Sam Fender Wins the 2025 Mercury Prize
Sam Fender wins Mercury Prize. Find out why People Watching struck such a powerful chord with fans and judges alike.
Sam Fender was announced as the winner of the 34th edition of the Mercury Prize, taking home the award for his critically acclaimed third studio album People Watching. The ceremony was held at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, the first time the event moved outside London.
Fender’s journey to the Mercury Prize began in the working-class town of North Shields, where he grew up seeing the impact of economic decline, mental-health struggles and community resilience, all themes that inform People Watching. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and was praised by judges for its “cohesion, character and ambition… it felt like a classic album”.
In his acceptance speech, Fender paid tribute to the late Annie Orwin, a close friend whose illness and death inspired the album’s title track. He also raised a cheer for his home region, calling it “the best region in the country” amid elated crowd reaction.
Winning the Mercury Prize brings a £25,000 reward and a major platform for exposure, for Fender, it cements his status as one of Britain’s defining songwriters of the moment. The win also achieves a sort of regional milestone: not only was the ceremony held outside London for the first time, but an artist from the north-east has now taken the prize in that very region.
Fender now follows in the footsteps of artists such as FKA twigs, CMAT, Fontaines D.C. and many others who made the 2025 shortlist, but People Watching stood out for blending heartland rock with incisive social commentary, delivering songs that are at once cinematic, intimate and rooted in place. Momentum for People Watching is likely to increase, the album is expected to experience a renewed chart boost as it rides the post-Mercury wave, and Fender’s next move comes quickly, he released a new track, “Talk To You” featuring Elton John, just a day after the win.