RAYE wins the 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope, beating Paul McCartney, Dave and Olivia Dean

RAYE has won the UK's most respected album award. The singer-songwriter was named winner of the 2026 Mercury Prize on Thursday, 22 October, at Newcastle's Utilita Arena, for her second album, THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.

The night

BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne hosted the show, and broadcaster and DJ Sian Eleri handed RAYE the trophy on behalf of the judges. She then performed I Hate The Way I Look Today from the album and received a standing ovation. On stage she hugged her producer and main collaborator Mike Sabath and her sister Amma, who features on the album track Joy. In her speech she spoke about how much she believes in the album as an art form.

Who she beat

1. Paul McCartney, with his first ever Mercury nomination
2. Dave, The Boy Who Played the Harp
3. Florence + The Machine, Everybody Scream
4. Suede, Antidepressants
5. Olivia Dean, JADE, Dove Ellis, Knats, Kojey Radical and Nia Archives
6. War Child Records' charity compilation HELP(2), performed on the night by Pulp

Why this album won

The judges praised the record's scale and ambition. It runs 17 songs and 73 minutes across four sections, moving through jazz, soul, R&B and classical. It topped the UK albums chart after its March release, and its single WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! reached No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart.

The bigger picture

1. Prize money: £25,000 and the winner's trophy
2. First female solo winner since Little Simz in 2022
3. Her debut, My 21st Century Blues, was also nominated and led to a record six BRIT Awards in 2024
4. She succeeds Sam Fender, the 2025 winner

The win came hours before RAYE performed the full album at London's Royal Albert Hall. Expect a big sales bump: past winners have seen sales jump sharply the week after the prize.

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