Sam Fender has been crowned as the winner of this year’s Mercury Prize with his third album, People Watching.
A hometown win for Sam Fender! The 34th annual Mercury Prize ceremony took place last week at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena. It was the first time the event has been hosted outside of London.
Amongst this year’s nominees were huge names such as Pulp, CMAT, Wolf Alice and Fontaines DC. But Sam Fender took home the ultimate win with his third album, People Watching, after performing the title track at the ceremony.
Sam Fender brought his band on stage to accept the award in his home city of Newcastle. He dedicated the award to his late friend, Annie Orwin, who he revealed inspired the title track of his winning album. He also cited the North East as “the best region in the country”. Watch his winning speech below.
Since winning the 2025 Mercury Prize, there has been a huge surge in People Watching’s chart sales. Official Charts Company data reports there has been a whopping 159% surge in sales of the album. It has now been confirmed that the album is currently sitting at number 17, soaring all the way from where it sat last week at number 75.
Sam also announced People Watching (Deluxe Edition) just last week, due out 5th December. The deluxe version also includes a track with legend, Elton John, named Talk To You, which was released last week.
Congratulations to Sam Fender and his band on their Mercury Prize win! You can listen to his latest single, Talk To You, here and People Watching here.
Image source of featured image.
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