Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys' 2006 debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, became the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history at the time. Formed in Sheffield in 2002, the English rock band first reached a wide public through the Internet during the emerging blog rock era, a route that commentators saw as a change in how new bands could be promoted and marketed.

The group comprises singer and guitarist Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. O'Malley joined in 2006, replacing co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson. Their early work was associated with the brief landfill indie movement, while the band's sound has moved across successive records from sharp, guitar-led rock toward more elaborate arrangements and, later, piano-led material.

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not topped the UK Albums Chart, won Best British Album at the 2007 Brit Awards and later appeared in NME and Rolling Stone lists of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Its follow-up, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), was also acclaimed and won Best British Album at the 2008 Brit Awards. Humbug (2009) and Suck It and See (2011) followed, each receiving positive, if less enthusiastic, reviews.

The band's fifth album, AM (2013), brought wider international success, propelled by the global hit “Do I Wanna Know?”. The album topped four Billboard charts, earned 4× Platinum certification in the United States and won British Album of the Year at the 2014 Brit Awards. Arctic Monkeys then shifted to a softer, piano-driven approach on Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018) and The Car (2022). Both albums received Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album, while The Car was also nominated for the 2023 Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello Awards.

In the UK, Arctic Monkeys became the first independent-label band whose first five albums all debuted at number one. They have won seven Brit Awards, including Best British Group and British Album of the Year three times each, and are the first band to win both categories three times. Their awards also include the Mercury Prize for their debut, an Ivor Novello Award and 20 NME Awards; they have received nine Grammy nominations.