UK singer-songwriter Raye wins Mercury Prize

LONDON

Raye won the prize for her album ‘This Music May Contain Hope.’

Raye won the U.K.’s coveted Mercury Prize on Oct. 22 for her album “This Music May Contain Hope,” triumphing over fellow singer-songwriter Olivia Dean and 10 other acts including Beatles icon Paul McCartney.

The ceremony was held for the second consecutive year in the northeast English city of Newcastle, and fans inside its Utilita Arena went wild as 28-year-old Raye took to the stage to accept the award.

“I’m just so grateful,” the performer, who blends pop, jazz, dance, R&B, and soul, told the cheering crowd, draped in a feather bolero.

“Hope is a very cheesy word, especially for us British people,” she added. “But hope is just something that we all need, and I think music is that... music is medicine.”

Real name Rachel Agatha Keen, the chart-topper from Tooting, south London, has enjoyed soaring success in recent years, scoring a record six wins at the 2024 Brit Awards and bagging a Grammy in January.

The judges said the “scale, structure, ambition and sheer charm” of her second studio album made it “the right choice.”

A dozen acts were nominated for this year’s prize, which rewards the best British or Irish album of the past 12 months.

Dean was among the favorites after winning big earlier this year at the Brits, when she claimed four awards including album of the year for “The Art of Loving.”

That came weeks after the 27-year-old also won the best new artist Grammy.