RAYE’s album era just picked up British music’s most prestigious prize. The singer-songwriter won the 2026 Mercury Prize on Thursday night (October 22) for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope, at a ceremony held at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle.

Hosted by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne, with the trophy presented by Radio 1’s Sian Eleri, the night ended with RAYE performing “I Hate the Way I Look Today” from the winning record to a standing ovation. The judges praised the album as a complete statement — a record built in four sections that moves through jazz, soul, R&B and classical shades while staying rooted in everyday life and love.

It is RAYE’s first Mercury win. Her 2023 breakthrough, My 21st Century Blues, was nominated for the prize, and this time she went one better, becoming the first female solo artist to take the award since Little Simz in 2022. The shortlist she topped was stacked: Olivia Dean’s chart-topping The Art of Loving, Dave’s The Boy Who Played The Harp, Florence + The Machine’s Everybody Scream, JADE’s THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! and Paul McCartney’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane — the first Mercury nomination of McCartney’s career.

The Mercury Prize honors the year’s outstanding British and Irish album, and with This Music May Contain Hope now carrying the title, RAYE’s front-to-back artistic statement has the hardware to match its ambition.