Raye wins 2026 Mercury Prize for This Music May Contain Hope

Singer Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope, beating Sir Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean and Jade to the £25,000 award in Newcastle. It is the first pop album to win the prize, which honours the best British or Irish album of the year, since M People's Elegant Slumming in 1994.