Arlo Parks wins 2021 Mercury Prize for debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams

Collapsed In Sunbeams was announced as the winner of the 2021 Mercury Prize by Annie Mac at last night's (9 September) ceremony at London's Eventim Apollo, and during her acceptance speech, Arlo Parks said, "It took a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get here and there were moments where I wasn't sure if I would make it through, but I'm here today."

"It took a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get here and there were moments where I wasn't sure if I would make it through, but I'm here today" - @arloparks accepts the 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize.#HyundaiMercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/aglEVaCsy6

— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) September 9, 2021

Arlo Parks was nominated for this year's Mercury Prize Award alongside albums by Ghetts, Laura Mvula, BERWYN, Sault, Black Country, New Road, Celeste, Wolf Alice and more.

After accepting the trophy and £25,000 cheque, Arlo Parks performed her "Too Good" song.

BEST FIT gave Arlo Parks' debut album a 9/10 when it was released in January, and wrote in the review, "The versatility of Collapsed In Sunbeams is beyond comendable. Parks seemingly effortless lyricism and laidback melodies make her songs cosy in winter, and chilled in summer - always to be uplifting and comforting. Every track can mould around different settings and this level of versatility in a debut album is a rarity. Collapsed In Sunbeams is timeless."

Last night's ceremony was the first to take place since 2019, after last year's winner Michael Kiwanuka (for his KIWANUKA album) was announced by Annie Mac on BBC's The One Show due to the pandemic.