Sam Fender has won this year’s Mercury Prize for his album People Watching.
The 31-year-old singer won the prestigious award at Thursday’s ceremony in Newcastle, marking the first time the event has taken place outside of London.
The Mercury Prize is a yearly award celebrating the best album released by a UK or Irish artist.
First launched in 1992 as a different kind of music awards show compared to the BRITs, the winner receives a £25,000 prize.
Sam’s win came as a shock as Irish singer CMAT was the bookies’ favourite ahead of the ceremony.
During his acceptance speech, Sam acknowledged the other nominees and admitted he was completely surprised. He stumbled over his words, saying, ‘I just… we didn’t expect this at all. Thank you – I’m speechless.’
He then grabbed his guitar and sang the title song from his album People Watching.
Speaking to the BBC after his performance, he admitted he was completely surprised by the outcome, saying he’d been in tears for the last ten minutes.
He emphasized how crucial it was to win in his hometown of Newcastle, explaining that the city’s music community has historically been quite separate and self-contained.
The judges said Sam’s album ‘felt like a classic’ and they loved its ‘character and ambition’.
Alongside the winner, the albums nominated for the 2025 prize included ‘Euro-Country’ by CMAT, ‘Weirdo’ by Emma-Jean Thackray, ‘Eusexua’ by FKA Twigs, ‘Romance’ by Fontaines D.C., ‘In Limerance’ by Jacob Allen, and ‘Hamstrings & Hurricanes’ by Joe Webb.
The nominees also included Martin Carthy with his album *Transform Me Then Into A Fish*, Pa Salieu for *Afrikan Alien*, PinkPantheress with *Fancy That*, Pulp for *More*, and Wolf Alice for *The Clearing*.
Earlier this year, Sam’s secret girlfriend of two years was revealed as actress Rosa Collier.
Rosa is an actress, and she met her partner while attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
A friend confirmed to The Sun that Sam and Rosa have been secretly dating since 2022 and that Sam is very much in love with her.
They started casually dating for a few months, but their relationship became much more serious in 2023. Since then, they’ve done a lot of travelling together, including a recent romantic trip to the Maldives.
‘They seem serious. She knows Sam’s family and band well and is on tour with him now.
If you watch carefully, you’ll find Rosa in the audience, enthusiastically supporting him. She’s always there, right at the front, cheering him on.
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2025-10-17 02:05