Words by Mia Raja
Edited by Valerie Aitova
One artist in the spotlight isn’t just staging a comeback — she’s rewriting the rules of stardom.
Raye, once boxed in as a hit-making machine for the charts, is now breaking that glass ceiling, armed with music that is raw, versatile and unapologetically honest. Her independent debut album My 21st Century Blues (2023) doesn’t just mark a new chapter — it announces her as an artist impossible to ignore.
Raye grew up loving music fiercely and determined to pursue her dream.
The Tooting-born artist has always been surrounded by music, raised by a musical director and church choir singer. Her talent rapidly gained attention with her heartfelt debut extended play (EP), Welcome to the Winter, leading to her signing with Polydor Records. However, she felt caged by songs that didn’t echo who she really was.
“In my early career […] and when I was in my record label, it was very much about making commercial music that sells”, Raye explained in an interview with Los40 Chile last year. She resented diluting herself for others, yearning instead to create music as layered and complex as she was.
After taking to X to express her deep frustration about being on a four-album record deal since 2014 but not being “allowed to put out one album”, Raye braved independence, leading to the raw, emotional and striking My 21st Century Blues.
With her incredible ability to fuse unlikely combinations by discussing heavy topics in dance tracks like Black Mascara or joyful love ballads through jazz songs like Worth It, Raye is breaking musical barriers like we’ve never seen before.
After Raye’s third single on the album, Escapism, went viral on social media, the song reached number one in the UK and led to her first appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100. But it was the album as a whole that cemented her greatest success — sweeping seven BRIT Awards in total and silencing doubts that only her dance tracks could sell.
The seven-time Brit Award winner’s recent headline act at All Points East festival in London left fans nothing short of spellbound. Raye’s setlist spanned reinvented dance hits, her chart-toppers like Escapism and unreleased singles.
Through fusions between jazz, RnB and dance music, Raye invited Victoria Park to sing, jump and cry with her, taking fans through an emotional rollercoaster.
The set unfolded as a musical odyssey of pain, healing, and triumph — alongside a full orchestra, of course. Raye had already left the crowd stunned with her opening breathtaking performance of Oscar Winning Tears, humbly announcing immediately afterwards that she was already “at a loss for words”.
Ultimately, it was her seamless transitions between her new and old music, her joyful and heartfelt songs, that made her set so striking. Raye’s older dance tracks are incredibly catchy and make for a perfect pre-clubbing playlist — and she did not abandon them for All Point East — as she invited the festival crowd to rave with her for the “nightclub section of the evening”. Nevertheless, her new album breaks into a beautiful and complex bundle of emotions, mixing feelings, themes and genres, creating a beautiful and indescribable musical masterpiece of an evening.
And during her performance at Victoria Park, she delivered her album to the fullest — Raye invited the crowd to an intimate yet inclusive hour of vulnerability with her, letting each individual feel whatever they needed to feel that evening.
Before performing Mary Jane and Ice Cream Man, Raye spoke candidly about the songs’ difficult themes of addiction and sexual assault. Raye delivered delicate yet incredibly strong renditions of these songs — a perfectly crafted balance between sorrow and hope.
After years of facing difficulties, both in her personal life and within the music industry, Raye took her headline performance as an opportunity to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, and, through her songs, showcase the strength she’s found in reclaiming her artistry. Her performance wasn’t just another set — it was a milestone that cemented her transformation from industry underdog to an independent artist fully in control of her own narrative.
“Life’s not easy,” Raye confessed to the All Points East crowd in August — yet, for one night, her music became a vessel to carry that weight away.
Now, after an incredibly successful independent album and live festival performance, Raye is set to release her already-viral single, Where is my Husband.
Raye’s recent live performances of the song have sparked a TikTok trend in which fans lip-sync to the unreleased track and beg for its early release. Social media has amplified Raye’s success in the past, most notably through the annual revival of ‘Escapism season,’ when fans mark winter as the song’s time of year.
However, Raye has proven that her artistry stretches beyond these fleeting trends through the depth, vulnerability and versatility of My 21st Century Blues. Raye’s unapologetic British spirit and strong soul and RnB influence have often led to comparisons between her and the legendary Amy Winehouse. This undoubtedly points towards her stepping into iconic territory but with Raye’s embrace of fusing genres and getting unapologetically real with her music, it is undeniable that Raye is paving her own, unique path to eminence.
“Music is medicine,” Raye told the crowd this August. The sentiment pulsed through her entire set — and through her career. While social media may amplify her hits, it is the depth and versatility of her sound that holds true power and makes her destined for musical greatness.
