Raye

Rachel Agatha Keen (born 24 October 1997), known professionally as Raye (/reɪ/ RAY), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. She first rose to prominence after signing with Polydor Records and providing guest vocals for Jonas Blue's song "By Your Side" (2016), which became her first entry on the UK singles chart. Raye subsequently released several extended plays, as well as the project Euphoric Sad Songs (2020), which features the UK top-ten single "Secrets". She gained media attention with her departure from Polydor, which allegedly refused to release her debut studio album.

Raye independently released her debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues (2023), to critical acclaim. Its third single, "Escapism", gained popularity in social media and became her first song to top the UK singles chart and enter the US Billboard Hot 100. At the Brit Awards 2024, Raye won six categories including British Artist of the Year, breaking the record for the artist with the most awards received in a single ceremony. She also became the first female recipient of the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year. Raye received three nominations at the Grammy Awards 2025 including Best New Artist and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical. In 2025, she released the single "Where Is My Husband!", which became her second chart-topper in the UK and reached the top five in several other countries.

Lyrically focusing on her own struggles and contemporary issues, the majority of Raye's genre-blending music is influenced by jazz, while also incorporating R&B, pop, soul, and dance. Outside of her own discography, Raye has also co-written songs for other musicians, such as Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Halle Bailey, Jade Thirlwall, John Legend, and Little Mix.

Early life

Raye was born as Rachel Agatha Keen on 24 October 1997 in Tooting, London, to a Ghanaian-Swiss mother who is a mental health worker, and an English father from Yorkshire. She has three younger sisters: the songwriter Abby-Lynn, the musician Lauren, and Katelyn. As a child, Raye frequently attended church where her mother sang in the choir and her father was the musical director. Raye and her family later moved to Croydon, South London, where she grew up and studied at Woodcote High School.

Surrounded by music, Raye first showed interest in becoming a recording artist at the age of eight. She wrote her first song for a concert in Year 6 and performed it at the Southwark Cathedral, after her father taught her how to play the piano. At age 14, Raye was chosen to enter the BRIT School, where she studied for two years before dropping out due to feeling "confined". She spent most of her teenage years learning how to write songs professionally in studio sessions on the weekends.

Career

2014–2018: Early career and breakthrough

In November 2014, at the age of 17, Raye independently uploaded her debut extended play (EP), Welcome to the Winter, to SoundCloud. She wrote, recorded, and co-produced the seven tracks included on the track listing. Olly Alexander, the then-lead singer of the English band Years & Years, discovered the EP's single "Hotbox" through Hype Machine and sent it to the record label he was signed to, Polydor Records. Raye signed a contract with them thereafter. In 2015, she released the single "Alien" featuring Avelino and covered the Years & Years song "Shine", later opening for the band's show at Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Raye's following EP, Second, was released in August 2016 through Polydor. She co-wrote its single "I, U, Us" with the singers Noonie Bao and Charli XCX; the latter also directed the song's music video. The same year, Raye featured on Jonas Blue's "By Your Side" and Jax Jones's "You Don't Know Me", which respectively reached numbers 15 and 3 on the UK singles chart. "By Your Side" became her first song to enter the chart. Months later, she served as an opening act for a concert tour by the singer Jess Glynne.

Raye performed at the club XOYO in London in February 2017, receiving positive reviews from publications; The Line of Best Fit described her as "a pop powerhouse worth keeping an eye on". She worked on Charli XCX's "After the Afterparty", and appeared on the "VIP" remix to the song with the singer Rita Ora and the rapper Stefflon Don. Raye starred on the music video for the Stormzy song "Big For Your Boots" in the same month, and featured on the track "Dreamer" from Charli XCX's collaborative project Number 1 Angel (2017). The singles "The Line" and "Decline" were also released in 2017; the latter featured the singer Mr Eazi. Her third EP, Side Tape, premiered in 2018, following the release of the single "Cigarette", in collaboration with the singer Mabel and Don. In parallel, Raye received writing credits on songs by the girl group Little Mix and the singer John Legend. In June, Raye performed at the Summertime Ball in London, held by the radio network Capital. Later in 2018, she released a stand-alone single dedicated to her friends and supported Ora and the singer-songwriter Halsey on their respective concert tours. Raye embarked on her first headlining tour at the end of the year.

2019–2021: Euphoric Sad Songs and departure from Polydor

In 2019, Raye featured on Odunsi the Engine's song "Tipsy" and David Guetta's song "Stay (Don't Go Away)", released in March and May, respectively. The latter became Raye's first number-one song on Billboard's US Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart. She supported the singer Khalid on his Free Spirit World Tour. Raye co-wrote the track "Bigger" by the singer Beyoncé, which featured on the soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift, released in July 2019. BBC News believed that it was "arguably her biggest song-writing credit" at the time. Between August and November 2019, Raye released the solo single "Love Me Again" and the collaboration "Make It to Heaven" with Guetta and the producer Morten.

In early 2020, Raye released "Tequila" in collaboration with Jax Jones and the DJ Martin Solveig, and "Secrets" with the DJ Regard. "Secrets" peaked at number six in the United Kingdom and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In July 2020, Raye released "Natalie Don't", which preceded her project Euphoric Sad Songs, released in November. It included previously released songs alongside the singles "Love of Your Life" and "Regardless", the latter in collaboration with Rudimental. The project centred on the stages of grief. The critic Rachel Aroesti from The Guardian gave it a mixed review; she opined it lives up to its title but lacks personality.

Raye, the DJ Joel Corry, and Guetta released the collaborative single "Bed" in February 2021. The song peaked at number three on the UK singles chart, becoming Raye's highest charting single as a lead artist on the chart at the time. Additionally, it topped the US Dance/Mix Show Airplay. She co-wrote and co-produced the song "Let Them Know" by Mabel. In June 2021, Raye released "Call On Me", a song written for her sister and intended to serve as the lead single for her debut studio album. Later that month, she revealed that Polydor Records had been withholding her debut album for several years. The statement received support from fellow artists including Charli XCX, MNEK, and Rina Sawayama. Following this, Raye went on a hiatus, and later announced that she had parted ways with the label to work as an independent artist. Raye closed the year performing her Euphoric Sad Show headline UK and Ireland tour.

2022–2024: My 21st Century Blues and international recognition

Raye was signed to the distribution company Human Re Sources in mid-2022, and began to own her master recordings. On 30 June, she released her first independent single following her departure from Polydor, "Hard Out Here", alongside a music video depicting the early stages of an artist. The second single, "Black Mascara", was released in August 2022, and was followed by a dual single in October: "Escapism", featuring the rapper 070 Shake, and "The Thrill is Gone". All singles were part of Raye's debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues, which was released in February 2023. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, and was met with acclaim from music critics.

In support of My 21st Century Blues, Raye embarked on a mini tour entitled The Story So Far, which marked her first headlining shows in Europe and North America. This was followed by the My 21st Century Blues Tour from February 2023 to February 2024. "Escapism" went viral on social media and became Raye's first number-one song in the UK, three months after its original release. It also made her appear on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. By the end of 2023, My 21st Century Blues had sold more than 60,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Billboard's Kyle Denis said that she gained "not just a successful album era, but also a devoted fan base and solidified career".