In case you don’t know, the Mercury Prize is awarded to the best album of the UK & Ireland every year. The judges, a combination of musicians, produces, composers, music journalists, and other figures of the music industry, listen to every album that was submitted over a period of time and select 12 of them for a shortlist. The shortlisted albums are released about a month before the awards ceremony, where the list is reduced to six and the overall winner is announced. This year, for the first time ever, the public was given the opportunity to vote for one of the six final albums on an online poll. The ceremony was held this week in London, and here’s a sum up of the event and the weeks that led up to it.

1. The 12 Shortlisted Albums were announced on August 4th, they were:

The Dreaming Room - Laura Mvula

Made in the Manor - Kano

Making Time - Jamie Woon

Blackstar - David Bowie (Bowie’s nomination was the first ever Mercury Prize posthumous nomination)

Hopelessness -Anohni

The Bride - Bat For Lashes

Love & Hate - Michael Kiwanuka

A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead (Radiohead is the Mercury Prize’s most shortlisted act)

Adore Life - Savages

Konnichiwa - Skepta

I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it - The 1975

Channel the Spirits - The Comet is Coming

2. The online poll opened for fans to vote on one of the above albums to make it to the final 6

3. The awards ceremony was held on the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, in London, on September 15th

Skepta

Bat for Lashes

Savages

The 1975

4. All of the twelve shortlisted acts performed before the ceremony went live on TV (Michael C Hall performed ‘Lazarus’ from David Bowie’s Blackstar)

(Execpt for Radiohead, who couldn't make it to the ceremony and so sent in a video of them performing instead)

Link to the performances below:

The Comet is Coming: http://bbc.in/2cRIoly

Michael C. Hall performing Bowie's 'Lazarus': http://bbc.in/2d1z0wl

Radiohead: http://bbc.in/2cdop4g

Skepta: http://bbc.in/2cYVWjG

Bat for Lashes: http://bbc.in/2cROgey

Anohni: http://bbc.in/2cuv4Fh

The 1975: http://bbc.in/2cux5od

Kano: http://bbc.in/2cDcFHa

Michael Kiwanuka: http://bbc.in/2croaP9

Jamie Woon: http://bbc.in/2cdPhky

Savages: http://bbc.in/2cARQw3

Laura Mvula: http://bbc.in/2cZD2cD

5. The final six were announced live, these were:

The Dreaming Room - Laura Mvula

Konnichiwa - Skepta

Winner of the fan vote:I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it - The 1975

Blackstar - David Bowie

A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead

Love & Hate - Michael Kiwanuka

6. The final six performed again, this time on live TV

(… and with a few minor differences like Matty from The 1975 singing on top of the table)

7. The overall winner was announced, and it was…

Konnichiwa - Skepta