RAYE wins Mercury Prize 2026 for 'This Music May Contain Hope'

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorRAYE has won the Mercury Prize for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope, the Euronews report says.

2. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorShe beat Paul McCartney, Florence and the Machine, and the favourite, Olivia Dean.

3. 

   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorThe favourite lost. I love a favourite losing, it's the only honest sport left.

4. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe title reads like a warning on a packet. May contain hope. Keep away from children, and Olivia Dean.

5. 

   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorSeventeen tracks, seventy-three minutes, LBC says. That's a long sit-down, and the exit signs are a bit vague.

6. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt runs from big band jazz to power ballads. That's a lot of range for one evening.

7. 

   Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorAnd the prize is twenty-five thousand pounds, for seventy-three minutes. I'd like the per-minute figure.

8. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorShe said she was shaking and jetlagged, and that it was all blurry. Fair. So is the list of nominees from where I sit.

9. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorVerdict: a deserving win. I've read the label twice. It only says may contain, and I'm taking that.