Raye wins Mercury Prize 2026 for second album – beating Sir Paul McCartney and Jade

RAYE has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album This Music May Contain Hope, beating off competition from Sir Paul McCartney, Dave and Jade Thirlwall. The 28-year-old released the follow-up to her debut record My 21st Century Blues in March this year. It topped the charts and spawned the worldwide hit Where Is My Husband! The Mercury Prize judging panel said: “Raye displays real imagination and scope in showing what an album can be, going beyond any one style or genre to realise her vision. “The judges agreed that Raye’s superb album will serve as a huge inspiration for years to come.” Raye recently opened up about her demons and how she was saved by her family, fought back to win six Brits in a single night and is now tipped to sing the next Bond theme. More on Raye She labelled 2019 a “pretty dark year” as she was battling drug use, feeling cut off from her family and boozy nights out. Raye, whose real name is Rachel Keene, said: “It was a large collection of traumas, frustrations and substance abuse, misuse, or whatever, that just kind of piled up and that year was just one blurry mess. “2019 was a pretty dark year. I was very distant from my family who are my rock now, very much the centre point of trust and the foundation of my life. That I feel so safe standing on.” She felt helpless as record chiefs ignored her concerns and pushed into other projects, which were not her “vibe”. Most read in Showbiz Raye said: “When things are really allowed to have control over you is when they’re done in the dark, no one knows what’s going on. “It could really spiral that way because you don’t have help. And sometimes when you’re in these dark places you need help.”