Recent Mercury Music Prize nominee Katy B hopes this year’s winner will come from the pool of female singer-songwriters who have been shortlisted for the 2011 award.
Brit School graduate Katy B, chart topper Adele, Anna Calvi and PJ Harvey have all been recognised, and the London-based musician is craving for one of them to join the likes of Speech Debelle and Ms Dynamite by being handed the gong later this year.
“It’s great to see so many strong females nominated so I want a girl to win,” she told the Daily Star. “It’ll be great to see Adele again on the night as we went to school together, but I don’t see it like a competition.”
“There’s so many people nominated and just one prize so it’s nice just to be recognised.”
After PJ Harvey and Adele were quickly installed as joint favourites at 4/1 yesterday by William Hill, the bookmakers now have Harvey out on her own at 2/1, while Anna Calvi’s sublime self-titled debut has been shortened to 4/1.
Jazz pianist Gwilym Simcock is the outsider at 25/1.