Radiohead, Robert Plant and Adele may cover a wide spectrum of music styles, but now they have at least one thing in common: a place on the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize shortlist.
The three were among the 12 finalists announced Tuesday for the award, which honours the best British or Irish album of the past year.
Alt-rock powerhouse Radiohead made the list with their seventh album “In Rainbows,” which was first released last October as a pay-what-you-choose digital download before being given the standard CD release treatment.
Plant, who has built a successful solo career outside his work with Led Zeppelin, is nominated for his collaboration with American country-bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, “Raising Sand.”
Twenty-year-old soul singer Adele was recognized for her debut album “19,” which was released shortly after she received the first Brit Awards Critics’ Choice prize last December.
Other Mercury finalists include indie duo The Last Shadow Puppets (featuring Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turner) for “The Age of the Understatement,” seasoned rockers Elbow for “The Seldom Seen Kid” and Brighton four-piece British Sea Power for “Do You Like Rock Music?”
The shortlist was whittled down from more than 240 albums.
The winner will be announced Sept. 9 at a London ceremony hosted by musician and presenter Jools Holland. The show will also feature live performances from nominees.
Previous Mercury Prize winners include Primal Scream, Dizzee Rascal, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and last year’s recipient, Klaxons.
Here are the finalists for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize:
• Adele – “19″
• British Sea Power – “Do You Like Rock Music?”
• Burial – “Untrue”
• Elbow – “The Seldom Seen Kid”
• Estelle – “Shine”
• Laura Marling – “Alas, I Cannot Swim”
• Neon Neon – “Stainless Style”
• Portico Quartet – “Knee-Deep In The North Sea”
• Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – “The Bairns”
• Radiohead – “In Rainbows”
• Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – “Raising Sand”
• The Last Shadow Puppets – “The Age Of The Understatement”
