US country legend Emmylou Harris and Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie have won Sweden's Polar Music Prize, organizers said Wednesday.
The musicians were seen as fringe picks for an award founded by Swedish super pop group ABBA's late manager Stig Anderson and previously won by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney.
"As a singer, (Harris) has an unmistakable voice that carries so many emotions it can almost feel unbearable," chairman of the prize committee Alfons Karabuda told reporters.
Harris, whose career began in 1975, reached for rock and pop influences with her groundbreaking 1995 album "Wrecking Ball".
The Alabama native's music "contains the history and topography of the entire American continent," the jury's nomination read.
The country star has collaborated with the likes of Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash and won 13 Grammy awards to date.
"I was surprised and honored at the news of this most prestigious award," Harris told the jury in a statement.
Glennie, a solo percussionist who became deaf at the age of 12, was awarded the prize for widening "our understanding of what music is," the jury said.
"Everyone, whatever their physical circumstances, can perceive and perform music, can feel and convey good vibrations. We all have our own, individual tone," its motivation read.
The 49-year-old received the Order of the British Empire in 2007 and performed at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics five years later.
The winners take home 1 million kronor (109,000 euros, US$117,000) in prize money, and will receive their award from Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on 9 June.
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Anderson, who was ABBA's publisher, lyricist and manager.
Tuesday's winners add two names to the seven women who had previously won the award, with Mitchell, Patti Smith and Icelandic artist Bjork among them.
The prize, which has been awarded since 1992, when it went to former Beatle McCartney, has also been won by Dizzy Gillespie, Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Keith Jarrett and Italian composer Ennio Morricone.
Last year it went to rock legend Chuck Berry and opera and theater director Peter Sellars, both from the United States.
