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Five female artists – none of which can be considered pop stars in the traditional sense – have been picked as possibilities for this year’s Mercury Prize, a record number for the fairer sex. 

Earlier this year there was a lot of noise being made about 2009 being the year of the female musician – and these nominations seem to confirm such a notion.
Former Mercury judge Lauren Laverne tells the Guardian: “The nice thing about being a female pop star these days is that you can make stuff up as you go along.”
When Laverne fronted the nineties indie outfit Kenickie, she found herself performing in a much different climate than the one that exists today: “It was very serious and nobody was allowed to dress up. We used to wear glitter and crazy makeup, but we had to go to clown shops to buy it. In my day, you’d have got massively slagged off for wanting a flick of mascara before you went on Top of the Pops.”
The nods for the prize include the dream-inspired songs of Natasha Kahn’s alter ego Bat for Lashes, rapper Speech Debelle, Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan, one half of electro duo La Roux, Elly Jackson, and Florence Welch, who is more commonly referred to as Florence and the Machine. The latter is favored to win the prize for her uniquely updated indie soul sounds, but all of these women are noted for their risk-taking approach to their refreshing and inimitable brands of music.