Raye on the fight to release debut album My 21st Century Blues: ‘It’s been a real wild journey’
In 2021, Raye parted ways with her label after claiming on social media that she had been held back from releasing an album. Now, she is a record-breaking Brits nominee with a number one single and MOBO and Ivor Novello awards under her belt. Here is our interview with the star from January 2023, in which she spoke candidly about the fight to make music on her own terms.
Raye is gaining her power back. Not just from the industry that made her feel “mediocre” for so many years, but over past traumas she kept bottled up for a long time.
“Some of my closest friends didn’t even know some of the stuff I’m discussing on my album,” she tells Sky News. “It’s probably the most honest I’ve been. It’s deep and it’s real.”
Raye, real name Rachel Keen, is only 25 but already a music industry veteran; a platinum-selling performer and a songwriter with credits for everyone from Charli XCX and Little Mix to John Legend and Beyonce.
She was just 15 when she released her first song and 17 when all her dreams came true, in the form of a four-album contract with record label Polydor. But after years of what seemed to be a successful career as a vocalist collaborating mainly on other artists’ dance hits, in 2021 she posted a string of tweets claiming the label was holding her back from releasing her own album.
“I’m done being a polite pop star,” she wrote, her frustration and anger palpable. The singer says after years of “trying to make it work”, she had reached the point where she had nothing to lose. “You get to that breaking point, really.”
Shortly after her tweets, it was announced she and Polydor were parting ways, with the label saying the decision had been “amicable and mutual” and wishing her “all the very best for the future”.
Raye claimed her first number one with Escapism at the beginning of 2023. Pic: Official Charts
Fast-forward to now and Raye is in a very different place; making music as an independent artist, in January 2023 she topped the UK charts for the first time with viral hit Escapism. The following month, the debut album she fought so hard to make, My 21st Century Blues, charted at number two. No longer pigeonholed or stifled, this is the real Raye, she says, and it’s been a long time coming.
“The album is discussing a lot of different topics… the deepest depths of really ugly stories about assaults and body dysmorphia and environmental anxiety. I think there’s no limit on what I’ve really spoken on in terms of my perspective on my blues as a woman in the 21st Century.”
‘It’s things I’ve been silent about for so long’
Always outspoken, Raye is not an artist who sticks to trotting out lines of approved PR-speak when she’s being interviewed, and this candidness is evident throughout her music. “Being real and transparent is really important to me, to skip out metaphors and similes and cut straight to the point of what I’m talking about,” she says. “Some of these things I haven’t also entirely healed from.
“It’s definitely going to be a rollercoaster for sure, but one that I’m making the decision to go on. That’s kind of the artist I like to be, transparent, honest. I think that’s what I’m like in real life.”
One song, Ice Cream Man, deals with sexual assault. “It’s things I’ve been silent about for so long and swallowed for so long and self-managed for so long in non-constructive ways,” she says.
“I’ve written pretty transparently about sexual violence… multiple things that occur in a life that you just bury, bury down, hide in a box, don’t tell anyone. And it just festers and manipulates itself into something quite ugly.”
As with Escapism, a dark electro banger about using alcohol, drugs and casual sex as coping mechanisms for dealing with emotional pain, the album is a contrast of often melancholy or dark lyrics, with beats that will fill a dance floor, as well as a range of genres.
“You’ve got songs with a contrasting sonic landscape,” she says. “I find it really exciting to tell a story and then the music feel the opposite so I think there’s a lot of juxtaposition there.”
Irony in its ‘most hilarious and ridiculous form’
Escapism’s success feels ironic to Raye. “With the previous music, not in a bad way, but it was more about the song than about the artist. The big dance songs or whatever, they don’t necessarily say anything about me as a person. I never necessarily wanted to be someone who did huge, huge hits, but without depth and substance or discussing things I’m passionate about, or breaking a couple of rules.
“Escapism is such a personal story. It’s kind of dark. It’s extremely explicit and honest and raw… I really told myself on the beginning of this next chapter, I’m not creating music with the intent or purpose to sell loads of copies, it’s about integrity and telling these uncomfortable stories that I think are really important.
“I had all the preparation in the world for building a small, steady fanbase bit by bit, and to not expect anything in terms of mainstream reflection. So this is like irony in its most hilarious and ridiculous form, that this is the biggest song of my entire career.”
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Despite it not necessarily being the plan, she admits topping the charts does feel like vindication.
“[I feel] like anything is possible and I was right to back myself,” she says. “Never give up on your dreams. For someone who [felt] so, like, mediocre and… such a disappointment, actually, for so long, to just receive all the affirmation in the world that I was right to back my music is just…”
She doesn’t need to finish the sentence. “For someone who puts words together for a living, I don’t necessarily really have the best words to describe how crazy this is.”
