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RAYE has been crowned the winner of this year’s Mercury Prize, taking home the coveted statue for her second album ‘This Music May Contain Hope’.
The British artist, born Rachel Keen, beat favourite Olivia Dean, as well as JADE, Florence + The Machine, the War Child ‘Help (2)’ compilation album and Paul McCartney – who was shortlisted for the first time, aged 84, with his new record, ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’.
The judges praised ‘This Music May Contain Hope’, which features the hit single ‘Where Is My Husband!’, for combining old-school Hollywood glamour with kitchen sink realism to tell “a story about a young woman navigating the everyday trials of life and love, on an album that is joyous and indeed hopeful”.
“RAYE displays real imagination and scope in showing what an album can be, going beyond any one style or genre to realise her vision,” according to a jury statement. “The judges agreed that RAYE’S’s superb album will serve as a huge inspiration for years to come.”
Accepting the award, RAYE said: “I cannot tell you how grateful I am to be holding this. I’m shaking, I’m jetlagged, I’m tired, I’m grateful, it’s all blurry.”
“I’ve always banged on about how much I believe in albums,” she continued. “Albums are so important. And not to be bitter, because I feel like I’m mostly at peace with my past, you know? But to come from a place where it’s all about singles and chasing the next thing, I just feel so grateful to be recognised.”
RAYE’s comments refer to her previously parting ways with her record label after accusing them of refusing to let her release her debut album. She released ‘My 21st Century Blues’ in 2023 as an independent artist.
She also described music as “medicine”, saying: “The tears are going to flow now, so I’m just going to say ‘This Music May Contain Hope’. ‘Hope’ is a very cheesy word, especially for us British. We don’t do that kind of deep stuff like that, but hope is just something that we all need. Music is that, music is medicine. I just hope that message comes across to anyone who needs it and thank you so much for this prize.”
This was the second time that RAYE was nominated for the Mercury Prize, following ‘My 21st Century Blues’, which led her to break the BRIT Awards record for the most wins in a single year, with six awards in 2024.
RAYE follows in the footsteps of past Mercury winners Sam Fender, Ezra Collective, Michael Kiwanuka, Little Simz, Arlo Parks and Young Fathers, as well as Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, PJ Harvey and Franz Ferdinand.
This year’s edition of the annual awards, which honours the best album released by a British or Irish artist each year, took place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on Thursday evening.