Culture 4 min read By Mason Emerson
Raye Wins 2026 Mercury Prize for 'This Music May Contain Hope'
Raye took home the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album, 'This Music May Contain Hope,' at a ceremony in Newcastle, delivering a speech about hope, albums, and music as medicine.
Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second studio album, «This Music May Contain Hope», taking the award at a ceremony held at Newcastle's Utilita Arena. The singer-songwriter, who has been open about past battles with her former record label, collected the trophy from a shortlist that included Paul McCartney, Florence + The Machine, Suede, Dave, JADE, Olivia Dean, Nia Archives, Knats, Dove Ellis, Kojey Radical and the War Child «Help(2)» compilation.
The ceremony, hosted by BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, was the second consecutive year the Mercury Prize has been staged outside London, following last year's move to Newcastle. A series of Fringe events ran across the city in the week leading up to the main event, and the evening featured performances from most of the shortlisted acts, including Dove Ellis, Florence + The Machine, JADE, Knats, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean, Raye and Suede. Pulp also performed in support of the «Help(2)» compilation, which was helmed by producer James Ford.
Accepting the prize, Raye was visibly overwhelmed. «First of all, I cannot tell you how grateful I am to be holding this», she said. «I'm shaking, I'm jetlagged, I'm tired, I'm grateful, it's all blurry.» She used the moment to defend the album as a format, reflecting on her earlier career. «I've always banged on about how much I believe in albums. Albums are so important. And not to be bitter, because I feel like I'm mostly at peace with my past, but to come from a place where it's all about singles and chasing the next thing, I just feel so grateful to be recognised.»
She described the record's lush orchestration and jazzy compositions as a deliberate act of indulgence. «I just wanted to make seven-minute songs. I wanted to go to a big band section there and do strings there, and just be really indulgent and I'm just so grateful», she said. The album earned a five-star review and was praised for its show-stopping musical maximalism. It also reached Number One and led to Raye headlining Reading & Leeds festival in 2026. She is scheduled to perform the album in full with an orchestra at London's Royal Albert Hall the following night.
Raye closed her speech by returning to the album's title and its central theme. «The tears are going to flow now, so I'm just going to say 'This Music May Contain Hope'. '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. Music is that, music is medicine. I just hope that message comes across to anyone who needs it and thank you so much for this prize.» She performed «I Hate The Way I Look Today» during the ceremony and again as a closer after collecting the award.
The winner was chosen by a judging panel chaired by Jeff Smith and featuring music writer and broadcaster Sophie Williams, The Times rock and pop critic Will Hodgkinson, composer, DJ and radio broadcaster AFRODEUTSCHE, broadcaster and musician Danielle Perry, BBC Radio 2's Jamie Cullum, Lea Stonhill, MistaJam, Kerrang creative director Phil Alexander and Sian Eleri. Raye follows Sam Fender, who won last year's Mercury Prize with his third album, «People Watching». Past recipients include English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Dave, Arlo Parks, Wolf Alice, Young Fathers, Arctic Monkeys, Elbow, Pulp, Portishead, PJ Harvey and Franz Ferdinand.
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