‘Fear is the driving factor of secrets’
Emboldened, Raye says artists need to speak out more about the inner workings of the industry. And despite moves to improve diversity and equality making headlines in recent years, she says misogyny is still rife.
“We do need to be telling these stories more,” she says. “I think things that happen in the darkness have so much more power than they do when they’re brought out to the light, you know? Fear is the driving factor of secrets, and truths and stories being withheld. But there is still that very sad view that women need to be guided and controlled and taught and given instructions to follow and meet these requirements.”
She sighs. “I don’t know… I think it’s probably the same for all artists but especially for women, especially for everything I’ve witnessed in 10 years in the industry. I think a lot needs to change, but I don’t think anything will truly be equal and fair until we’ve got the same amount of female CEOs as we do male CEOs, we’ve got the same amount of female staff working a video shoot as male staff, the same amount of female A&Rs, and the same amount of, you know, different ethnicities in these same roles.
“Balance overall is so important, and until we have that, there’s always going to be issues and problems when you have men deciding what they think is best for women.”
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‘Seven years old, wide-eyed with a dream’: The album cover for My 21st Century Blues
Raye is looking to the future. She says she has had little communication with her former label bosses since she left, but wants to make it clear it wasn’t all bad. There were “some great people there who really believed in me… but obviously it came down to the big people making big decisions”, she says.
I ask her about the artwork for My 21st Century Blues. It features a little girl, dressed for the workplace but teetering in red stilettos hanging off her heels, standing atop a pile of instruments and recording equipment bearing the names of her songs, grabbing hands reaching out from inside. It feels poignant.
“That’s actually my baby sister on top of that big structure we built,” says Raye. “But that little girl up there is me, you know, seven years old, wide-eyed with a dream, not realising what the next 10 or 15 years of my life would be like.
“All the different life – in the industry and out of the industry – that I’ve had to navigate, process, understand, learn in my transition to being a woman, to being an artist, to being an independent artist. It’s been a real wild journey.”
Raye’s debut album, My 21st Century Blues, is out now
You have to have a thick skin to take part in Eurovision which might be why last year’s UK entrant, singer Olly Alexander, has already reached out to this year’s hopefuls to talk about the pitfalls of putting yourself out there.
Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, and Charlotte Steele – members of the country-pop girl group Remember Monday – say they plan to get a drink date with the Years And Years singer before they perform in the contest in May.
Lauren says they had a “lovely chat” with Olly, and “drinks are pending” after he “reached out to us and has sent his well-wishes and given us some advice”.
(L-R) Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull and Lauren Byrne of Remember Monday are this year’s UK Eurovision entrant
Olly Alexander at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2024 in Manchester. File pic: PA
Of course, positivity is a must if you are the UK’s Eurovision entrant (Olly only managed 18th place) and thankfully Remember Monday have quite a history of setting their critics to music, performing medleys on TikTok of some of their trolls’ funniest comments.
“Some people, you just won’t be their cup of tea, so, yeah, we started kind of singing those insults,” Lauren explains.
Holly-Anne says the overall reaction to their song What The Hell Just Happened has been “overwhelmingly positive”, admitting they have been “taken aback by how kind and positive everyone’s been”.
So who are this trio? Well, they have a background in musical theatre and have known each other for years.
As Holly-Anne explains: “We met at sixth form college, we were all in the same performing arts class.
“We were kind of known as the three girls that constantly sang every genre, everything, and I guess that’s kind of still what we’re doing.
“Our teachers constantly would knock on the door. I think we had an A level final paper due or something… which was not even slightly a priority. The priority was getting an incredible cover of My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard down pat,” she laughs.
Like former UK runner-up Sam Ryder, they have already got a huge fanbase of over half a million followers on TikTok, which has to be a help in terms of winning votes.
Remember Monday said they would be singing at school even if ‘we had an A level final paper due or something’
Although the girls are big fans of Bucks Fizz’s “iconic” 80s performance, they say they’ve no plans to rip off their skirts on the big night.
Charlotte refuses to say much about the staging itself, but adds that “we are all from theatre backgrounds and I think that you can definitely expect some theatrics”.
Holly-Anne says they have “some incredible people working with us in terms of creative direction and styling.
“We just can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
The UK’s Olly Alexander performing during the 2024 Eurovision semi-final. Pic: Reuters
Eurovision being non-political did not stop politics creeping its way into last year’s event with several of the finalists referring to ongoing global disputes in the build-up.
This year, between the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, it’s hard to imagine we will not see similar scenes.
