2011 - It's been a good year for albums...

Every year, there's a precise moment when the collective music industry and all associated holds their breath, tense in the anticipation for an announcement of twelve magical names.

Those names represent the final shortlist of what the Mercury Music Prize consider the best 12 British albums released in the past year, from which, one will receive the ultimate accolade of winning the prize itself.

Whatever you might think of the prize, its impact on the industry is undeniable and the winner benefits from an impossibly immense boost to their sales. It's like the floodgates of popular music have been swept open, money rushing out of wallets as the public flock to their local HMV to purchase this piece of affirmed culture.

This year, the Mercury shortlist is announced at 11.30 am on the morning 19th July. Put that date in your calendars - Lauren Laverne will be revealing the list from the heart of trendy Covent Garden; and what's more, for the first time ever, you'll be able to watch the whole thing live via a live video stream on Facebook.

I read a fascinating article in the paper a couple of weeks ago saying that at the time (before the final shortlist was decided), the odds for Metronomy to win were something like 33/1 - Now, I'm not a gambling man but that looks incredible; imagine the pay-out on that! I reckon the Metronomy guys have a good chance of nabbing the award too; their album is one of the most consistent and inventive of the year.

Now, the Mercury prize's entry period is any British album released between July 2010 and July 2011, but to keep things simple, here are a few of my own personal favourites from 2011 so far...

Wonderland - Wonderland
Pet Shop Boys - The Most Incredible Thing
Nerina Pallot - Year Of The Wolf
Metronomy - The English Riviera
Katy B - On A Mission
Jessie J - Who You Are
James Blake - James Blake
Friendly Fires - Pala
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
Clare Maguire - Light After Dark
Chapel Club - Palace
Adele - 21

Notorious! Look, it even says it on Mollie's belt!

The Saturdays have been getting us all rather excited this week by posting a number of 'teaser' images from the set of their new music video. Their new track is called Notorious and from the looks of things, they had quite a lot of fun filming it all out in LA!

Part of this promotional drive centres around fans 'liking' the teaser pictures on Facebook - when the number of 'likes' reaches, say, 1000 or 2000, the next image is posted. How's that for fan motivation eh!

Anyway, as it's plain to see, The Sats girls are looking exceptionally gorgeous as ever in the pictures - one of our favourite comments from Facebook is where Frankie has been tagged in the picture with 'Wayne Bridge is the luckiest man live'.

They're not wrong.

Starlings - Weight In Gold

Starlings explode onto your stereo with a blistering blend of glossy synths, Duran Duran-esque basslines and the energy to match any of their contemporaries. Weight In Gold is a stunning debut for the Sheffield based band, the track hypnotising in its beauty and the shimmering catchiness of its chorus before tripping effortlessly into a twinkling guitar solo.

Fans of New Order and Delphic will find lots to love here, but what marks Starlings out in their own right is the organic feel to their music; it feels alive, fresh, more ‘human’. The band’s Facebook page describes them as ‘cosmic indie funk’, and there really could be no more perfect description than that. All the elements are there, capturing the essence of why Starlings hold so much potential to appeal to the masses.

There is most definitely a sense of ‘spaciness’ to there songs, that feeling of a fast expanse that their music flows into, a space of unlimited potential just waiting to be tapped into. ‘It’s a long, long way to fall, when you hover above us all’: a snatch of lyrics from the chorus, and when the Starlings sound as good as this, we’re all ready to fall further and further alongside them.

Released 20th December