A clutch of young female singer-songwriters take emerged at the cutting edge of nominations to bring home the bacon the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize, traditionally the most seriously regarded of trophies in the music industry's back-slapping calendar.
In fact, such is the abundance of feminine talent they might wish to rename this year's "Mercurys" as the "New Amys", after the turbulent songstress wHO some of the tabloids are anxious to exchange, or level the "Dustys", after the vocalist wHO appears to have elysian a fresh generation of performers.
But the 2008 prize will sadly non be remembered as the "Duffys", granted that the album Rockferry, the highly acclaimed debut from the 24-year-old Welsh warbler Duffy, right, was a surprising omission from the 12-album shortlist.
Among those world Health Organization made the cut were Adele, the 20-year-old union Londoner, world Health Organization underlined her youth by last year naming her first album 19, and Laura Marling, a sandy haired waif from Reading who is barely 18 but is already a highly realised performer, as she demonstrated to a music diligence crowd at the unveiling of the shortlist yesterday in London's Covent Garden.
Beside them on the range call of nominees was Estelle, 28, the benjamin West London-born doorknocker and singer, and Rachel Unthank, the Northumbrian folk singer world Health Organization also performs with her cello and feet and who at 29 is the veteran of this wave of women artists.
Estelle's album Shine includes the single "American Boy", which featured the rapper Kanye West and reached No 1 in March. Adele's 19 has barely been released in the United States and has won her an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
According to Simon Frith, the chairman of the Mercury judges, the list of nominations just reflected the growing muscle of female artists in terms of album gross revenue. "All this says is that in that location are a lot of women making interesting music. If you look at the charts there ar a draw of women there and they ar crossing genres."
None of this cut much ice with the bookies yesterday, as William Hill promptly installed Radiohead as joint favourites to lift the prize for their seventh album, In Rainbows, a release that shocked the music manufacture last year when it was offered to fans as a digital download at a price of their choosing. Although they have dominated the British music scene for more than a decade, Radiohead have never won the Mercury Prize, despite having been shortlisted three times before for OK Computer (1997), Amnesiac (2001), and Hail to the Thief (2003).
In Rainbows � described by the judges yesterday as "a engrossing new chapter in the remarkable Radiohead story" � was offered at fifty-one alongside Alex Turner's new project, The Last Shadow Puppets, which in April released The Age of the Understatement.
As lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, Turner won the Mercury in 2006 with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.
The achiever of this year's prize will be announced at a London-based ceremony broadcast live on BBC2 on 9 September.
The nominations
Radiohead
In Rainbows
5-1
The album has been critically well-received as more accessible than their previous work.
The Last Shadow Puppets
The Age of the Understatement
5-1
This collaboration of Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane from The Rascals reached No 1 in April. Turner won the award in 2006 and was nominated last year.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Raising Sand
6-1
After the success of last year's Led Zeppelin reunion, Plant will be equally proud of this acclaim for his make for with Krauss, who already has a clutch of Grammy Awards to her name.
Elbow
The Seldom Seen Kid
6-1
The Mercury panel heaped praise on Elbow for having produced an "epic rock record" with their fourth album.
Burial
Untrue
6-1
Though at the forefront of this scene, Burial prefers to keep his real identity strange. "Restless, alarming and beguiling," said the judges.
Laura Marling
Alas I Cannot Swim
8-1
Still 18, Marling's debut was described by the panel as consisting of "beautifully composed and emotionally compelling tales of fear and romance".
Adele
19
8-1
North London graduate of the BRIT School for playing Arts & Technology is inspired by Etta James and Dusty Springfield.
British Sea Power
Do You Like Rock Music?
8-1
"Joyfully eccentric, noisy and exciting," was the panel's verdict on their third album.
Estelle
Shine
8-1
Estelle butt rap, blab out with mortal and ride a lover's rock rhythm method to boot.
Neon Neon
Stainless Style
10-1
This is a conceptual record album based on the life of the maverick motor mogul John DeLorean.
Rachel Unthank &The Winterset
The Bairns
10-1
Folk nomination featuringthe work of the Unthank sisters, Rachel and Becky, from Northumbria.
Portico Quartet
Knee Deep in the North Sea
10-1
Former busking quartet adopted by Hoxton's fashionable Vortex Jazz Club.
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