Speech Debelle Wins 2009 Mercury Prize
London rapper Speech Debelle is the surprise winner of the 2009 Mercury Music Prize. Her debut album Speech Therapy won the award, which is given to the best album of the last 12 months by a British or Irish artist according to a panel of judges. The prize comes with a check for £20,000 ($33,000), and it will give a huge boost to her profile. Reportedly, prior to its nomination Speech Therapy had sold only 3,000 copies. After nomination she was quoted as a 15/1 long-shot, though odds had shortened nearer the ceremony. She told the BBC after winning: "It feels so much better than I imagined. I don't really get emotional but I'm emotional now. This proves that if you believe in something, you can achieve it." Speech Debelle's victory was a big surprise, with several better-known names also in the running. Florence and the Machine were favorites, thanks to debut album Lungs, while Glasvegas, Kasabian, Bat For Lashes and Friendly Fires were also all widely tipped. Last year's award was won by Elbow's fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid.
So what do you think - do you agree with the judges' choice? Here's a few videos of the budding star to help you decide:
"The Key" is available as a free download from Amazon here, and British fans can download the entire album for £3 from here.
--Ally @ SoundUnwound
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.
Testking 640-553 on January 19, 2011 at 04:21 AM
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642-642 on October 07, 2010 at 12:38 AM
I dont really get emotional but I am emotional now. This proves that if you believe in something, you can achieve it.
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Frank P on August 24, 2010 at 08:31 AM
I Am Kloot hopefully this year!
Cheap Loans on December 10, 2009 at 04:25 AM
Nice luv Ms. Debelle and Big up for Londen Town the best place to Live in the World :)
Blap :)
Pete
akhilesh on October 14, 2009 at 06:51 AM
Hi All,
it is really a big news for all music lover and the above post is really awesome,i would also like to suggest you a site from where you can not only watch music videos for free,but you can also download them at your local hard disk,
http://favoritemusicvideo.com/
thanks
herbs on September 14, 2009 at 04:04 AM
Still I can't believe that London rapper is the winner of "Speech Debelle" of the 2009 Mercury Music Prize.
rechargeable batteries on September 09, 2009 at 11:39 PM
Congratulations to Ms. Debelle on a stunning album and a welcome victory! It's about time British hip-hop got some recognition. Still waiting on that Skinnyman O.B.E. Hopefully only a matter of time now.