Corinne Bailey Rae on her riot grrrl roots – and what it takes to win the Mercury Prize
nme.comCorinne Bailey Rae has spoken to NME about how her rock roots shaped her new album ‘Black Rainbows’, and what it takes to win the Mercury Prize.Rae was appearing on the red carpet of the launch of the Mercury Prize last week (Thursday July 25), where it was announced that she’d been shortlisted for acclaimed 2023 album ‘Black Rainbows‘ – facing off competition from records by the likes of Charli XCX, CMAT, The Last Dinner Party, Ghetts, English Teacher, Beth Gibbons, Barry Can’t Swim and more.“I’ve been nominated for this prize before,” Rae told NME. “To me, it’s all about being on the list.
No one is desperately hoping they win; they’re just really happy to be chosen out of hundreds of records. I’ve been a judge on this prize twice so I know what it is: it’s 10 people arguing to get it down to 12 artists.”Speaking of her experience as a judge and what makes a Mercury-winning album, she continued: “We were just all looking for something to grab us.
You know it’s not all about genre, or the new artists, or the artists that have been here before. It’s about what they’re saying, how they’re saying it and looking for something new. “It’s a particular level of skill, of innovation.
It’s something that holds together really well; something arresting.”A post shared by NME (@nmemagazine)Rae also spoke about the encouraging diversity of this year’s Mercury shortlist, sharing that “it feels quite gender-balanced and it’s nice to see more Black and Brown people”.
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