diff --git a/backend/explore/explore.go b/backend/explore/explore.go
index cdc0897..8d03875 100644
--- a/backend/explore/explore.go
+++ b/backend/explore/explore.go
@@ -1090,6 +1090,9 @@ func boostNameMatches(query string, result *MBSearchResult) {
 	}
 
 	// Boost artists whose name contains the full query.
+	// Within the same tier, sort by original MB relevance score
+	// (not the library-boosted blended score) so the most globally
+	// relevant exact match ranks first.
 	if len(result.Artists) > 1 {
 		sort.SliceStable(result.Artists, func(i, j int) bool {
 			iMatch := nameMatchTier(q, strings.ToLower(result.Artists[i].Name))
@@ -1099,7 +1102,12 @@ func boostNameMatches(query string, result *MBSearchResult) {
 				return iMatch < jMatch // lower tier = better match
 			}
 
-			return false // preserve existing order within same tier
+			// Within same tier, prefer higher blended score.
+			if result.Artists[i].Score != result.Artists[j].Score {
+				return result.Artists[i].Score > result.Artists[j].Score
+			}
+
+			return false // preserve existing order as last resort
 		})
 	}
 
diff --git a/backend/explore/musicbrainz.go b/backend/explore/musicbrainz.go
index 01c20a3..e294ef1 100644
--- a/backend/explore/musicbrainz.go
+++ b/backend/explore/musicbrainz.go
@@ -378,6 +378,7 @@ func convertArtist(a musicbrainzws2.Artist) MBArtist {
 		Country:        string(a.CountryCode),
 		Disambiguation: a.Disambiguation,
 		Score:          a.Score,
+		OriginalScore:  a.Score,
 	}
 
 	// Extract the primary English alias when the canonical name
diff --git a/backend/explore/types.go b/backend/explore/types.go
index b0a1252..fa44676 100644
--- a/backend/explore/types.go
+++ b/backend/explore/types.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ type MBArtist struct {
 	Country        string `json:"country"`
 	Disambiguation string `json:"disambiguation"`
 	Score          int    `json:"score"`
+	OriginalScore  int    `json:"-"` // MB search relevance, preserved across reranking
 }
 
 // MBReleaseGroup is a Wails-friendly projection of a MusicBrainz