But Lauren hopes the peaceful message at the show’s heart remains the focus, as Eurovision “was designed to bring people together and bring countries together and celebrate artists from all around the world.
“So we’re just really looking forward to doing that and celebrating, you know, the music and the artistry that we get to kind of witness.”
Around 200 million viewers are expected to watch the competition in the Swiss city of Basel, where Remember Sunday take on 36 other hopefuls.
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The band has two months to hone their performance and perhaps the faces they will have to make when the votes come in, too.
While they look cool, calm and can’t stop singing now, Charlotte says to start worrying if they go quiet nearer the time, as the marker of them feeling nervous is “we go completely silent, like right before we go on stage.
“If we’re nervous, you will be able to tell…but hopefully not on stage.”
Hollyoaks star Paul Danan died from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin, an inquest has heard.
Danan, 46, was found dead at his Bristol home in January.
The actor and reality TV star was best known for playing bad boy Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 1997 to 2001. He later appeared on the celebrity versions of Love Island and Big Brother.
An inquest into Danan’s death was this morning opened and adjourned at Avon Coroner’s Court, Bristol.
Danan was pronounced dead by emergency services at his home on 15 January and his body was identified at the scene by his partner, Melissa Crooks, the inquest heard.
His provisional cause of death has been recorded as combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, contributed to by benzodiazepine use, the court heard.
“I understand there are no family concerns,” coroner’s officer Alexis Camp said.
She added: “No note was left.”
Paul Danan during his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017. Pic: PA
Danan’s GP and family members will be asked to provide statements, as will police officers and ambulance service members, Ms Camp said. Inquiries are also ongoing with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
The provisional date for the full inquest hearing is 28 May.
Danan had been due to appear for a plea hearing on 16 January after being charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis.
He had also been accused of driving while under the influence of drugs in October last year.
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Danan had been open about his struggles with substance abuse, which he said began when he was a teenager.
In 2019, he said on ITV’s The Jeremy Kyle Show that he had to “work hard at it every day to keep in recovery”.
Paying tribute to Danan after his death, fellow Love Island star Calum Best wrote on Instagram: “Life wasn’t always easy for him, but he faced it with such heart and courage, and that inspired so many of us.
“We shared many laughs, chats, and unforgettable moments. My heart goes out to his loved ones right now. Rest easy, brother.”
British actress Simone Ashley says she believes the industry has “come a long way” in terms of diversifying – but says the process is ongoing.
The Bridgerton and Sex Education star says that growing up she loved watching Hollywood royalty Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz and Anne Hathaway take on romcom leads.
But the 29-year-old South Asian – who is of Indian Tamil descent and grew up in Surrey – says she never really saw people like her in those roles.
Ashley told Sky News: “I always wanted to play a character like that.
“So, when we got the script, I just jumped on it – because I wanted to fill those shoes, and kind of bring back that 90s romcom world.”
Simone Ashley in Picture This. Pic: Amazon Studios
Simone’s new film Picture This sees her in the starring role as London photographer Pia, who’s navigating a struggling business while dealing with the societal pressures of finding love.
Though the character is more than content with the life she’s built, a prediction from a spiritual guru threatens to throw that into chaos as she’s set up on five blind dates.
Hero Fiennes Tiffin – star of the After film series and nephew of Ralph and Joseph Fiennes – and British comedian Asim Chaudhry also join the Picture This cast.
Ashley goes on: “What was so important about this film is that we celebrated and enhanced the culture, and any aspects of comedy were just from the characters themselves – it wasn’t making fun of the culture.”
Pic: Amazon Studios
‘Part of the change’
And while the film is centred around a South Asian family, Ashley says that’s not what she wants viewers to take from it.
“This is a story that is a classic romcom – and I want that to be the selling point, that’s how we normalise this narrative.
“The billboards aren’t ‘Indian girl in the movie’.
“I’m just super proud, super pleased and I just hope that universally all women – not just South Asian women – can see themselves in this character.”
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Not only does the movie mark Ashley’s first romcom role, but also her first as executive producer.
Since being named one of Variety’s 2021 Brits to Watch, she’s made her stamp on the acting world – most notably as leading lady Kate Sharma in the second season of Netflix period drama Bridgerton.
And she recently confirmed she’ll be releasing her first music album soon.
Ashley has previously picked apart what she’s described as the “restrictive” nature of being an Indian actress – and how it took her longer to break into the industry compared to her white peers.
But she says the industry is changing.
“I think we’ve come a long way – I think we’re part of the change and I think more movies like [Picture This] – more women like you in your seat, more women in my seat – I think that’s part of the change.”
Picture This is available to watch on Prime Video now.
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