RAYE: From BRIT school to six-time BRIT Award winner
She's achieved so much!
Rachel Agatha Keen - or as we all know her, RAYE is an official record-breaker. Not only did she get the most BRITs nominations in one year, but she also won more BRIT Awards in one year than anyone else. An incredible musical force to be reckoned with, she picked up a massive six BRITs at the 2024 BRIT Awards with Mastercard in March 2024, including the highly-coveted Mastercard Album of the Year for her independently released debut album 'My 21st Century Blues'.
RAYE, who also supported Taylor Swift at Wembley during her iconic Eras Tour, started out at the famous BRIT School, going on to release huge tracks like 'You Don't Know Me', TikTok viral 'Escapism' and the viral banger 'Prada'. Continuing to achieve phenomenal success as an independent artist, we've taken a look through her career so far...
RAYE's impressive career timeline so far:
Before 2014: RAYE
RAYE loved performing from an early age, revealing in an interview that she wanted to be a singer from the age of eight. She attended the prestigious BRIT School, but decided to leave. She explained in an interview with the BBC: "I did two years and learned an extensive amount... but nobody there liked pop music. It's all cool, underground, indie artists. I felt confined. I was ready to get out."
2014: RAYE released 'Welcome to the Winter'
RAYE released her debut EP 'Welcome to the Winter' in December 2014. She also released 'Flowers' and 'Alien' from her EP.
2016: RAYE released 'I, U, Us'
After noticing her vocals on 'Welcome to the Winter', Charli XCX worked with RAYE on 'I, U, Us', directing her music video. RAYE later worked with Charli co-writing her song 'After The Afterparty'.
2016: Jonas Blue released 'By Your Side' featuring RAYE
'By Your Side' gave RAYE her first bit of true chart success as the song with Jonas Blue gets to Number 15 in the UK. It was the third single on Jonas' debut album 'Blue'.
2016: Jax Jones and RAYE released 'You Don't Know Me"
Following her collab with Jonas Blue, RAYE had huge success with Jax Jones on 'You Don't Know Me', which reached Number 3 in the UK.
2017: RAYE released 'Decline' with Mr Eazi
RAYE had even more chart success in 2017 - this time, for the first time, as a lead artist. She released 'Decline' with Mr Eazi and the song reached Number 15 in the UK.
2018: RAYE writes songs for Little Mix's 'LM5' album
RAYE proved she isn't just a talented singer, she's also a great songwriter. The artist worked on Little Mix's album 'LM5' saying: "The Little Mix album, I've been writing for that. For every 10 guys there's one girl, everywhere you go." She went on to explain that it's important for girls to support each other in the music industry.
2019: RAYE wrote a song for Beyoncé's album 'The Gift'
Beyoncé starred in the live-action remake of the classic film, The Lion King, and also recorded an album 'The Gift' to accompany the film. The very talented RAYE worked on one of the tracks for 'The Gift'. Speaking about the experience, RAYE said: "She adores the song, we really got on like a house on fire which is absolutely nuts because that's my idol."
2020: RAYE released 'Euphoric Sad Songs'
RAYE released her debut mini-album 'Euphoric Sad Songs' in November 2020. The album included 'Secrets' with Regard and 'Regardless' with Rudimental.
2020: Regard and RAYE released 'Secret'
Kosovo Albanian DJ Regard and RAYE teamed up for 'Secrets' in 2020. This summer anthem was a hit in the UK reaching the Top 10. 'Secrets' gave RAYE her first BRIT Award nomination in 2021 for British Single.
2021: RAYE at Magnum's Show Your Layers event
RAYE performed her song 'Call On Me' at Magnum's Show Your Layers event. This was the first time the singer had performed her song live.
2021: RAYE is nominated for two BRIT Awards
RAYE teamed up with dance DJ legend David Guetta and Joel Corry on dancefloor banger, 'Bed'. The song was a commercial success for the trio reaching Number 3 in the UK. The song was also nominated at the 2022 BRIT Awards for Song of the Year, but lost out to Adele's 'Easy On Me'. RAYE was also nominated for Best Dance Act at the BRITs.
2022: RAYE confirms she's nearly finished her album
RAYE had posted a couple of times in 2022 saying that her album is close to being done. One post read: 'Finishing this album and having a good bloody time. I am bursting to share this next chapter w u' (sic) accompanied by several photos and videos showing the singer having fun.
October 2022: Debut album release date
RAYE well and truly amped up the excitement for her debut album as she dropped the all-important release date! The singer delighted fans as she revealed that her debut album 'My 21st Century Blues' would be released on 3rd February 2023. The album includes huge tracks such as 'Hard Out Here', 'Black Mascara' and 'Escapism'.
