Tom Ravenscroft is playing ‘KIWANUKA’ in full on 6 Music, to celebrate this year’s winner, Michael Kiwanuka.

If you missed the boat, you can catch up for the next 30 days on BBC Sounds.

And head here for a selection of Mercury Prize documentaries, exploring previous winners including ‘Screamadelica’ by Primal Scream and The xx’s debut album ‘xx’.

Well, Michael Kiwanuka is about to find out. ‘KIWANUKA’ charted at No.2 when it was first released in November 2019, but expect to see it flying high again soon.

Arctic Monkeys’ debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not’ is the biggest-selling Mercury Prize winner, having picked up the award in 2006. It’s sold 1.95 copies, as of September 2020, according to new Official Charts research, external.

Elbow, who won in 2008, sold a notable 1.11m copies of ‘The Seldom Seem Kid’, and last year’s champion Dave has sold 241,000 copies of debut ‘Psychodrama’.

2009 winner ‘Speech Therapy’ by Speech Debelle is the most obscure victor in terms of sales, having shifted 15,000 copies.

You've been reacting to Michael Kiwanuka's big win and it's safe to say that you're pretty happy about it...

Some famous names have been singing Kiwanuka's praises too!

Speaking to Tom Ravenscroft earlier, Michael Kiwanuka said of his current mood after winning this year's Mercury Prize: "I'm doing very well, things are looking up. It's bit of a whirlwind really, some moments I'm feeling overwhelmed, sometimes I'm punching the sky. There are little moments when it starts to settle in. I'm feeling very good."

Having been nominated twice before, he added: "This year, I thought if there's any chance, it would be this one. I was resigned to the fact if I didn't win this year, I would never win. But I never thought I actually would."

On what the judges may have seen in his record, he said: "I honestly don't know, it's hard to tell. You just try to make the best record you can, and I hope they connect with the honesty of the lyrics and what I had to say. I wanted to make an album that transported someone when they listened to it. I wanted it to be poignant and connect with people, so hopefully that!"

"I have to thank people for believing in me and letting me make music the way I love to make it," Kiwanuka continued.

But how will he celebrate? "I will probably just have some pints... socially distanced, of course. Maybe I'll go for a nice meal with my wife, or a long dog walk - he's very happy I won, of course."

Or just fancy playing this year's Mercury Prize winner at full blast?

Tom Ravenscroft is playing it in full right now on 6 Music - listen on BBC Sounds, or hit play at the top of this page.

Image source, Polydor

Gemma Cairney
Mercury Prize judge, 2020

Personally, in lockdown, even before I was asked to be on the judging panel, I was starting to listen to albums as a whole a lot more. This one does give you exactly that: You go on the journey. That couldn’t be argued amongst everybody, it’s a great journey to go on.

Gaz Coombes

Michael Kiwanuka's 'KIWANUKA' is "a beautiful album full of twists and turns" and one that "has a sonic warmth and lyrical depth to it". It's "a worthy winner", according to Gaz Coombes, one of this year's judges, who was speaking to Tom Ravenscroft on 6 Music.

Despite saying that the judges had to do the debating over Zoom ("there was still plenty of arguing"), he says the result was unanimous in the end.

"I had favourite bits from all 12 albums, but we had to find the album that was undeniable, where you couldn't find fault from start to finish."

Coombes also thanked all the nominated acts for their albums, which have "made life a little better during lockdown".

Michael Kiwanuka with his album 'KIWANUKA'!

His third full-length, this is a vastly ambitious, wide-scoped statement of intent from an artist at the top of their game.

6 Music News' Matt Everitt describes it as "21st Century psychedelic soul”, adding: "It sounds incredibly classic, but also incredibly contemporary at the same time."

Tom Ravenscroft is about to find out this year's Mercury Prize winner. Listen live to 6 Music.

Want to know more about this year's Mercury Prize, and all the years that have come before? We've crunched the numbers for you...

2 - PJ Harvey is the only artist to have won the Mercury Prize more than once. In 2001 for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea' and again a decade later for 'Let England Shake' in 2011.

4 - Laura Marling's 'Song for Our Daughter' is her fourth album (out of seven so far) to be nominated for a Mercury Prize.

5 - Radiohead (pictured) have the record for the most nominations, having been nominated five times. They have, however, yet to take home the prize.

