RAYE: Last News

Raye surprised an audience at Montreux Jazz Festival when she covered songs from Nina Simone and Billie Holiday. Check it out below.During one of the festival’s famous ‘jam sessions’, Raye took to the Memphis stage to perform intimate covers of Holiday’s ‘All of Me’ and Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’.The intimate show, seen by only a few hundred people, followed her performance on the festival’s main Lake Stage as part of a double bill with Janelle Monáe.“I also stole a picture of Nina [Simone] from the Jazz festival,” she joked with the audience before starting the cover.

Raye has shared an expansive and “deeply personal” new single, ‘Genesis’ – you can listen to it below.The multi-BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter previewed the track live at a special pop-up exhibition in New York City earlier this week, saying she was “so proud” of how it had turned out.Today (June 7) Raye released the studio version of the ambitious, seven-minute song – which marks her first material since her critically acclaimed, Mercury Prize-nominated debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues’ (2023).“There is a Nina Simone quote, ‘It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times’. This quote is everything to me and I believe the best way I can try to do this is through my art and my music,” she said in a statement.“There is so much darkness and pain in this world we live in, and I wanted to create something both as deeply personal and as raw as I could find myself to be about my own mind and the world I see around me.”Raye continued: “The song is a seven-minute piece that I have crafted and scrutinised over the last year and a half, experimenting with different genres and sonic expressions, beneath all the layers and the lyrics, the underlying message is ‘Let There Be Light’.“It is a prayer and a plea and a cry for help, and I really hope this song will be able to bring some hope, the way this music does for me, to those who need it most.”In the gospel-tinged first part, Raye sings about how she’s “been sober for some months“.

Raye has performed her unreleased composition ‘Genesis’ at a special pop-up exhibition in New York City. Watch the full performance below.The six-time BRIT award-winning artist took to her official Instagram on Sunday (June 2) that she would be hosting The ‘Genesis’ Exhibition for her fans in New York City to watch her perform her unreleased track by the same name.The event took place at the Conrad New York Hotel Downtown last night (June 3) and saw the ‘Escapism.’ singer sung her new musical piece four times during four different sessions from 7pm until 8:30pm.

RAYE, Yussef Dayes, Skepta and more have all won at the 2024 Ivor Novello Awards – check out the full list below.At this year’s awards ceremony today (May 23), RAYE was crowned Songwriter of the Year for having “the voice of a generation” as described by the judges. RAYE, who has spoken out numerous times for songwriter rights, won the award just one year after the release of her long-awaited debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues‘.Meanwhile, Yussef Dayes landed a win for Best Album for his record ‘Black Classical Music’, whilst the Best Contemporary Song went to the Speakers Corner Quartet (Kwake Bass, Peter Bennie, Biscuit and Raven Bush) with Kae Tempest for ‘Geronimo Blues’.Victoria Canal also won Best Song Musically And Lyrically for her track ‘Black Swan’ alongside Johnny Lattimer and Eg White.

RAYE, Sampha and Yussef Dayes leading nominees.The nominees were announced today (April 23) in eight categories including the Best Album, Best Contemporary Song and the Rising Star Award with Amazon Music. The awards ceremony with Amazon Music will take place on May 23 at Grosvenor House.Sampha and Yussef Dayes have the most nominations with two each; each artist is contending for a Best Album award for their respective records ‘Lahai‘ and ‘Black Classical Music’.

RAYE has spoken out against “evil” practises within the music industry, claiming that “songwriters are being manipulated”.The musician made the comments backstage at Coachella, where she spoke with Rolling Stone. “We’re all here at Coachella essentially to watch songs we love, hear the lyrics and the melodies that we love,” she began. “And there are some incredibly, stupidly, ridiculously talented people who can’t pay their rent who are writing the songs.

Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has spoken to NME about the reissue of their 2005 album ‘Bleed Like Me’, the worsening conditions of the music industry, and the band’s plans for new material.This week sees the alt-rock veterans drop their fourth album on vinyl for the first time, along with a raft of b-sides, remixes and rarities hitting streaming for the first time. While containing the singles and fan favourites ‘Sex Is Not The Enemy’, ‘Why Do You Love Me’ and ‘Run Baby Run’, the album arrived to mixed reviews and didn’t perform as well as its hugely commercially successful predecessors.“To be a frank, I never had a particularly good relationship with that record until relatively recently,” Manson told NME.

