Raye is this year’s Mercury Prize winner. Securing the coveted award for her second album This Music May Contain Hope, it’s a momentous moment for the pop star, who said she feels ‘seriously seen’ after years of struggling to get her music out there.
Beating off fierce competition from the likes of Paul McCartney, JADE, and Olivia Dean, Raye won the prize as an independent artist. In 2021, Raye publicly split from her long-term record label, Polydor Records, claiming that she’d been trapped in a four-album deal since 2014 without ever being allowed to release a debut album.
‘I just feel seriously seen, you know?’ she reflected during her speech. ‘There’s always a battle between art and commercial or “Who’s having the biggest this?” or “What’s going on there?”, and just to feel seen for a body of work that I poured my heart into makes me feel really grateful that the judges voted for it to win.’
She continued, ‘So much passion and love for music went into this album and really this accolade is really serious and something I always dreamed to one day receive. I just feel really grateful. It’s just the best birthday present I could have asked for.’
Want to know more about the newest Mercury prize winner? From her musical upbringing to her record label saga, read on to find out everything to know about Raye.
Who is Raye?
Raye – real name Rachel Agatha Keen – is a British singer, songwriter, and record producer from south London. While you’ll undoubtedly have heard her chart-topping hits now, Raye in her early career was more behind the scenes, penning songs for artists including Beyoncé, Little Mix, and Rhianna, and featuring as a vocalist on dance songs like Jax Jones’s 2026 banger ‘You Don’t Know Me’.
Her interest in music developed from a young age, with Raye regularly attending the church where her mother sang in the choir and her father was the musical director. By her teenage years, she was already making moves in the music industry. Aged 14, she bagged a spot at the BRIT school but dropped out two years later, telling the BBC she felt ‘confined’.
By age 17, she’d secured a four-album record deal with Polydor Records. However, instead of being able to release albums, she found herself working more as a songwriter for hire, writing songs for other artists or featuring on their tracks. In 2021, Raye shared a series of tweets on X (formerly Twitter), detailing how she was ‘sick of being slept on’ by Polydor, and claiming that she’d been unable to release an album since being signed in 2024. Raye later announced that she was officially independent and had split with her label due to having ‘different goals artistically’.
Her move to go independent proved to unlock huge success for the singer. In 2023, Raye released her single ‘Escapism’, which became her first UK number one single, and charted globally on the Billboard Hot 100. She followed this up with her hit debut album, My 21st Century Blues, which secured her a whooping six Brit Awards.
Raye released her second album, This Music May Contain Hope, earlier this year, featuring the viral song ‘Where is my husband!’. It shot straight to number one in the charts.
How old is Raye?
Born on 24 October 1997, Raye is about to turn 29 years old. The singer won her Mercury prize just days before her birthday.
Is Raye in a relationship?
No, Raye is currently single. At the Mercury Awards, she told NME that she had fulfilled her dream of either getting a 'boyfriend' or a 'Mercury Prize'. We think she bagged the better award in the end.
Is Raye an independent artist? The record label drama explained
Yes, Raye is an independent artist. She was previously in a record deal with Polydor Records, but in 2021, in a series of tweets, she alleged that she had been prevented from releasing any albums by the label. 'I have been on a 4 ALBUM RECORD DEAL since 2014,' she wrote. 'And haven't been allowed to put one album out.'
She claimed that she was 'still awaiting confirmation that I am good enough to release an album'. 'I've done everything [Polydor] asked me, I switched genres, I worked seven days a week,' she told her followers. 'They either listen to me now or we part ways and they can save themselves this headache.'
In July that year, she announced she had been freed from her contract with Polydor: 'Today I am speaking to you as an independent artist,' she said on her social media at the time.
Her battle for independence and for her artistic vision to be celebrated is why the recent Mercury prize win means so much to the singer. It's the ultimate acknowledgement of her hard work and ambition paying off, and proof that sticking to her guns was the right move. Huge congrats, Raye!