The Mercury Music Prize 2008: The Nominees

The winner of the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Music Prize - one of the UK's most coveted music awards - will be announced this Tuesday 9th September during a ceremony to be broadcast live on BBC2 from 10:00pm.

The ceremony will feature live performances from many of this year's shortlisted artists including The Last Shadow Puppets, Elbow, Estelle, Neon Neon, Adele, Laura Marling and British Sea Power. The event will culminate with the live announcement of the overall winner of the 2008 Prize.

In the run up to the awards, we thought we'd take a quick look at this year's nominees:

Adele - 19

Adele's rise to fame has been like something out of a fairy-tale. The twenty year old singer released her debut album 19 in January this year, seeing it shoot straight to number one and producing the number two single Chasing Pavements. Awarded the Critics Choice at the 2008 BRIT Awards, and coming top in almost every list of one's-to-watch this year, Adele is one of the hot favourites for this year's Mercury Music Prize.

British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?

British Sea Power have been around since 2000 and have so far released three critically acclaimed albums, but its their third, Do You Like Rock Music?, that's really got people talking. Having been compared to greats such as Arcade Fire and Joy Division, the four-piece have made a name for themselves as the odd-balls of the indie-rock scene and often stage shows in unusual places - most recently a mini-festival at the UK's highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn in Yorkshire.

Burial - Untrue

South London's Burial has been one of the hottest names on the underground dance music scene since his debut album was named Album of the Year by The Wire upon its release in 2006. Having only just revealed his true identiy, Burial has now released Untrue, a critically acclaimed mix of garage, two-step, dubstep and house music.

Elbow- The Seldom Seen Kid

Although Elbow have been around since the early nineties, the last year has seen them catapulted into the big-league with the release of their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid. Sold out tours and much praise have followed, with the album reaching number five in the charts - their highest position to date. The 2008 Mercury Music Prize nomination isn't their first either - in 2001 they were also on the shortlist for their debut album, Asleep in the Back, although the prize went to PJ Harvey's Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea.

Estelle - Shine

Singer, rapper, songwriter, producer - there's no end to South Londoner Estelle's talents. Her number one single, American Boy, may have propelled her to fame earlier this year but she's been releasing records since 2004 and is hailed by many as one of the UK's most talented R'n'B singers - although her style and influences range from R'n'B to reggae to pop, jazz and more. Her nominated album, Shine, has already made it to number six in the UK album charts and has recently been certified Gold.

Laura Marling- Alas I Cannot Swim

Eighteen year-old Laura Marling has had the critics falling over themselves ever since she first came into the spotlight in 2007 both for her own work and as a (now-ex) member of Noah and the Whale. Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim, takes influences from traditional folk, greats such as Joni Mitchell, and more contemporary artists including Bonnie Prince Billy and Iron & Wine. Her feisty vocals, mature song-writing and moving live shows guarantee Marling a long and healthy career in music.

Neon Neon - Stainless Style

Neon Neon is a new collaboration between the Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys and producer Boom Bip. Their debut album, Stainless Style, is based on the life of American businessman and automotive maverick John DeLorean and fuses electro, indie and retro pop for a highly unique record. It's the second time that Gruff Rhys has been up for an award, after the Super Furry's were nominated in 2001 for Rings Around The World.

Portico Quartet- Knee-Deep In The North Sea

London's Portico Quartet are the outside runners of this year's Mercury Music Prize. After releasing their debut album, Knee-deep in the North Sea, the modern jazz quartet have become highly regarded for their contemporary take on traditional forms and were awarded Time Out's Best Jazz Album of 2007.

Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - The Bairns

English folk-quartet Rachel Unthank & The Winterset are another surprise entry for this year's award. Their debut album, Cruel Sister, was awarded Folk Album Of The Year by MOJO Magazine, while their critically acclaimed follow-up, The Bairns, was nominated for Best Album in the BBC Folk Awards. Fusing traditional English folk with a contemporary edge and Unthank's haunting vocals, the nomination for this year's prize should help to put English folk truly back on the map.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

There's been no escaping Radiohead this past year; whether it's their controversial decision to release their seventh studio album, In Rainbows, on a scheme which allowed fans to choose the price, their sell-out summer tour or their constant efforts to reduce climate change, Radiohead have been one of the most talked about bands of 2008. This year marks the band's third nomination for the Mercury Music Prize (1997 for OK Computer and 2003 for Hail To The Thief), although they're yet to win the coveted prize.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant may have been in the news of late due to his legendary band's long-awaited comeback show, but he's also been critically acclaimed for his work with American country singer Alison Krauss. The result was the album Raising Sand, which reached number two in the UK album charts and saw the pair tour extensively throughout the UK and US.

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement

The Last Shadow Puppets started life as a side-project for The Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner and The Rascal's Miles Kane. What happened, was a number one album, The Age Of The Understatement, a top ten single of the same name and a major UK tour. If the pair manage to win this year's Mercury Music Prize, it will be Alex Turner's second win, after The Arctic Monkey's took the title in 2006 with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

To find out who wins this year's Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, check back here on Wednesday morning or watch live on BBC2 from 10:00pm Tuesday 9th September.