RAYE appeared on Saturday Night Live last night (April 6), appearing twice across the show to perform a selection of her recent hits.The singer had performed ‘Escapism’ earlier in the night, but later in the show she returned with a jazz orchestra to sing ‘Worth It’ and ‘Let There Be Light’.RAYE has performed with an orchestra on numerous occasions, including at her recent headline ‘My 21st Century Symphony’ show at London’s O2 Arena and a similar performance at the Royal Albert Hall. In a five-star review of the performance, NME wrote: “Throughout, her effortless vocals – reminiscent of Amy Winehouse or nostalgic jazz club singers – fly across the orchestra, melismatic runs soaring through the huge arena and scat singing incorporated.“A triumphant performance from a live sensation, this was a career-defining show for RAYE.”Check out her live renditions of ‘Worth It’ and ‘Let There Be Light’ below:Raye performing a medley of “Worth It.” and a new song on #SNL pic.twitter.com/2cXrndbIYX— RAYE Updates (@RayeUpdate) April 7, 2024Meanwhile, RAYE recently revealed that she co-wrote one of Beyoncé‘s songs on ‘Cowboy Carter’.The six times BRIT Awards winner has previously penned songs for Queen Bey most notably 2019’s ‘Bigger’ along with tracks for Mabel and Charli XCX.Now, she has taken to Instagram to celebrate the release of the new record, which dropped today, and share her “honour” in contributing to the LP.Sharing a clip of herself singing along to the track, which you can listen to below, RAYE wrote: “happy COWBOY CARTER day.

Trevor Nelson has spoken to NME about his career, the state of UK R&B, and shared some advice for young people on getting into the media industry.The DJ and radio pioneer was speaking to NME after hosting a panel talk at the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies’ London campus.As part of Confetti’s 2024 Industry Week inviting leaders from the worlds of music and media, Nelson spoke to Crowd DNA content and media agency professional Andy Crysell, actor and movie producer Hester Ruoff, former head of content at Spotify Vino Vethavanam, and Dale Davis – the former musical director for Amy Winehouse.Having started out working in a record store before becoming a DJ and presenter on the then-pirate radio station KISS FM, the MBE recipient told the crowd that the biggest low point of his career came after the channel was legalised in 1990.“I had a daytime show and, two years into that show, I got fired,” Nelson told the panel and audience. “When my boss told me in he was in tears because he couldn’t believe I had just been fired, and I didn’t care.

RAYE is set to make an appearance on Saturday Night Live as a music guest, it’s been confirmed this week (March 13).She will perform on the US show on April 6, which will be hosted by actor and comedian Kristen Wiig.

RAYE has hit out at industry executives for underpaying songwriters while taking huge profits for themselves.The British artist – who took home a record-breaking six BRIT awards this month – said that songwriters are left “fighting over scraps of publishing”.Speaking in an interview with the Daily Star‘s ‘Wired’ column (per MusicNews), the ‘Escapism’ singer said: “For an industry that profits off songs, you got these CEOs and big label execs living in their fat huge Chelsea mansions, living a beautiful life, meanwhile songwriters you are profiting off are broke, can’t afford rent and fighting over scraps of publishing that is sat in bank accounts for two years before they receive a penny, because publishers have kept it in there so they can collect interest and make a whole separate business.”The artist also broke down the payment model for artists and songwriters, explaining: “Every single song that’s released in the world, there are 100 royalty points.“The label will take, say, 80 points. The artist, in a good deal, will take maybe 20, 15, or maybe 12 and then producers get four points, but it has to come out of the artist’s points.“And the songwriter doesn’t even get one point.

RAYE has spoken to NME about her record-breaking number of wins at this year’s BRIT Awards, and what it’s like to receive praise from artists including Kylie Minogue. Watch our video interview with her below.The singer-songwriter went into this year’s ceremony as the artist with the most nominations, with a record-breaking seven. She then went on to win in six categories, including Songwriter Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best R&B Act and Best New Artist.

RAYE used a BRITs acceptance speech to call on music executives to allow songwriters to receive royalty payments. The singer spoke from the stage at the O2 in London while accepting the Songwriter Of The Year award, and took the opportunity to bring the issue to a wider platform. “I think we need to have a conversation,” she said.

BBC Radio 1 drivetime host Vick Hope held a panel talk on the importance of “broadening access to music and shaping the future of the industry for the next generation.”The event took place at One Hundred Shoreditch in east London last week (February 20) ahead of tonight’s BRIT Awards. It was in support of Mastercard’s latest campaign centred around seven “music trailblazers” who are making “change in the music industry across technology, diversity and inclusion. ”This year, they highlighted the work of electronic artist Geo Aghinea, award-winning musician Elizabeth J.

