Choice Music Prize facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Choice Music Prize
The Choice Music Prize logo used since 2017.
Presented by	IRMA, IMRO and RAAP
Location	Vicar Street, Dublin, Republic of Ireland (2005–present) The Olympia Theatre, Dublin (2011 ceremony)
Country	Ireland
First awarded	2005

The Choice Music Prize, also known as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize, is a special award given out every year in Ireland. It celebrates the best album made by a musician or band from the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.

To be considered, a solo artist must be born in Ireland or have an Irish passport. For a band, most of the members must be Irish.

The award ceremony is a big event held at Vicar Street in Dublin. Since 2017, it has been broadcast on the radio station RTÉ 2fm. Before that, it was on Today FM for over ten years.

What is the Choice Music Prize?
- How are Winners Chosen?
Award Categories
Winners of the Irish Album of the Year
Who Can Be Nominated?
See also

What is the Choice Music Prize?

The Choice Music Prize was started in 2005 by journalist Jim Carroll and manager Dave Reid. Their goal was to help Irish musicians get more attention and have their music played more often on the radio, both in Ireland and in other countries.

The old logo for the Choice Music Prize.

The prize is similar to the Mercury Prize in the United Kingdom. It is not about which album sold the most copies. Instead, it focuses on which album is the most creative and artistic. This makes it different from other awards that might be more focused on popular music.

Winning the prize can be a huge boost for an artist's career. Julie Feeney, the very first winner, said it was "probably the biggest achievement of my life." The band Super Extra Bonus Party said winning "brought us a hell of a lot more recognition overnight and opened a lot of doors."

How are Winners Chosen?

A panel of about twelve judges decides the winner. These judges are experts from the Irish music world, like journalists and radio presenters.

On the night of the awards, the judges meet in a room while the nominated artists perform on stage. They discuss all the albums and then vote for the winner. The process is kept secret until the final announcement.

The winner of the main award, Irish Album of the Year, receives a prize of €10,000. This money is provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA).

Award Categories

The Choice Music Prize is given out in several categories. The main ones are:

Irish Album of the Year
Irish Song of the Year
Irish Artist of the Year
Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year
Irish Classic Album of the Year

Winners of the Irish Album of the Year

Neil Hannon, who won with his band The Divine Comedy in 2006.

Super Extra Bonus Party, winners in 2007.

Jape, who won in 2008 and 2011.

Adrian Crowley, winner in 2009.

Two Door Cinema Club, winners in 2010.

Delorentos, winners in 2012.

Villagers, winners in 2013.

SOAK, winner in 2015.

CMAT, the 2022 winner.

Here is a list of the winners and the other artists who were nominated for the Irish Album of the Year award.

