Popjustice £20 Music Prize

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Five young women in bright leotards standing atop a sign reading "Girls Aloud"
Girls Aloud (pictured in 2013) have won the award five times, more than any other act.

The Popjustice £20 Music Prize, also known as the Popjustice Twenty Quid Prize,[1] is an annual prize awarded by music website Popjustice to recognise the best British pop single of the previous year. The prize was conceived by Popjustice founder Peter Robinson in 2003 as a reaction to what he perceived as the pompous and elitist nature of the existing Mercury Prize, which recognises the best album of the previous year, and in particular its exclusion of pop music acts in favour of those from more esoteric genres.[2] The shortlist for the Popjustice prize is announced in September of each year and the winner named the following month, to coincide with the presentation of the Mercury Prize.[3] Popjustice gives a token prize of £20 to the winner of its award, in contrast to the £20,000 given to the winner of the Mercury Prize.[2][3]

The winning entry is chosen by a panel of Popjustice readers, who apply for the position via the website. The judges meet in a pub to debate the merits of the songs shortlisted by Robinson and eliminate them, often based on bizarre or arbitrary criteria, until a winner is chosen.[4][5] In 2009 Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud attended the pub in person to collect the prize of a £20 note in a plastic container.[6]

The first prize was awarded to Girls Aloud in 2003 for their single "No Good Advice", and the act went on to win the award four more times over the next six years; no other act had won more than once until Little Mix's second win in 2015 with "Black Magic", the eighth time the award had been won by a British girl group.[7] Girls Aloud and Little Mix have received the most nominations, with eight apiece. The next highest number of nominations for an act is five for Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris and Mark Ronson.

Recipients[edit]

Head and shoulders view of a young woman with brown hair
Rachel Stevens has been nominated for the award four times as a solo artist and was also a member of the group S Club, who were nominated in 2003.
Amy Winehouse received the award in 2007 and was nominated the next year in 2008.
A man performing on stage, singing into a microphone and making a hand gesture in the air
Rapper Example was the first male winner of the award. Prior to his win in 2010, Girls Aloud had received the award five times and female soloists had won twice.
Girl group The Saturdays has won the award once out of four nominations in 2011.
Will Young became the second male winner of the award when he received it in 2012 in his third nomination.
A young woman with brown hair, wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts, singing into a microphone
Lauren Mayberry, lead vocalist of 2013 winners Chvrches
Four women performing on stage, singing into microphones
Little Mix have won the award on three occasions and share the record of most nominations overall with Girls Aloud with eight nominations.
Former One Direction member Zayn won on his first solo nomination in 2016 after receiving three nominations as part of the group.
Rita Ora received the award in 2018.
Georgia won the award in 2019.
Dua Lipa received the award in 2020.
Laura Mvula received the award in 2021.
Winners of the Popjustice £20 Music Prize
Year Song Performing artist(s) Nominees Ref
2003 "No Good Advice" Girls Aloud [8]
2004 "Some Girls" Rachel Stevens [8]
2005 "Wake Me Up" Girls Aloud [8]
2006 "Biology" Girls Aloud [8]
2007 "Rehab" Amy Winehouse [8]
2008 "Call the Shots" Girls Aloud [8]
2009 "The Promise" Girls Aloud [8]
2010 "Kickstarts" Example [8]
2011 "Higher" The Saturdays [8]
2012 "Jealousy" Will Young [8]
2013 "The Mother We Share" Chvrches [8]
2014 "Move" Little Mix [8]
2015 "Black Magic" Little Mix [8]
2016 "Pillowtalk" Zayn
[8]
2017 "Touch" Little Mix [8]
2018 "Anywhere" Rita Ora
[8]
2019 "About Work the Dancefloor" Georgia
2020 "Physical" Dua Lipa [8]
2021 "Got Me" Laura Mvula
[9]
2022 "As It Was" "Harry Styles"
[10]
2023 "Escapism" Raye featuring 070 Shake
[11]

Most nominated artists[edit]

The following have received three or more nominations:

Artists nominated three or more times for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize
Artist Nominations Years
Girls Aloud 8 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013
Little Mix 8 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021
Dua Lipa 5 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
Calvin Harris 5 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2018
Mark Ronson 5 2008, 2011, 2015, 2019 (2 nominations)
Charli XCX 5 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022
Rachel Stevens 4 2004, 2004, 2005, 2006
Marina and the Diamonds 4 2010, 2012, 2015, 2019
Olly Murs 4 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
The Saturdays 4 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
Clean Bandit 4 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Jessie Ware 4 2014, 2020, 2021, 2023
Goldfrapp 3 2005, 2006, 2008
Will Young 3 2004, 2006, 2012
KDA 3 2015, 2017, 2019
Robbie Williams 3 2005, 2007, 2013
Sugababes 3 2004, 2006, 2008
The 1975 3 2016, 2019, 2020
Rita Ora 3 2014, 2018, 2019
Bree Runway 3 2018, 2020, 2021
Mini Viva 3 2010 (three nominations)
One Direction 3 2012, 2013, 2014
Ellie Goulding 3 2015, 2016, 2023
Raye 3 2020, 2021, 2023

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Corner, Lewis (30 October 2014). "Little Mix 'Move' wins popjustice 20 quid prize". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b Robinson, Peter (31 October 2012). "The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music prize: more exciting than the Mercury". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b Corner, Lewis (12 September 2013). "Girls Aloud, MKS, Little Mix, 1D for Popjustice 20 Quid Music Prize". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  4. ^ Savage, Mark (10 September 2008). "Girls Aloud win £20 single prize". BBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  5. ^ Fletcher, Alex (9 September 2009). "Girls Aloud win fifth Popjustice prize". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  6. ^ Savage, Mark (9 September 2009). "Girls Aloud star takes £20 prize". BBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  7. ^ O'Mance, Brad. "Little Mix's 'Black Magic' has won the 2015 Twenty Quid Music Prize". Popjustice.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize". Popjustice. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  9. ^ Robinson, Peter (July 22, 2021). "The 2021 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: shortlist announced". Popjustice. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "The 2022 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: shortlist". Popjustice. July 26, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "The 2023 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: a shortlist". Popjustice. July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.

External links[edit]