BRIT Awards 2024 has announced Raye as the winner of the Songwriter Of The Year prize.The singer is nominated for a record-breaking seven awards at Saturday night’s ceremony (March 2), including Artist Of The Year, Mastercard Album Of The Year (‘My 21st Century Blues’) and Best New Artist.Raye will also perform live at the BRITs 2024, appearing on the line-up alongside Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue (this year’s BRITs Global Icon), Tate McRae, Jungle and Rema. There’ll be collaborative performances from Becky Hill and Chase & Status, and Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding too.Today (February 28), it’s been confirmed that Raye is the recipient of this year’s Songwriter Of The Year award.Introduced in 2022, the prestigious prize celebrates exceptional songwriting talent and was decided upon by a select panel of expert judges.

RAYE has performed an emotive cover of Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’. Check it out below.The rendition of the classic 1965 track was shared by the Mercury Prize nominated singer yesterday (February 9) as part of the latest episode of Triple J’s Like A Version series.In the performance, RAYE delivers a seemingly more stripped-back approach to that of the original.

RAYE has announced a huge London O2 Arena show in celebration of her historic BRIT nominations – find details down below.For one night only, RAYE will perform at the O2 on March 15 to 18,000 concertgoers, where she will be joined by The Heritage Orchestra and the Flames Collective.“I think we’ve completely lost our minds but we are bringing ‘My 21st Century Symphony’ to the O2 Arena,” RAYE shared.She further stated in a press release: “This is my first headline performance at The O2 Arena. We will have 90 guests on stage, including the Heritage Orchestra and Flames Collective, our guests from The Royal Albert Hall, to perform ‘My 21st Century Symphony’.

RAYE has responded to breaking a new BRIT Awards record in 2024, saying it is beyond her “wildest dreams”.The singer is nominated for seven awards at this year’s ceremony, the most by a single artist in the show’s history.The previous record – six nominations – was jointly held by Robbie Williams, Gorillaz and Craig David.Speaking to BBC News about the honour, RAYE said: “I’m a BRIT kid, innit? I went to the BRIT School and it was the goal, the ultimate goal, to find my way somehow to the BRIT Awards.”She added: “As far as the industry was concerned, I was down and out. Never in my wildest dreams would I think trying again would mean seven BRIT nominations.

Elton John has unveiled his favourite festive songs of 2023.The legendary singer-songwriter shared his selection as part of a Christmas edition of his Rocket Hour show on Apple Music.The list included his own 1973 festive hit ‘Step Into Christmas’ along with seasonal songs and covers by Elvis, RAYE and Phoebe Bridgers.Taking to his official Instagram account, ahead of the show he wrote: “It’s the Rocket Hour Christmas Special! This year I have selected an eclectic mix of old and new, ranging festive classics from The Ronettes, Elvis Presley and Greg Lake, to some of my favourite new Christmas songs and covers from contemporary artists including RAYE, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, as well as some lesser-known deep cuts.

Jools Holland‘s traditional New Year’s Eve show on BBC2 has been announced.Jools’ Annual Hootenanny will see the likes of Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Olivia Dean, Paul Jones, P.P. Arnold, RAYE, Sugababes and The Mary Wallopers seeing in 2024.Other guests include Boogie Woogie Queen, Ruby Turner and as always, the Pipes & Drums of the 1st Battalion Scot Guards will feature, as the hour strikes midnight.Details of which songs the artists will perform on the night are yet to be announced.This year’s show will air from 11.30pm GMT on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this Sunday (December 31).

Little Simz and Stormzy leading the way.Both acts are up for four awards each with the former up for Best Female Act (in association with Shea Moisture), Album of The Year, Video of The Year and Best Hip Hop Act while the latter has been nominated for Best Male Act, Album of The Year, Song of The Year, Video of The Year.The annual celebration of Black music and culture, which is now on its 26th edition, will return on on February 7 at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.Central Cee, PinkPantheress, J Hus and Raye have also received three nominations each.Raye and PinkPantheress will go up against Little Simz for Best Female, and they are also in the running for Song Of The Year with ‘Escapism’ and ‘Boy’s A Liar Pt 2’.‘Sprinter’ by Central Cee and ‘Who Told You’ by ‘J Hus’ are the final Song Of The year contenders, and the rappers are also up for Best Male Act.J Hus’ ‘Beautiful And Brutal Yard’ and Raye’s ‘My 21st Century Blues’ are also nominated for Album Of The Year.MOBO Founder Kanya King CBE said: “We are proud to champion this year’s incredible lineup of nominees for the 26th MOBO Awards, who have all brought stellar music and content to our attention through their remarkable work in music, film, TV, online and more.“This year’s nominees not only represent the best of their genre and artform and an incredible year of music, but also continue our dedication to sustaining an inclusive ecosystem where diverse talent is both recognised and empowered to thrive.”Little Simz, Knucks, Central Cee, PinkPantheress and the late Jamal Edwards were among the winners at last year’s event which was staged at London’s OVO Arena Wembley.The full list of hosts and performers will be announced in the coming weeks.