The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as (shôrt–lĭst), was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. First given as a cash prize in 2001 under the name Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music, the award was created by two music industry directors, Greg Spotts and Tom Serig, as an alternative to the commercial Grammy Awards. The recipient is chosen by a panel of entertainment industry members and journalists known as the "Listmakers". Over 50 of the best albums of the previous 12 months are picked before being narrowed down to the eponymous Shortlist, from which a winner is chosen. Since 2003, a gold statuette, nicknamed "The Shorty", has been given out in conjunction with the cash prize. In 2005, the Shortlist Music Prize was renamed the New Pantheon award for a year following a dispute between the prize's founders. No nominees or winners have been announced since the presentation of the 2007 award.

Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi's falsetto vocals, and their use of bowed guitar, Sigur Rós incorporate classical and minimal aesthetic elements. Jónsi's vocals are sung in Icelandic and non-linguistic vocalisations the band terms Vonlenska. They have released eight studio albums, and attracted critical and commercial attention with their second album Ágætis byrjun.