By Andrew Hutchinson · Contributing Writer
If you are familiar with American pop music, the dominance of singers like Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift should be obvious.
Only last week, Eilish’s 2019 album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” fell off the Billboard Top 200 for the first time since its release. This continued dominance, paired with the worldwide obsession with American popular culture, means finding international gems takes work. However, the British artist Raye has earned her place among the greatest musical talents of the modern era. And hold on, because she is just getting started.
Raye has been in the music industry for the past few years, working primarily as a writer for artists like Little Mix, Beyoncé, Charli XCX and John Legend. Her own music was limited to British EDM and much of it received poor critical reviews for a lack of originality. In 2021, she told social media that her record label, Polydor Records, was preventing the release of her debut album, and by the next year she had split from them.
In 2023, Raye released “My 21st Century Blues” to critical acclaim and indisputable popularity. The song “Escapism” went platinum and was No. 1 on the Billboard UK charts, and the album peaked at No. 2 on UK charts. She proceeded to break the record for the most Brit Awards received at a single ceremony (five), got her first Grammy nomination and performed at the 97th Academy Awards.
Since then, she has appeared at many pop and jazz festivals, and the crowds she drew served as further proof that she has cemented her place in the industry.
From the viewpoint of this classical musician who adores popular music, Raye stands above the current slate of American singers. The continued supremacy of the same artists for nearly a decade has led to a lack of originality, as seen in albums like “The Tortured Poets Department,” “Cowboy Carter” and even “Man’s Best Friend,” a harshly explicit album that, despite a good reception from its audience, has more audible homogeny than Sabrina Carpenter’s other releases.
Raye’s self-released album could not be further from the bland similarity of those albums, and she includes Hollywood ballads like “Oscar Winning Tears” with chill sing-rap in “Five Star Hotel” and “Escapism.” Her sound varies even more in some of her singles, including jazz in “What a Difference a Day Makes,” “Genesis” and a bit of genre-bending in “Worth It.” If you take a fancy to most forms of music that have constituted “popular music” over the last 70 years or so, she has done it.
Most recently, she released the single “Where Is My Husband!” and at the same time announced a new album and world tour. The song, which features a jazzy brass section and immaculate genre-blending between big band jazz, soul and rap will likely resonate with a number of Grovers for a shared desire for marriage!
In the past week, the song has accumulated 23 million streams on Spotify, and in a world of Jack Antonoff synth and Taylor Swift melancholy, Raye’s power shines through in a vibe reminiscent of a posh, British version of Lana Del Ray, with even better vocals. Whatever you like to listen to, Raye may have what you have been looking for, and I hope you enjoy her irreproachable live vocals, stage presence and down-to-earth personality.
