5 Facts About the Mercury Prize's Biggest Chart Jump

I Am a Bird Now by Antony and the Johnsons holds the record for the biggest single-week Mercury Prize chart jump. The album went from No. 135 to No. 16 on the UK albums chart after winning the 2005 Mercury Prize.

No other Mercury Prize winner has matched that leap in chart position. The 119-spot climb remains the largest one-week jump the prize has ever produced.

The album’s win was considered a surprise at the time. It beat out more commercially successful nominees like Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party.

The Mercury Prize typically gives a significant sales boost to winners. But the scale of I Am a Bird Now’s jump was unprecedented.

The album’s chart performance shows the prize’s power to elevate niche artists. Antony and the Johnsons were relatively unknown before the win.