Entertainmentupdated 1h ago2 min read
Raye Wins 2026 Mercury Prize For This Music May Contain Hope
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Raye won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album. The winning album was released via Human Re Sources and The Orchard.
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Raye takes Mercury Prize
Raye won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album This Music May Contain Hope at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, beating competition including Sir Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean and Jade for the £25,000 prize.
Raye told the BBC, "I couldn't tell you how grateful I am to be holding this," as she clutched the trophy and said, "I'm shaking, I'm jet-lagged, I'm tired. It's all blurry."
The BBC said the Mercury Prize recognises the best British or Irish album of the last 12 months, and it described the win as the first time a pop album had won since M People's Elegant Slumming in 1994.
The album, released in March, went straight to the top of the UK charts and features the global hit song Where Is My Husband!, alongside 17 tracks and 73 minutes of music.
The Mercury Prize ceremony was hosted by Lauren Laverne, and Raye received the trophy from broadcaster and DJ Sian Eleri, presenting on behalf of the judging team.
Judges, performances, and quotes
The judging panel for the 2026 Mercury Prize included music writer and broadcaster Sophie Williams, The Times rock and pop critic Will Hodgkinson, composer, DJ and radio broadcaster AFRODEUTSCHE, and broadcaster and musician Danielle Perry, with Jeff Smith serving as Chair of the judging team.
Raye performed I Hate The Way I Look Today during the ceremony, and NME described the moment as "show-stopping musical maximalism at its grandest".
Raye told NME, "Hope is a very cheesy word, especially for us British. We don't do that kind of deep stuff like that, but hope is just something that we all need."
The ceremony also included live performances from other shortlisted artists, including Dove Ellis, Florence + The Machine, Jade, Knats, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean, RAYE and Suede.
Pulp performed on behalf of the War Child Help(2) compilation, and the awards show was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music with TV coverage on BBC Four and iPlayer.
What the win changes next
The Mercury Prize win positioned This Music May Contain Hope for a further boost, and Music Wee said Raye would continue the celebrations at her orchestral Royal Albert Hall show on Friday (October 23). The BBC said the album almost never happened after Raye's car was stolen two years ago this week, along with all of her songwriting notebooks and demos, delaying work on the record by almost a year. Raye reflected on the delay in a quote to the BBC, saying, "Every little slip, every little accident, every little thing, it creates the path that you take."
“‘Every little slip, every little accident, every little thing, it creates the path that you take.”
The Guardian said the award comes with a £25,000 prize, and it quoted the judges describing Raye’s album as "scale, structure, ambition and sheer charm". The Independent said Raye, born Rachel Keen, was next set to headline a special one-off show at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Friday 23 October, titled This Symphony May Contain Hope, to play her second album in full with the Heritage Orchestra and Flames Collective.