Bowie’s Farewell Album ‘Blackstar’ Up For UK’s Mercury Prize

David Bowie is favorite to win Britain’s prestigious Mercury music prize for “Blackstar,” the haunting album released days before his death.

Photo: Stephen Chernin/AP, File

Fourth Annual Black Ball Concert for “Keep A Child Alive” in New York.

Bowie, who died in January aged 69, is among 12 finalists for the 20,000-pound ($26,000) album of the year prize.

Other contenders are solo artists Laura Mvula, Bat For Lashes, Anohni, Jamie Woon and Michael Kiwanuka; bands Radiohead, The 1975, Savages and The Comet is Coming; and grime musicians Skepta and Kano.

Established in 1992 and open to acts from Britain and Ireland, the Mercury Prize often favors the eclectic and obscure over better-known performers.

Some winners, including Arctic Monkeys and Elbow, have gone on to mainstream fame, while others have failed to break through.

This year’s winner will be announced Sept. 15.

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