KINGS OF LEON - LONG LIST OF STARS NOMINATED FOR SHORTLIST MUSIC PRIZE

Albums by rockers KINGS OF LEON, ARCADE FIRE and SERJ TANKIAN have all been nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize. Kings of Leon's Because of the Times, Arcade Fire's Neon Bible and Tankian's Elect the Dead appeared in a 54-strong list of nominees for the American accolade - the equivalent to the U.K.'s Mercury Music Prize. Other discs featured in the list include M.I.A.'s Kala, Bjork's Volta, Juliette and the Licks' Four on the Floor, and Eddie Vedder's work on the soundtrack to the Sean Penn movie, Into the Wild. The extensive selection will be narrowed down to just 10 albums by the judging panel, which includes stars like Ronnie Vannucci of The Killers and Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, before presenting the gong to the winners in the next few weeks. The prize - which was last won by Cat Power for The Greatest in 2006 - aims to honour albums released between January and November (07) that have yet to be certified gold (500,000 units) by the Recording Industry Association of America.