Raye wins Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope
Raye has won the Mercury Prize for her second album This Music May Contain Hope, beating nominees including Olivia Dean, Sir Paul McCartney and Jade at the ceremony in Newcastle.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Raye has won the Mercury Prize for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope. The award, worth £25,000, recognises outstanding albums released in the UK and Ireland in the past year. The winner was announced at the ceremony in Newcastle just after 10 o'clock.
Raye was shortlisted alongside 11 other acts. Olivia Dean had been the front-runner after winning Album of the Year at the Brits and the MOBO Awards for The Art of Loving. Sir Paul McCartney received his first Mercury nomination for The Boys of Dungeon Lane, a nostalgic record about his childhood in Liverpool. Jade Thirlwall, formerly of Little Mix, became the first X Factor winner to be shortlisted for the prize with That's Showbiz Baby, an album about her love-hate relationship with the music industry.
The judges called Raye's album hugely ambitious. It runs to 17 tracks and moves between genres, including show tunes and jazz, with tap dancing. Both of her grandparents and both of her sisters appear on the record, which also used four orchestras and hundreds of musicians, all named in the final track. Raye said some songs run to seven minutes and are indulgent and maximalist. She said she made the album without focusing on commercial success or trying to fit three-minute pop formats.
Accepting the prize, Raye said she was speechless and felt gratitude, calling it the best birthday present ever. She said she had poured everything into the record and developed some of it on stage. She is due to play the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow with the Heritage Orchestra and Flames Collective, and said she needs vocal rest.
Earlier in the night, Jade said being recognised for an album rather than just singles was every artist's dream. Her song Angel of My Dreams saw a 4,300% increase in global Spotify streams after it was played at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She said the attention was overwhelming and that she could not be prouder.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 3 channels | |||
| Olivia Dean, Raye and Jade are among the Mercury Prize nominees. | Reported by BBC One | ||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| Paul McCartney received his first Mercury Prize nomination. | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | |
| The Mercury Prize winner will be revealed in Newcastle tonight, with the ceremony broadcast on BBC 4 and BBC Radio 6 Music. | Not reported by BBC One | ||
| Only on one channel | |||
| Jade Thirlwall became the first X Factor winner to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Jade Thirlwall's song Angel of My Dreams saw a reported 4,300% increase in global Spotify streams after the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | |
| Olivia Dean was reported as the frontrunner to win the Mercury Prize. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Raye said she made the album without focusing on commercial expectations or cookie-cutter songs, with some tracks seven minutes long, indulgent and maximalist. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | |
| Raye won the 2026 Mercury Music Prize for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | |
| The judges described Raye's album as hugely ambitious, citing its 17 tracks, genre shifts, four orchestras and hundreds of musicians named on the final track. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | |
| The Mercury Prize carries a £25,000 award and recognises outstanding albums released in the UK and Ireland over the past year. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News previewed the Mercury Prize earlier in the day, framing it around Olivia Dean as front-runner and listing Raye, Jade and Paul McCartney as notable nominees. It focused on prize details, previous awards and broadcast arrangements, and did not report the winner.
- “Olivia Dean, Raye and Jade are among the nominees for the Mercury Prize this evening.”
- “She is currently the front runner to win the Mercury Prize too.”
- “The winner will be revealed in Newcastle tonight with the ceremony broadcast on BBC 4 and BBC Radio 6 Music.”
ITV1 treated the prize as a battle between new artists and industry icons, with a live reporter in Newcastle and a Jade interview. It gave more space to Jade's streaming surge and her comments about album recognition, and it gave the announcement time as just after 10 o'clock.
- “Oh, a big battle between some newer artists and some industry icons, too.”
- “I think it's every artist's dream to be recognised for your album and not just your singles.”
- “The winner will be announced just after 10 o'clock.”
BBC ONE West announced the result and interviewed Raye after her win, focusing on the album's scale, genre mix and her comments about ambition over commercial formulas. It also noted her Royal Albert Hall show and need for vocal rest, then moved to unrelated weather.
- “But the winner is Raye For her second album This Music May Contain Hope”
- “This is like the best birthday present ever”
- “Some of these songs are seven minutes They're indulgent They're maximalist”
Broadcast Timeline
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