‘She has worn her heart on her sleeve’: how Raye went from major-label frustration to seven Brit nominations
With a record-breaking seven nominations to her name in a single year, Raye has already made Brits history. Tomorrow at the O2 Arena in London, she could make it once again if she sweeps the board. But regardless of the awards she takes home – including potentially album and artist of the year – this recognition from the British music industry represents a huge vindication for 26-year-old Londonborn Rachel Keen.
Three years ago, Raye was signed to Polydor and flush with Top 40 success as a guest vocalist on songs by the likes of Joel Corry and David Guetta. But behind the scenes, she was battling to release her debut album despite having been signed to the label since she was a teenager. In June 2021, she posted a tearful plea to social media and tweets alleging that she had done everything the label had asked, yet was still “awaiting confirmation that I am good enough” to release a full-length record. A month later, Polydor released Raye from her contract and she went it alone as an independent artist.
Her subsequent commercial and critical acclaim has surely caused her former label to eat humble pie: in 2022 she scored a UK No 1 and global hit with Escapism (featuring rapper 070 Shake), a song Raye has said that Polydor turned down. (The label has wished her well publicly.) In February 2023 she released her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, which reached No 2 on the UK album chart and earned her an Ivor Novello award for her songwriting and a nomination for the Mercury prize.
Her lyrical candour – addressing sexual assault within the music industry, body image issues and substance abuse – and easy straddling of rap, R&B and electronic production has attracted a fervent young listenership, and she will perform high on the bill at this year’s teen-focused Reading and Leeds festivals. Meanwhile her agile voice and soul nous has also commanded an older audience beguiled by her musicianship, which was on show when she performed a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall in September.
“I think the reason listeners are connecting with Raye is because she truly has worn her heart on her sleeve,” said Clara Amfo, a host of this year’s Brit awards and a departing BBC Radio 1 presenter who has known the musician since her teens. “Her cry for help was so sincere and clearly coming from such a helpless place. It’s been a real testament to her grit and determination because she could have given up her pursuit of wanting to be a solo artist and carried on writing for other artists. But she has solid conviction in what she brings.”
In 2024, pop fans have a greater understanding of the machinations of the music industry than ever before, thanks in large part to Taylor Swift’s project to re-record and reclaim ownership over her first six albums after the master recordings were sold by her former label. New artists who appear to have risen to prominence suspiciously fast face accusations of being “industry plants”. Raye’s post-major label wins play particularly well in this environment, said Guardian music critic Alexis Petridis: an anti-industry success story that will play out in front of the entire British music industry tomorrow.
“People want to believe that the music industry is horrible and talent is held back and she has circumvented that. She’s done this herself – so it’s possible that you could too. On stage, she doesn’t look too choreographed, she dances with her shoes off. It doesn’t look as if she’s been given a set of talking points, it doesn’t feel contrived. Her current success wasn’t guaranteed – it’s a story happening in real time, you can’t construct that kind of success.”
Raye’s record-breaking nominations are also emblematic of a more diverse Brit awards. In 2021, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which runs the Brits, announced that it was scrapping gendered categories but faced controversy last year when all five spots in the generic best artist slot were men. This year the category has been expanded to 10 artists and features 50-50 representation, while women make up more than half of the overall nominees.
The course correction is reflective of the Brits’ scramble to remain relevant. Young music fans have a diminished relationship with live television, and viewing figures for the ceremony dropped continually until last year, when it moved from a weeknight to a prime time Saturday slot, where it remains this year. The 2023 Brits drew the highest share of 16-34-year-olds for an ITV1 broadcast in more than a decade, said Dr Jo Twist, CEO of the BPI and a member of the Brits organising committee.
Twist insisted that despite Raye’s success outside the apparently limited imaginations of her former label, artist investment and development by British record labels “play an essential role in signing, nurturing and promoting talent and amplifying them globally, and so are central to this overall success. Throughout their careers artists have choice and can realise their creative and commercial potential by taking the path they feel works best for them.”
For Raye, that meant exiting and starting afresh. For all the awards she is up for tomorrow, the most symbolic, nine years after her debut EP, may be best new artist.