The singer’s second album took the top prize in Newcastle, where she celebrated the creative freedom to make music on her own terms.
RAYE has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope, collecting the award at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on October 22. The result puts her second album ahead of a 12-record shortlist that included projects by Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean and Dave, with the final choice made that night.
The prize’s official announcement praised the record’s ambition and construction, highlighting a four-part work that moves through jazz, soul, R&B and classical influences. The judges framed that breadth as a case for the continuing artistic value of albums in the streaming era, rather than one song.
RAYE used her acceptance speech to make a similar point. As MusicRadar reported, she contrasted the freedom of this project with an earlier career environment focused on singles, explaining her gratitude at being recognized for an album. The 17-track release runs 73 minutes, giving its big-band arrangements, funk and pop elements room to develop alongside the successful single “Where Is My Husband!”
The singer also spoke about the hopeful idea behind the title, saying she wanted that message to reach listeners who needed it. Her comments connected the award to a larger creative goal: making space for extended songs and an expansive musical vision, not simply assembling material around the next hit. That emphasis made the evening both a recognition of the finished record and a public defense of the choices behind it.
Broadcaster Lauren Laverne hosted the ceremony, while Sian Eleri presented RAYE with the trophy on behalf of the judges. RAYE then performed “I Hate the Way I Look Today” to a standing ovation. Florence + the Machine, JADE, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean and Suede were also among the performers, with Pulp representing the War Child collection Help(2).
This is RAYE’s first Mercury win. Her debut, My 21st Century Blues, made the 2023 shortlist before Ezra Collective took that year’s award, as Pitchfork noted. She now joins a list of recent winners that also includes Little Simz and Sam Fender, adding the Mercury to the recognition of an artist whose commitment to full-length projects was central to her speech.
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