Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album This Music May Contain Hope .

The jazz-pop record beat the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean and Jade to win the prestigious accolade and £25,000 prize.

The award recognizes the best British or Irish album of the last 12 months and has previously been won by the likes of James Blake, Arctic Monkeys and Pulp. This is the first time a record considered in the pop genre has won since M People in 1994, and the prize often favors alternative and rock acts.

“I couldn’t tell you how grateful I am to be holding this,” Raye gushed, clutching her trophy at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena. “I’m shaking, I’m jet-lagged, I’m tired. It’s all blurry.”

Speaking to the BBC after her win, Raye said she’d “poured everything I had” into the album, which features the viral hit “Where Is My Husband?”

“I made this album not focusing on commercial [success], not focusing on making things cookie-cutter,” she explained. “Some of these songs are seven minutes.…