Raye wins the 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope

Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope, taking the award for the best album from the UK or Ireland at a ceremony at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on 22 October 2026. The Mercury Prize names its winner from a shortlist of twelve, chosen by a panel of industry figures, and it has a long habit of crowning the record nobody had pencilled in.

The shortlist she beat

Pre-ceremony talk had made Olivia Dean, whose The Art Of Loving was on the list, the favourite. The rest of the twelve read like a snapshot of British music: Paul McCartney's The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, Dave's The Boy Who Played The Harp, Suede's Antidepressants, Florence + The Machine's Everybody Scream, Jade's That's Showbiz, Baby!, Nia Archives' Emotional Junglist, Kojey Radical's Don't Look Down, Dove Ellis's Blizzard, Knats' A Great Day In Newcastle, and the War Child charity compilation Help(2).

Why this album won

This Music May Contain Hope. is a deliberately big record: long songs, some running to seven minutes, and orchestral arrangements that Raye has said she was determined to make without apology. The judges singled out its scale, structure and ambition, and said it moves well beyond any single genre.

It also lands as a statement about the album as a format. Raye spent years being known for singles, and in her acceptance speech she spoke about believing in albums and about hope being something everyone needs, adding that music is medicine. She performed "I Hate The Way I Look Today" on the night.

What it means for Raye

This is her second Mercury nomination. In 2024 she set the record for most wins in a single year at the BRIT Awards, taking six.

For readers meeting her for the first time: Raye is a singer-songwriter from south London who fought a very public battle with her former label before releasing her debut album independently, and the Mercury win caps that story neatly.

You can hear the record on streaming services now, and the album page on Apple Music has the full tracklist.