The Choice Music Prize, sponsored since 2011 by Meteor, is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from Ireland.

It was established by journalist Jim Carroll and manager Dave Reid in 2005. as an alternative to the industry-dominated Meteor Music Awards. The Choice Music Prize is modelled after the Mercury Prize which is awarded each year to the best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland. It is a music award voted for by a panel of twelve judges based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The price includes a €10,000 cheque jointly funded by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). There is no sponsorship.

Initially considered by co-founder Carroll as a "titchy little maverick event", the Choice Music Prize has gained a reputation for producing "unpredictable" winners. Winners thus far consist of one solo female performer, four bands and one solo male performer. Julie Feeney won the inaugural prize for Irish Album of the Year 2005. She was followed by The Divine Comedy, Super Extra Bonus Party and Jape, winners of Irish Album of the Year 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. Adrian Crowley won Irish Album of the Year 2009, while Two Door Cinema Club won Irish Album of the Year 2010.

Julie Feeney, award-winning Irish composer, song-writer, singer and music producer.

Feeney is an award-winning and critically acclaimed Irish composer, singer, record producer, musician, songwriter, theatre artist and educator. She composes both instrumental and electronic music, and composes her songs with full orchestrations. Her self-produced debut album, 13 songs, won her the Choice Music Prize for 'Irish Album of the Year' in 2006 and she subsequently was signed to the major label, Sony BMG U.K..

She comes from Galway and her own record label is called mittens after her mother's favourite cat. She self-released her second self-produced critically acclaimed album pages in Ireland through 'mittens' and she performed to a capacity audience of 1200 at Ireland's National Concert Hall in 2010. She was the subject of a special RTE television documentary 'The View Presents Julie Feeney' aired on the 20th of July 2010 with John Kelly (Irish broadcaster). She recently toured America where she released pages in 2011 on her own 'mittens' label. She is a Gaeilgeoir and worked part time as a model.

Wallis Bird (born 29 January 1982, Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland) is an Irish musician. She releases her third self-titled studio album in 2012.

The first time Bird came into touch with music, she was six months old and received her first guitar from her father. Born left-handed, after losing 5 fingers in a lawnmower accident (and having four sewn back on again) on her left hand, she became used to playing a right-handed guitar upside-down, which contributes to her unconventional style of playing. The Irish Times wrote: “The sheer visceral energy could kick-start an entire economy…”

After school Bird moved to the Irish capital of Dublin to study songwriting at Ballyfermot Rock School. It was here that she met fellow band member Aoife O'Sullivan. During that time she kept on playing in small clubs or pubs as well as on major festivals. She moved to Germany in 2005. Prolonging her Germany trip she met her management Karakter Worldwide and other musicians and formed a new supporting band, including brothers Christian and Michael Vinne. After first tourings Berlin, London, Dublin, Cork, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Mannheim she decided to stay in Mannheim, where she lived for a year and a half.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, Bird moved to London, where she currently lives. In 2008 the band was joined by Irish/Belgium musician Aidan. Bird records her material in her native Ireland, Germany and in her apartment in Brixton, London.

Cathy Davey (born 1979) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" (2004), and three albums, Something Ilk (2004), Tales of Silversleeve (2007) and The Nameless (2010). Her second album garnered her a Choice Music Prize nomination, Meteor Award for Best Irish Female, and spawned a number of successful singles including "Reuben", "Moving" and "Sing for Your Supper". The Nameless was the top selling album in Ireland upon the week of its release. It was also nominated for the Choice Music Prize.

Davey has performed at several international events, including representing Ireland at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands, and performing at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. She has also performed at other large exhibitions and festivals in Ireland, including Electric Picnic, Indie-pendence and The Music Show. Davey has worked with Autamata, Elbow and The Duckworth Lewis Method as well as providing support for Graham Coxon, R.E.M. and Supergrass.

Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. For several years she was a member of Damien Rice's band before beginning her solo career in 2008. To date she has released two albums: Sea Sew (2008) and Passenger (2011).

Hannigan has been the recipient of various award nominations and critical praise both in Ireland and the USA. She has performed and been associated with Cathy Davey, Mic Christopher, Mick Flannery, David Kitt and members of Snow Patrol, The Frames and Bell X1. She has performed at the Glastonbury Festival both as a solo artist and with Damien Rice.

Hannigan was born in Dublin but grew up in Kilcloon, County Meath, Ireland. She attended primary school at Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa in Kilcloon and secondary school at The King's Hospital in Palmerstown. At the age of eighteen, she enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied Art History.

Hannigan began her six year collaboration with Damien Rice at a concert in the Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin in early 2001. She sang on most of the tracks for Rice's 2002 album O. In 2006, she sang the lead vocal on Rice's song "9 Crimes" and performed at the Electric Picnic music festival in Stradbally, County Laois. As a member of Rice's live performance band, she contributed vocals and on occasion electric guitar, bass and drums.