7- There are seven female or female-fronted acts this year, the first time that female acts have outnumbered male in Mercury Prize history.

8- It's a first time nomination for eight acts out of the 12 this year: Moses Boyd and Sports Team have been nominated for their debut albums, alongside fellow first-timers Porridge Radio, Anna Meredith, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Georgia, Lanterns on the Lake.

19 & 21- Adele was nominated for her debut album '19' in 2008, followed by a nomination for '21' in 2011. Sadly, her 2015 album '25' didn't bag a Mercury nom.

29- 2020 marks the 29th year of the Mercury Prize.

98.5- Last year's winner, Dave, saw a 98.5% jump in sales in the week following his triumph for album 'Psychodrama'.

1992- The first Mercury Prize was held in 1992, with Primal Scream's Screamadelica' beating the likes of U2, Simply Red and The Jesus and Mary Chain to win the award.

Here's Annie Mac on why a Mercury Prize triumph can be so huge for the artist that wins...

This evening's winner gets a massive cheque for £20,000. If you were in their shoes, how would you spend it? Donate it? Spend it on your next album? Or have a little fun.

The Guardian, external previously spoke to some past winners, and this is how they splashed their cash:

• 1999's winner Talvin Singh said: "I bought my dad a car and I also paid a lot of tax with it."

• 2000 winner Badly Drawn Boy has revealed that he originally threw the £20,000 cheque away.

• 1998 winners Gomez said they don't remember how they spent the money, explaining: "the Mercury money almost certainly just disappeared down a black hole along with the rest."

• Ms Dynamite, who won in 2002, later revealed: "I donated it to charity. No one involved in the music – including me – got any of the money. According to my mum, I actually donated five grand of my own as well."

• M People also donated to a good cause, a multiple sclerosis charity, after winning in 1994.

• Anohni, who won for Antony and the Johnsons' 2005 album 'I am A Bird Now', said: "I used it to compensate my band for all the underpaid work they had done for me for years prior."

After the Mercury Prize live performance show on BBC Four on Wednesday night, London band Sports Team had only words of praise for their fellow nominees.

Here's what they said on Twitter about their Mercurys 2020 peers:

The history-making 2019 Glastonbury headliner cemented his status at the top with this second album, drawing in big-name collaborations with Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy, and shining the spotlight on fresh talents like Manchester rapper Aitch and drill star Headie One.

What better way of demonstrating the breadth of Stormzy's talents than casting your mind back to his 2019 Glastonbury set? Check out highlight 'Crown' below.

London indie six-piece Sports Team’s debut casts a wry eye on modern middle England, and their first work is a worthy extension of mid-00s jangly guitars and Britpop’s tongue-in-cheek social commentary.

Sports Team marked their nomination with a relentless, ferocious performance of album single 'Here's The Thing' at London's Bush Hall. Check that out beneath.

‘Every Bad’ is a sublime release from one of Britain’s most exciting guitar bands, a Brighton-via London four piece led by Dana Margolin. The follow-up to 2016 lofi debut ‘Rice, Pasta And Other Fillers’, 'Every Bad' took things to another level both sonically and lyrically for Porridge Radio.

Porridge Radio performed 'Sweet' from their hometown's Rialto Theatre. Watch that very special performance below.

Moses Boyd is one of the contemporary UK jazz scene’s most exciting voices – and that’s saying something, given the movement’s rude health. His solo debut stamps a free spirit on a fusion of grime, heady electronics and club music.

Watch this mesmerising and beautifully-lit performance from Moses Boyd and his band at London's Bush Hall below.

If a musician makes their third album self-titled and all caps, it’s bound to be assured. But few could have prepared for the strides Michael Kiwanuka has taken with the follow-up to 2016’s ‘Love & Hate’. ‘KIWANUKA’ without doubt cements him as one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters, at the peak of his powers.

Make sure you check out Michael Kiwanuka's irresistible rendition of 'You Ain't The Problem' on Later... with Jools Holland beneath.

One of grime’s forefathers, Kano has previously been nominated for 2016’s ‘Made in the Manor’, but ‘Hoodies All Summer’ is his most enticing record yet, mixing old-school staples with skyscraper strings and cinematic production.

Watch Kano's stellar performance of his track 'Trouble' on Later... with Jools Holland below.