Year	Winner	Album	Shortlisted nominees & albums
2005	Julie Feeney	*13 Songs*	Bell X1 – Flock Cane 141 – Moonpool The Chalets – Check In Joe Chester – A Murder of Crows Duke Special – Adventures in Gramophone Hal – Hal Nick Kelly – Running Dog Emmett Tinley – Attic Faith Turn – Turn LP
2006	The Divine Comedy	Victory for the Comic Muse	Director – We Thrive on Big Cities Duke Special – Songs from the Deep Forest The Immediate – In Towers and Clouds David Kitt – Not Fade Away Messiah J and the Expert – Now This I Have to Hear Fionn Regan – The End of History Republic of Loose – Aaagh! Si Schroeder – Coping Mechanisms Snow Patrol – Eyes Open
2007	Super Extra Bonus Party	Super Extra Bonus Party	Adrian Crowley – Long Distance Swimmer Cathy Davey – Tales of Silversleeve Delorentos – In Love with Detail Dry County – Unexpected Falls The Flaws – Achieving Vagueness David Geraghty – Kill Your Darlings Kíla – Gamblers' Ballet Róisín Murphy – Overpowered Stanley Super 800 – Louder & Clearer
2008	Jape	Ritual	Fight Like Apes – Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion Mick Flannery – White Lies Halfset – Another Way of Being There Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew David Holmes (musician) – The Holy Pictures Messiah J and the Expert – From the Word Go Oppenheimer – Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It R.S.A.G. – Organic Sampler The Script – The Script
2009	Adrian Crowley	Season of the Sparks	And So I Watch You from Afar – And So I Watch You From Afar Bell X1 – Blue Lights on the Runway Codes – Trees Dream in Algebra Dark Room Notes – We Love You Dark Matter The Duckworth Lewis Method – The Duckworth Lewis Method Julie Feeney – Pages Valerie Francis – Slow Dynamo Laura Izibor – Let the Truth Be Told The Swell Season – Strict Joy
2010	Two Door Cinema Club	Tourist History	Adebisi Shank – This Is the Second Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank The Cast of Cheers – Chariot Cathy Davey – The Nameless Fight Like Apes – The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner Halves – It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) Imelda May – Mayhem James Vincent McMorrow – Early in the Morning O Emperor – Hither Thither Villagers – Becoming a Jackal
2011	Jape	Ocean of Frequency	And So I Watch You From Afar – Gangs Bell X1 – Bloodless Coup Cashier No. 9 – To the Death of Fun Lisa Hannigan – Passenger The Japanese Popstars – Controlling Your Allegiance Patrick Kelleher and His Cold Dead Hands – Golden Syrup Pugwash – The Olympus Sound Tieranniesaur – Tieranniesaur! We Cut Corners – Today I Realised I Could Go Home Backwards
2012	Delorentos	Little Sparks	Wallis Bird – Wallis Bird The Cast of Cheers – Family Adrian Crowley – I See Three Birds Flying Damien Dempsey – Almighty Love Julie Feeney – Clocks Heathers – Kingdom Mumblin' Deaf Ro – Dictionary Crimes Two Door Cinema Club – Beacon Windings – I Am Not The Crow
2013	Villagers	*{Awayland}*	And So I Watch You from Afar – All Hail Bright Futures Bell X1 – Chop Chop Girls Names – The New Life Kodaline – In a Perfect World Little Green Cars – Absolute Zero Mano Le Tough – Changing Days My Bloody Valentine – MBV O Emperor – Vitreous Lisa O'Neill – Same Cloth or Not
2014	The Gloaming	The Gloaming	Aphex Twin – Syro Delorentos – Night Becomes Light Hozier – Hozier James Vincent McMorrow – Post Tropical Sinéad O'Connor – I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss Damien Rice – My Favourite Faded Fantasy The Riptide Movement – Getting Through U2 – Songs of Innocence We Cut Corners – Think Nothing
2015	SOAK	Before We Forgot How to Dream	Girl Band – Holding Hands with Jamie Ham Sandwich – Stories from the Surface Gavin James – "Bitter Pill" Jape – This Chemical Sea Le Galaxie – Le Club Colm Mac Con Iomaire – And Now The Weather Róisín Murphy – Hairless Toys Villagers – Darling Arithmetic Young Wonder – Birth
2016	Rusangano Family	*Let The Dead Bury The Dead*	All Tvvins – llVV Wallis Bird – Home Bantum – Move The Divine Comedy – Foreverland Lisa Hannigan – At Swim Katie Kim – Salt James Vincent McMorrow – We Move Overhead, The Albatross – Learning to Growl We Cut Corners – The Cadences of Others
2017	Ships	Precession	Come On Live Long – In The Still Marlene Enright – Placemats and Second Cuts Fangclub – Fangclub Lankum – Between The Earth & Sky James Vincent McMorrow – True Care New Jackson – From Night to Night Otherkin – OK Fionn Regan – The Meetings of the Waters Talos – Wild Alee
2018	O Emperor	Jason	The Academic – Tales From The Backseat Delorentos – True Surrender Just Mustard – Wednesday Kojaque – Deli Daydreams Lisa O'Neill – Heard A Long Gone Song Saint Sister – Shape of Silence Rejjie Snow – Dear Annie Villagers – The Art Of Pretending To Swim Wyvern Lingo – Wyvern Lingo
2019	Lankum	The Livelong Day	Daithi – L.O.S.S. Mick Flannery – Mick Flannery Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel Girl Band – The Talkies Jafaris – Stride Junior Brother – Pull The Right Rope SOAK – Grim Town Maija Sofia – Bath Time Sorcha Richardson – First Prize Bravery
2020	Denise Chaila	Go Bravely	... Falcon – Staring At Clocks Fontaines D.C. – A Hero's Death JyellowL – 2020 D\|Vision Róisín Murphy – Róisín Machine Nealo – All The Leaves Are Falling Pillow Queens – In Waiting Ailbhe Reddy – Personal History Niamh Regan – Hemet Silverbacks – Fad
2021	For Those I Love	For Those I Love	Bicep – Isles Mick Flannery & Susan O'Neill – In The Game Orla Gartland – Woman On The Internet HousePlants – Dry Goods Kojaque – Town's Dead Elaine Mai – Home Saint Sister – Where I Should End Soda Blonde – Small Talk Villagers – Fever Dreams
2022	CMAT	If My Wife New I'd Be Dead	Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia Aoife Nessa Frances – Protector Just Mustard – Heart Under Dermot Kennedy – Sonder The Mary Wallopers – The Mary Wallopers Anna Mieke – Theatre Pillow Queens – Leave the Light On Sorcha Richardson – Smiling Like an Idiot Thumper – Delusions of Grandeur
2023	Lankum	False Lankum	Grian Chatten – Chaos for the Fly CMAT – Crazymad, for Me John Francis Flynn – Look Over the Wall, See the Sky Kojaque – Phantom of the Afters Rachael Lavelle – Big Dreams The Murder Capital – Gigi's Recovery The Scratch – Mind Yourself Soda Blonde – Dream Big Ezra Williams – Supernumeraries
2024	Fontaines D.C.	Romance	A Lazarus Soul – No Flowers Grow in Cement Gardens Curtisy – What Was the Question? Orla Gartland – Everybody Needs a Hero Kneecap – Fine Art NewDad – Madra Niamh Regan – Come as You Are Róis – Mo Léan Silverbacks – Easy Being a Winner Sprints – Letter to Self

Who Can Be Nominated?

For an album to be considered for the Choice Music Prize, it must follow a few rules:

The album must have been released for the first time in Ireland during the previous year (between January 1st and December 31st).
Collections of "best of" songs, live albums, and albums with many different artists are not allowed.
The artist must be from Ireland. For bands, most of the members must be Irish.
An album must have at least six songs or be longer than 33 minutes and 20 seconds.

Artists do not need to apply. If their album meets these rules, the judges can consider it for the prize.