Annabel Rackham
Culture reporter

Image source, JMEnternational/Getty Images

Next up is Raye, who is nominated for her second record This Album May Contain Hope.

She looked absolutely radiant in a feather bolero and matching silk dress as she performed a sped-up version of I Hate The Way I Look Today - an anthem for insecure girls in the social media age.

The song leaned even further into its jazz style with flawless vocals and an emphatic performance from her small band.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, BMG

Suede frontman Brett Anderson describes the band's 10th album as "broken music for broken people", and the music aches for connection in a technological age that feels increasingly disconnected.

Defiant and electrifying, it carries a surprising undercurrent of optimism - while songs like Trance State and Dancing with the Europeans rank among the band's best work.

Highest chart position: Number two

• Listen to Suede’s Trance State from Antidepressants on YouTube, external

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, JMEnternationa/Getty Images

Suede open the show with the glam stomp of Dancing With The Europeans - one of the highlights of their 10th album Antidepressants.

Brett Anderson is as lanky and lithe as ever, looking inexplicably unchanged from Suede’s debut at the Mercury Prize 33 years ago.

Someone send me his health regimen, please.

Tonight's Mercury Prize ceremony has started, and we're expecting performances from the nominees as well as the crowning of this year's winner.

We'll be bringing you all of the latest updates and you can also listen live on Radio 6 Music at the top of this page.

And as a reminder, you'll be able to watch the ceremony when it's broadcast on a delayed feed on BBC Four at 21:30 this evening.

Image source, Getty Images

Mercury Prize nominee Jade Thirlwall says she's "a bit overwhelmed" to be at the awards tonight.

The former Little Mix singer was speaking to the BBC's music correspondent Mark Savage about her debut solo album That's Showbiz, Baby! which is shortlisted for tonight's prize.

Asked whether she still has a "love-hate relationship with the music industry", Jade says "it's still the same" and is "still struggling", but knows "what it's about now".

"Especially in the music industry, every year it evolves and changes with social media and streaming and all that stuff. So you can just never predict what's going to happen," she adds.

"But I think I have a slightly healthier relationship to it now in that I am a bit stronger mentally than maybe 10 years ago."

Who is favourite to win?published at 19:42 BST 22 October

19:42 BST 22 October

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

It’s basically impossible to predict the Mercury Prize – where the winner is decided in a private and often heated debate between 10 judges on the night of the ceremony.

But that doesn’t stop bookmakers taking bets on the award.

Tonight, they’ve installed Olivia Dean as the favourite – hardly a surprise, as the laid-back, easy-going soul of The Art Of Loving has already earned her album of the year at the Brit Awards and the Mobos.

Bradford’s Nia Archives is nipping at her heels, thanks to the dense mosaic of indie, R&B and drum and bass on her second album, Emotional Junglist.

Irish singer-songwriter Dove Ellis isn’t far behind for his debut album Blizzard, while Raye’s hugely ambitious This Music May Contain Hope is the record most pundits are tipping for the prize.

But the Mercury panel has an ingrained habit of subverting expectations. We’ll have to wait and see what happens!

Image source, PA Media

Mercury Prize hopeful Kojey Radical says he is "truly grateful" to be nominated for the award for a second time.

Speaking to the BBC's culture reporter Annabel Rackham, he says: "To be involved, to be here, to be present, means everything to me honestly."

"I remember being at uni and tweeting, 'I'm going to get a Mercury Prize one day,' and to be here for the second time is, it's hard to fathom," he says.

The musician says he tries to speak to fans through his music who have grown up with him and experienced similar things.

"I always try and make my albums personal diary entries but also things that people can see themselves in."

Image source, Getty Images

"It feels quite surreal," nominee Olivia Dean tells the BBC's Mark Savage, as she arrives back on the Mercury Prize red carpet two years after she was shortlisted for her debut album Messy.

Her second album has already taken her to greater heights, winning album of the year at the Brits and Mobo awards, leaving Dean on the cusp of securing a hat-trick tonight.

How has she processed this success?

"I feel like I'm still in this crazy whirlwind of it all," she admits. "Maybe when I take a break over Christmas I'll reflect on the sofa then."

Dean also played her part in the success of last year's Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender; she contributed a verse on the Geordie's smash-hit single Rein Me In, which became the longest-running number one single of all time in July.

"They just sound like crazy words that my brain can't really understand," she laughs when confronted with her achievement.

"I'm just really proud that this music has connected and lasted since the album came out, and that people are still enjoying it."

And, though no stranger to success, Dean tells the BBC: "We're having fun, I'm happy to be here."

Eleanor Doyle
BBC Newsbeat

Local musician Joe Mooney says having the Mercury Prize in Newcastle is a big deal for the city’s music scene.

"We don't get a lot of stuff like this around here," the 21-year-old tells BBC Newsbeat.

He’s a Knats fan and says seeing three Geordie artists nominated is motivating for other young musicians in the area – including his own band, Central Arcade.

"To hear three lads up there with an accent that's similar to mine doing so well and on a huge stage, it's really inspiring," he says.

The awards bring a chance to see artists from outside north-east England perform in the city too and meet people in the industry, he says.

"I think Newcastle, when bands are doing UK tours and Europe tours, it's a city that's missed out a lot. So it's great that they're making the journey up here."

Image source, Getty Images

The Mercury Prize rewards the best music from the UK and Ireland, highlighting 12 Albums of the Year across a wide spectrum of genres.

Each year, UK record labels submit around 200 albums for consideration, showcasing both well-established artists and fresh, emerging talent.

The Mercury Prize has no specific categories. All 12 shortlisted albums are awarded a trophy, with the overall winner receiving an additional trophy and £25,000 in prize money.

An independent panel of music experts selects the 12 nominees. On the day of the show, the experts reconvene to choose the overall winning album.

The award aims to celebrate artistic excellence, provide a snapshot of the year's music and introduce new albums to a broader audience.

The prize can significantly boost public awareness of the winning album, while raising the profiles of all shortlisted artists.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

There are 12 albums up for tonight's £25,000 Mercury Prize, but only one will win.

The nominees span genres and have a differing range of showbiz experience under their belts. Here's the full line-up:

• Dave - The Boy Who Played the Harp
• Dove Ellis - Blizzard
• Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream
• Jade - That's Showbiz, Baby
• Knats - A Great Day In Newcastle
• Kojey Radical - Don't Look Down
• Nia Archives - Emotional Junglist
• Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving
• Paul McCartney - The Boys of Dungeon Lane
• Raye - This Music May Contain Hope
• Suede - Antidepressants
• War Child Records - Help(2)

Image source, Reuters

Musicians are arriving, the crowd is abuzz and many jaw-dropping performances are expected as the Mercury Prize awards show kicks off in just under a couple hours.

Among those whose albums have been nominated for the coveted prize are Raye (This Music May Contain Hope), Olivia Dean (The Art of Loving), Florence + the Machine (Everybody Scream) and Dave (The Boy Who Played the Harp).

Notably absent from the shortlist is West End Girl, Lily Allen's jilted break-up album, which received some of the most critical and commercial success this past year.

Paul McCartney also receives his first ever Mercury nomination, aged 84, for the nostalgia-laden The Boys of Dungeon Lane, while Jade, who first rose to fame with Little Mix, is also in the running.

It is the prestigious music award's second year in Newcastle, with Geordie Sam Fender taking home the prize last year for his album People Watching.

You can listen live at the top of this page from 19:00, with the ceremony kicking off at 20:00 BST.

Until then, we'll have plenty more coming your way - including a full list of nominees and snaps from the red carpet - and we'll bring you the latest updates and analysis as we get it.