It was announced yesterday that Katy B had been nominated to win this year's Mercury Prize and the talented young star thinks a woman should scoop the 2011 award. 

Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper, the 'Broken Record' singer-songwriter explained that females are leading the pack and that it's an honour to be recognised alongside Grammy award-winner, Adele:

"It's great to see so many strong females nominated so I want a girl to win. It'll be great to see Adele again on the night as we went to school together, but I don't see it like a competition."

She also understands the weight behind the prestigious Mercury Prize, and added:

"There's so many people nominated and just one prize so it's nice just to be recognised. The Mercury Prize is a great award as it recognises an album in its entirety, which is especially important in this day and age when you can go online and buy individual tracks."

She will go head to head with the likes of Tinie Tempah, Adele, PJ Harvey and Elbow in the contest and the winner will be revealed on September 6. 

Watch her performance of 'On A Mission' from last night's (July 19) iTunes Festival event below: