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Raye has broken her silence after scoring big with her second studio album!
The Welcome to the Winter hitmaker won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her recently released musical collection, This Music May Contain Hope, on Thursday, October 22nd, 2026.
Raye released This Music May Contain Hope in March of this year, which mesmerises fans with jazz, orchestral pop, and a funky studio album.
Now she has defeated 11 other shortlisted nominees, including Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean, and Jade—to claim the £25,000 prize at a ceremony held at Newcastle's Utilita Arena.
Raye makes first statement after winning The Mercury Prize
Sharing her first official statement after the prestigious honour, Raye, who is recently linked with Michael B. Jordan, expressed immense gratitude.
"To believe I was once burdened with the narrative ‘no one would care if I released an album’ to THIS… THE MERCURY PRIZE. I couldn’t sleep last night, just heart filled with gratitude. Art is subjective; every artist last night was so deserving of this award," the Prada hitmaker added.
She continued, "Being able to even create an album is a privilege I will never take for granted. Though this music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I can confirm that album was created with so much HEART (and so many hearts)"
"Thank you to all 317 humans, musicians, engineers, my band, Hans Zimmer, Al Green, my sisters, my grandparents and my late Swiss grandad Hans, who leaves me his last beautiful voice note on the start of life boat," she continued.
Raye sparks Grammy nomination after Mercury Prize
As her new post and her accolade garnered worldwide attention, fans endorsed Raye for her next notable recognition.
One fan said, "You deserve the world. GRAMMYs next."
"This beyond incredible album is very much my cup of tea!!! Keep making the music your heart desires, and it will find its manyyyy listeners. So proud of you. Congrats!" a second added.
Another user showered praise on Raye, saying, "Authentic, humble and the next one of many…who’s ready for those @grammys ?!!"
When did Raye begin her musical career?
RAYE began her music career by featuring on dance tracks, writing songs for other artists, and posting demos on SoundCloud before signing her first record deal.
She first gained prominent attention as a featured vocalist and hook singer on electronic and dance hits like Jax Jones's You Don’t Know Me and Jonas Blue's By Your Side.
