The Newcastle ceremony on 22 October crowned This Music May Contain Hope, and a teacher of nineteen tries to keep the lesson plan intact
Dear Diary: Raye Wins the 2026 Mercury Prize, Says Hope Is a Cheesy Word, and My Pupils Immediately Want to Write Albums
The Newcastle ceremony on 22 October crowned This Music May Contain Hope, and a teacher of nineteen tries to keep the lesson plan intact
By Hannah Miller, music teacher and satire writer, prat.uk
Friday, Quarter Past Midnight, Keyboard Lid Open
Dear diary, I am nineteen, I teach music for a living and I have just watched a woman cry on a stage in Newcastle. According to Official Charts, Raye won the 2026 Mercury Prize on 22 October at the Utilita Arena for her album This Music May Contain Hope. Sian Eleri presented the trophy on behalf of the judging team, and Lauren Laverne hosted the ceremony.
I would like it on record that I have been saying for months that albums matter, and nobody has listened, and now a Mercury winner has said it in public.
What She Said
The article quotes her: “Wow, I’m shaking.” She added: “I’ve always banged on about how much I believe in albums, albums are so important.” And then: “Is this really happening? The tears are gonna flow. Hope is a very cheesy word, but hope is something we all need.”
I wrote the last sentence on a Post-it and stuck it to the piano. My pupils will ask why. I shall tell them it is theory.
About the Record
Official Charts says the album was released in March 2026 and debuted at Number 1 in its first week. It includes the chart-topping single WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! The judges said the album spans styles from jazz to soul and R&B to classical, and is divided into four sections.
That last detail delights me. An album in four sections is a symphony wearing a hoodie, and I intend to tell the Year 9s so.
The Performance
According to the same article, Raye performed I Hate The Way I Look Today from the winning album and received a standing ovation. The article does not mention other performers, and for the full evening I turned to a review by Clementine Hall in The Manc, which I come to in another entry.
I have not heard the live version, only read about it. That is, as every teacher knows, the worst way to learn a piece.
What I Will Teach on Monday
On Monday I am going to ask my pupils to bring a favourite album, not a favourite song. We will look at the order of the tracks, the way the first one opens a door and the last one closes it. I do not have a lesson plan yet. I have a sticky note and a cup of tea.
If anyone asks me what sections the album has, I will say four, because I read it on Official Charts, and I will say it with confidence.
A Small Complaint
I would like to have been in Newcastle. Instead I was in a shared flat with a laptop and a lukewarm cup of tea, which is the traditional position of a young musician at awards season. The room had one chair and a chair is not an arena.
I have, however, a ticket for nothing. This is also traditional.
The Judges’ Note
The article tells us the judging team is independent and made up of music industry professionals, as the Music Week report on the shortlist also says. It does not name them, and I do not intend to guess. A prize is a conversation, and I am happy for the conversation to continue.
If your favourite lost, take it up with the pub.
Bedtime
The keyboard lid is down. The kettle is cold. The Post-it says hope.
Goodnight, diary. Albums are important.
Questions From the Practice Room
Pupil one: what is the Mercury Prize? It recognises the best albums released by a musical act from the UK or Ireland in the previous 12 months, according to Official Charts. Pupil two: does it come with money? The article does not mention prize money, so I said I did not know. Pupil three: can we have one?
I said we could award a Mercury of the Month for the best practice, with a trophy made of a biscuit tin. They agreed at once.
A Word About Hope
Raye called hope a very cheesy word, and I think that is the best thing about it. Hope is cheesy, as a cheese is nourishing. It is the thing we say when we cannot say anything else, and we say it with our whole faces.
I am going to write a song called Cheesy Word. It will have four sections.
Music Stand
Between pupils I read the comic papers, because the kettle takes five minutes. This week the big joke was property: Manila News on slow condo sales in Cebu, the London Prat on retirees asked for character references (it is at https://prat.uk/cebu-estate-agents-demand-character-references/) and Bohiney on a realtor with unsellable beachfront listings. Exaggeration all the way down, but anchored to a real market story. More at prat.uk and bohiney.com.
Note: Philippine authorities are examining unproven allegations about Thomas Markle Sr., who lived in Cebu until earlier this year, as GMA News and the Guardian have reported. No charges have been filed. Child protection is a serious matter; the jokes here are about a property market and the paperwork.
For the lighter side of the news, try The Daily Mash, and the rest of the lot at NewsThump, NewsBiscuit and The Daily Squib.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/cebu-realtor-cant-sell-beachfront-listings/