Jessie Ware took to the stage at the Mercury Prize ceremony, giving an electric performance of her single “Free Yourself”.
The annual Mercury Prize awards ceremony took place this week on Thursday 7th September at the Hammersmith Apollo London. The ceremony acknowledges the best of British music with their prestigious award for Album Of The Year, alongside a £25,000 prize.
Previous winners of the highly-respected award include Wolf Alice, Dave, Skepta, James Blake, and Little Simz, who took home last year’s prize with the album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.
This year’s winners were Ezra Collective, with their 2022 album Where I’m Meant To Be, however they faced some stiff competition being shortlisted with other UK acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Loyle Carner, RAYE and Jessie Ware.
The full list of nominees for the 2023 Mercury Prize were:
- The Car by Arctic Monkeys
- Where I’m Meant to Be by Ezra Collective
- Actual Life 3 by Fred Again
- Beautiful and Brutal Yard by J Hus
- That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware
- I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
- False Lankum by Lankum
- Hugo by Loyle Carner
- Messy by Olivia Dean
- My 21st Century Blues by Raye
- Nymph by Shygirl
- Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers
Jessie Ware was nominated for her 5th studio album That! Feels Good!, which was released on April 28th of this year. The album includes singles such as “Pearls”, “Begin Again”, “Freak Me Now”, and the LP’s debut single “Free Yourself”, which the 38 year old performed live at the Mercury Prize ceremony.
Many of the other shortlisted acts performed on the Hammersmith Apollo stage, including RAYE, Shygirl, and 2023 winners Ezra Collective.
That! Feels Good! saw Jessie Ware achieve her highest placement on the American Top Album Sales chart, with the record peaking at number 16 for one week. Moreover, in the UK Albums Chart, the London-born singer celebrated her second top 3 entry, with the first being 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure?.
In July, Ware delighted fans with a new version of her song “Freak Me Now” that featured pop singer Roisin Murphy. The single was produced by electronic musician and DJ Stuart Price, who has produced for many artists including Madonna, The Killers, Gwen Stefani and more.
Jessie Ware will be hitting the road at the end of this year to promote That! Feels Good!. You can purchase tickets for the upcoming tour here.
Tour dates:
10/11/2023 – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK
11/11 – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK
13/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK
14/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK
17/11 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK
18/11 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK
