Sufjan Stevens is the very first recipient of the New Pantheon Award. The Award, the successor of the Shortlist prize that was modeled after the Mercury prize in Britain, honors an artist that has sold less than 500,000 copies of an album, but whose work is considered to be of high quality. The panel of judges includes folks like Elton John, Elijah Wood, Beck, and Shirley Manson. Beside the prize of $5,000, the recognition and publicity is equally valuable to a new artist. Also up for the award were bands like The Arcade Fire, Mercury Prize winners Antony and the Johnsons, and Fiona Apple.
The award-winning album, Illinoise, is the second of what Stevens says will be 50 'states' albums, one for each state in the US. His first state album, released in 2003, was named after his home state of Michigan.
