Raye Awarded the 2026 Mercury Prize

Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope . The award recognizes one album from the UK and Ireland every year with a panel of music industry figures determining its recipient.

This year's other nominees were Dave for The Boy Who Played The Harp , Dove Ellis for Blizzard , Florence + the Machine for Everybody Scream , Jade for That’s Showbiz, Baby! , Knats for A Great Day In Newcastle , Kojey Radical for Don’t Look Down , Nia Archives for Emotional Junglist , Olivia Dean for The Art Of Loving , Paul McCartney for The Boys Of Dungeon Lane , Suede for Antidepressants , and Various artists for Help(2) .

The ceremony took place at Utilita Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with performances from the nominees. Last year's Mercury Prize went to Sam Fender for People Watching .

_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2515373/raye-wins-2026-mercury-prize/news/)._