British singer Raye wins Mercury Prize for second album This Music May Contain Hope
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British singer-songwriter Raye has enjoyed soaring success in recent years, including bagging a Grammy in January.
PHOTO: AFP
- Raye won the Mercury Prize on 22 October for This Music May Contain Hope, beating Olivia Dean and 10 other acts, including Paul McCartney.
- Judges praised the album’s “scale, structure, ambition, and sheer charm”; Raye said, “music is medicine” and thanked the cheering Newcastle crowd.
- The prize gives £25,000 and strong critical backing. It is seen as a boost for rising acts and was held in Newcastle for a second year.
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LONDON – Raye won Britain’s coveted Mercury Prize on Oct 22 for her album This Music May Contain Hope, triumphing over fellow singer-songwriter Olivia Dean and 10 other acts including Beatles icon Paul McCartney.
The ceremony was held for the second consecutive year in the north-east English city of Newcastle, and fans inside its Utilita Arena went wild as Raye, 28, took the stage to accept the award.
“I’m just so grateful,” the performer, who blends pop, jazz, dance, R&B and soul, told the cheering crowd, draped in a feather bolero.
“Hope is a very cheesy word – especially for us British people,” she added. “But hope is just something that we all need, and I think music is that... music is medicine.”
The chart-topper from Tooting, south London, whose real name is Rachel Agatha Keen, has enjoyed soaring success in recent years, scoring a record six wins at the 2024 Brit Awards and bagging a Grammy in January.
The judges said the “scale, structure, ambition and sheer charm” of her second studio album made it “the right choice”.
A dozen acts were nominated for the 2026 prize, which rewards the best British or Irish album of the past 12 months.
Dean was among the favourites after winning big earlier in 2026 at the Brits, when she claimed four awards including Album of the Year for The Art Of Loving.
That came weeks after the 27-year-old also won the Best New Artist Grammy.
Both Raye and Dean were among the many nominees to perform at the ceremony on Oct 22, with indie-pop legends Pulp – shortlisted in 2025 – also playing on behalf of the nominated Help(2) compilation album which they feature on.
‘Chuffed’
McCartney – shortlisted for his latest solo studio album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane – and rapper and 2019 winner Dave were the only two not present.
McCartney’s inclusion, for his nostalgia-laden record deeply rooted in his post-war childhood in Liverpool, was a first for the 84-year-old.
“I’m sorry I can’t be there – but just to tell you, I’m really chuffed to be included on this list,” he said in a video message played. “I was kind of surprised, tell you the truth.”
Other nominees included alternative rockers Florence + The Machine, Britpop band and 1993 winner Suede and Newcastle jazz fusion collective Knats.
Kojey Radical – whose music spans rap, jazz, spoken word and funk – and Nia Archives, who fuses jungle, breakbeats and intimate songwriting, were also shortlisted.
The contender list is curated by an independent judging team of music industry professionals and invariably spans various musical genres, with the final decision on the winner made on the night.
Created in 1992 as an alternative to the more mainstream Brits held in February, the Mercury Prize is seen as a seal of critical approval and, for lesser-known acts, a springboard to wider fame.
The winner also takes home £25,000 (S$42,800).
Past winners include post-punk band English Teacher, jazz fusion act Ezra Collective, as well as rock bands the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream.
Singer-songwriter PJ Harvey is the only performer to have won twice – in 2001 and 2011.
Traditionally hosted in London, it switched to Newcastle in 2025 for the first time, when local favourite Sam Fender won. AFP