November 2022: RAYE announces her tour
The singer delighted her fans as she announced that she would be taking her debut album on tour in 2023! Announcing the dates on Instagram, she wrote: 'I am thrilled to announce the most special tour of my career so far, My 21st Century Blues tour 🎻❤️🩹🔓🔑 #m21cb'.
December 2022: 'Escapism'
Serving as RAYE's third single from her debut album, it's fair to say that 'Escapism' was a HUGE hit with fans. With the track also taking over fans' For You Pages on TikTok, it quickly shot to the Number 2 spot in the UK Chart. The track also gave RAYE her first ever Number 1 in Ireland!
Dominating TikTok, RAYE took to her own TikTok account to thank fans. Sharing a clip showing the song climbing its way up the charts, she wrote: 'look at what TikTok did What you did in 5 days 😳😳😳😳' (sic).
A sped up version of the track also went viral on the app, with RAYE joking: 'does the sped up version low-key slap more ?' (sic).
January 2023: Opening for Lewis Capaldi
In January 2023, RAYE announced the exciting news that she would be opening shows on Lewis Capaldi's UK arena tour. Sharing the news on Instagram, she revealed that she would be performing tracks from her upcoming album as she opened the shows.
She gushed: 'The lovely man @lewiscapaldi is kindly letting me open his UK arena tour, I get to sing you some songs from my album on these huge stages just before it's released 🥹🫀 I am so grateful for this opportunity thanks Lewis ♥️ xxx'.
February 2023: RAYE released her debut album
RAYE revealed the 15 tracks which would be on her debut album in January 2023. The songs include her songs 'Hard Out Here', 'Black Mascara' and the viral hit 'Escapism' .
She then released the album on 3rd February receiving support from Little Mix's Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock who encouraged fans to buy it.
June 2023: RAYE performs at Glastonbury
In June 2023, RAYE took to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury to perform a powerful nine-song set. Opening with 'Oscar Winning Tears', she went on to sing tracks from her debut album including 'Ice Cream Man', 'Mary Jane' and 'Five Star Hotels', before closing with huge tracks 'You Don't Know Me' and the sensational 'Escapism'.
September 2023: RAYE announced for Louis Theroux Interviews
The exciting news dropped on 20th September 2023 that RAYE was set to feature on the second season of Louis Theroux Interviews. As per the title, the series sees Louis interview celebrities across the worlds of sport, entertainment and global affairs, exploring their lives and careers so far, including those at pivotal moments in their careers.
BBC Factual wrote: 'In South London Louis meets the newly-independent singer and songwriter, Raye. In a pivotal year that has seen her winning an Ivor Novello and nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, Louis and Raye unpack her journey from her record label split, to her number one single 'Escapism', and a new artistic freedom. Louis also takes to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury to watch the 25-year-old musician as she marks this new chapter with one of her biggest performances yet.'
October 2023: RAYE releases an orchestral version of her debut album
RAYE released an orchestral version of her debut album 'My 21st Century Blues'. The singer was accompanied by the Heritage Orchestra and Flames Collective, a 30-piece gospel choir on the album.
January 2024: RAYE received seven BRIT Award nominations
RAYE received seven BRIT Award nominations in January 2024. She broke the record for the most nominations in one year by a single artist, including a nomination in the highly coveted Mastercard Album of the Year category.
February 2024: MOBO Award win
RAYE won her first MOBO Award at the ceremony in February 2024, taking home the gong for Best Female Act and beating competition from the likes of Flo, Jorja Smith, Little Simz, Mahalia and PinkPantheress. As she was on tour at the time, she couldn't make it - but sent in a video message where she thanked her family and expressed how sad she was that she couldn't be there in person.
March 2024: RAYE picks up six BRIT Awards
RAYE picked up a massive (record-breaking) six BRIT Awards in March 2024. The singer won Song of the Year with Mastercard ('Escapism'), R&B Act, Best New Artist, Songwriter of The Year, Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of The Year ('My 21st Century Blues').
August 2024: RAYE announced as support for for Taylor Swift
Just two weeks before Taylor Swift was due to return to the UK on 'The Eras Tour', RAYE was announced to support her on her final night at Wembley, along with Paramore.
September 2024: RAYE helps write new Jade Thirwall track
On 24th September, former Little Mix singer Jade Thirwall, who is now championing an impressive solo career, announced a surprise track called 'Midnight Cowboy'. According to reports, BRIT Award history maker RAYE helped Jade write the track.
Taking to social media, Jade told her fans: 'I didn't want you all to have to wait so long for music again 💙MIDNIGHT COWBOY💙 is a gift from me to you until my next single drops 🌟 oh and there's a visualiser out at 10am BST too ⛲️'. (sic)
What are her biggest songs?
RAYE has had a number of successful songs, including BRIT nominated hits 'You Don't Know Me' with Jax Jones and 'Bed' with David Guetta and Joel Corry. Both of those songs featuring RAYE got to Number 3 in the UK.
'Bridge over Troubled Water'
RAYE was also one of the singers on the Number 1 song 'Bridge over Troubled Water', which was re-recorded by the Artists of Grenfell to raise money after the fire in the London tower block.
'Escapism'
The massive track 'Escapism' has become one of her most popular yet, thanks to the song going viral on TikTok. Both the unedited songs, as well as a sped up version, quickly dominated the app, with the singer later thanking fans for the love. 'Escapism' achieved such huge success on TikTok that it was among the UK's top 10 most popular songs on the platform in 2023.
After climbing its way up the charts, RAYE bagged herself her first Number 1 on 6th January 2023 with 'Escapism'.
'The Weekend' with Stormzy
In July 2023, RAYE teamed up with Stormzy on 'The Weekend'. The track combines Stormzy's rap with RAYE's soulful vocals. The pair both feature in the official music video for the song.
Announcing the track's release on social media, RAYE revealed that she had previously worked with Stormzy. She wrote: 'a full circle moment tbh stormz jumped on a song of mine called ambition 7 years ago, and in the lyrics I'm talking bout how huge my dreams are, and it's wild to see how God has blessed us since.' (sic)
'Prada' with cassö and D-Block Europe
RAYE released 'Prada' in August 2023 with cassö and D-Block Europe, and it became a huge hit, reaching Number 2 in the UK. The song is a remix of D-Block Europe's 'Ferrari Horses'.
How old is RAYE?
RAYE was born on 24th October 1997 making her 27-years-old.
Where is she from?
RAYE was born in Tooting, and her family moved to Croydon in South London when she was young.
Has RAYE been nominated for a BRIT Award?
RAYE not only broke the record for the most BRIT nominations in one year, she made history again, by winning six awards and becoming the first artist to win so many in one year.
In 2024, she was nominated for Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of The Year with Mastercard (‘Prada’ and ‘Escapism’), Pop Act, Dance Act, and R&B Act.
Before the awards ceremony, RAYE was announced as winner of the Songwriter of the Year award, and on the night of the BRITs, she took home Artist of the Year, Mastercard Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of The Year with Mastercard (‘Escapism’), and R&B Act.
Throughout the years, RAYE has also been nominated for other BRIT Awards. 'You Don't Know Me' with Jax Jones in 2018, 'Secrets' with Regard in 2021 and 'Bed' with David Guetta and Joel Corry in 2022, were all nominated for British Single of The Year. 'Bed' was also nominated for Best Dance Act.
Her debut album
RAYE announced in 2022 that her debut album 'My 21st Century Blues' would be released on 3rd February 2023. Prior to its release, the singer released three huge tracks from the album - 'Hard Out Here', 'Black Mascara' and the viral Number 1 hit 'Escapism' with 070 Shake. RAYE later went on to release an orchestral version of 'My 21st Century Blues' in October 2023.
In March 2024, 'My 21st Century Blues' won a BRIT Award for Mastercard Album of the Year, and her song 'Escapism' won Song of the Year with Mastercard.
Tracklist
On 5th January 2023, she released the complete tracklist for 'My 21st Century Blues', including a total of 15 songs.
- 'Introduction'
- 'Oscar Winning Tears'
- 'Hard Out Here'
- 'Black Mascara'
- 'Escapism' feat. 070 Shake
- 'Mary Jane'
- 'The Thrill Is Gone'
- 'Ice Cream Man'
- 'Flip a Switch'
- 'Body Dysmorphia'
- 'Environmental Anxiety'
- 'Five Star Hotels' feat. Mahalia
- 'Worth It'
- 'Buss It Down'
- 'Fin'
Is RAYE on tour?
RAYE went on tour in February 2024, performing in cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. She also completed her first ever headline O2 Arena show on 15th March.
She also performed an impressive medley at The BRIT Awards 2024.
In August 2024, Taylor Swift announced she would be joined by RAYE during the UK leg of her 'The Eras Tour'.
Who has RAYE written songs for?
RAYE has written for a number of popular artists such as Little Mix, Rihanna and Beyoncé, to just a few, she's also written a song on Perrie Edwards' debut solo album. Details of this new song have yet to be released.
According to reports, RAYE also leant her songwriting talents to Jade Thirlwall, as she reportedly helped her pen the track 'Midnight Cowboy', which was released in September 2024.
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