Singer Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album, "This Music May Contain Hope," according to the BBC and Variety.

The prize honors the best British or Irish album of the past year, the BBC reported. It comes with 25,000 British pounds, the BBC said.

Raye beat nominees including Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean, Jade, Dave, Florence + the Machine and Suede, the BBC and Variety reported.

It is the first time a pop album has won since M People's "Elegant Slumming" in 1994, the BBC reported.

"I couldn't tell you how grateful I am to be holding this," Raye said at the ceremony in Newcastle, according to the BBC. "I'm shaking, I'm jet-lagged, I'm tired. It's all blurry."

The 28-year-old said she made the album "not focusing on making things cookie-cutter," the BBC reported. "Some of these songs are seven minutes," she said, according to the BBC.

The album has 17 songs, the BBC and Variety reported. It includes the hit song "Where Is My Husband?" the BBC said.

The BBC said the album tells a story of a breakup in Paris and a woman who comes out stronger. It features her grandparents, soul singer Al Green, four orchestras and more than 100 musicians, the BBC reported.

The album came out in March and went straight to No. 1 in the United Kingdom, the BBC reported. Critics praised it, the BBC said.

Variety's review said the album "does not lack for ambition." It is split into four sections based on the seasons, Variety said.

Past winners include Arlo Parks, Little Simz, the xx and James Blake, Variety reported. Variety said the prize is meant to honor music from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Raye is the 35th winner of the prize, the BBC reported.

What we know: Raye won the Mercury Prize for "This Music May Contain Hope."
What we don't: How the win will affect her album's sales and her next release.