Raye wins 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope
The award carries £25,000. Raye also performed at the ceremony in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Raye’s This Music May Contain Hope has been named the 2026 Mercury Prize winner, earning the singer £25,000. The presentation took place at Newcastle upon Tyne’s Utilita Arena, where nominees also performed.
The prize is awarded annually to an album from the UK and Ireland, with music industry figures choosing the winner. In explaining their decision, the judges highlighted the record’s ambition and construction, praising Raye’s imagination and her willingness to move across genres.
The shortlist also featured Dave’s The Boy Who Played The Harp, Florence + The Machine’s Everybody Scream, Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving and Paul McCartney’s The Boys Of Dungeon Lane. Other contenders included Suede’s Antidepressants and the various-artists War Child compilation Help(2).
According to the BBC, the judging panel included musicians and broadcasters Afrodeutsche, Danielle Perry and Jamie Cullum, alongside music writers and programming figures.
Raye performed “I Hate The Way I Look Today” during the ceremony. She succeeds Sam Fender, who received the previous year’s prize for People Watching.
