Little Simz has won the 2022 Mercury Prize for her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. After performing a song from the winning album, she was awarded a trophy and a check for £25,000 at a ceremony held at Eventim Apollo in London. Little Simz was previously nominated in 2019 for her third album Grey Area.

In a statement, the Mercury Prize judging panel said: 

“In a year that has, to put it mildly, presented rather a lot of challenges, British and Irish music has thrived more than ever. That made it extremely hard for the judges to choose an overall winner from the 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ on the 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW shortlist, simply because all of them had so much to offer. When it came down to it, the judges were so impressed by Sometimes I Might Be Introvert by Little Simz that everyone could get behind it. This accomplished and complex yet entirely accessible album is the work of someone striving constantly to push herself. It deals with themes both personal and political while putting them against music that is as sophisticated as it is varied. The Mercury Prize is all about shining a light on albums of lasting value and real artistry. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert has both.”

All but one of the artists shortlisted for the 2022 prize performed at the ceremony: Little Simz, Fergus McCreadie, Gwenno, Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, Joy Crookes, Kojey Radical, Nova Twins, Sam Fender, Self Esteem, Wet Leg, and Yard Act. Harry Styles, currently on tour in the United States, sent a recorded performance. Last year’s prize was awarded to Arlo Parks; Michael Kiwanuka took it home in 2020. Eligibility requirements for the prize were changed in 2021 after Rina Sawayama was deemed ineligble despite having lived in the UK since she was a child.

Earlier this year, Little Simz postponed her U.S. tour, saying, “I pay for everything encompassing my live performances out of my own pocket and touring the U.S. for a month would leave me in a huge deficit.”

Check out Pitchfork’s “Moodboard” feature “How bell hooks, Hiking, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s Inspired Little Simz’s New Album.”