichiwa respectively.
The star, from Birmingham, did win one prize last night, however, in the form of the Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize.
The competition awards £20 to the best song of the year on the same night as the Mercury Prize, with Laura’s single Got Me beating artists like Little Mix, Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware and Pale Waves to the honour.
Other nominees for the 2021 Mercury Prize included Berwyn’s Demotape/Vega, Black Country, New Road’s For The First Time, Celeste’s Not Your Muse, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra’s Promises, Ghetts’ Conflict of Interest, Hannah Peel’s Fir Wave, Mogwai’s As The Love Continues, Nubya Garcia’s Source, Sault’s Untitled (Rise), and Wofl Alice’s Blue Weekend.
Arlo Parks’ debut album won the £25,000 prize (Picture: JMEnternational/Getty Images)
It was Arlo Parks, though, who triumphed, making the 21-year-old the first Mercury Prize winner to be born in the 21st century.
The Londoner, real name Anais Marinho, said after her win: ‘Wow, I’m completely speechless. I don’t have the words.’
After thanking her family through tears, the Caroline singer said: ‘It took a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get here and there were moments where I wasn’t sure I would make it through.
More: Mercury Music Prize
‘But I’m here. Thank you very much.’
As well as winning £25,000, a Mercury Prize win usually leads to a major jump in album sales and streams.
Collapsed In Sunbeams previously peaked at number three in the UK charts upon its release in January.
Michael Kiwanuka’s album Kiwanuka took the prize in 2020.
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