Raye on her uncompromising rise to stardom – interview

Rachel Keen, the award-winning British singer-songwriter now known as Raye, has fond memories of being 13. Specifically, songs she wrote then in her urgency to make music, the thrill of turning an inner monologue, brimming with emotion, into a melody. “I always had this thing of wanting to cram as many words into a short space, as small as possible, wanting to fill every [note] with a word, my melody being weird and complex,” she says, chuckling, in a recent Zoom interview. Anyone who’s heard her viral 2025 track “Where Is My Husband!” would be able to identify those signifiers, clear as day, upon first listen. That firecracker of a song clocks in at three minutes and 17 seconds of exhilarating wordplay, with Raye’s breathless vocal acrobatics squeezing in verbose lines (the bridge about wanting a diamond ring has been looped endlessly on social media). “It’s so emotional, actually,” the singer, now 28, says of listening to her old demos again, pausing to collect herself. “Even when I look at ‘Where Is My Husband!,’ the bit that connected was this bit. It was so [reminiscent of] the writer I was when I was 13.” For those who have followed Raye’s journey since her early days gigging at universities and singing generic dance tracks that weren’t really her sound to begin with, seeing her step into the spotlight on her own terms feels like watching an old friend succeed. The singer attended the famed Brit School, which counts Adele and Amy Winehouse as alumni, but later dropped out, and penned songs for other major artists instead. But since separating from her former music label and going independent as an artist in 2021, her star has risen steadily. In 2025 alone, Raye made the Grammy shortlist for best new artist, became a brand ambassador for Audemars Piguet, and dropped major collaborations with Lisa of Blackpink and producer Mark Ronson, the latter facilitated by her partnership with the Swiss watchmaker. “Giving myself permission to be in charge of my life, my decisions and my music has been so rewarding,” she says emphatically. “I’ve got to bet on myself, my tastes and the way I want to express myself, without compromise.” She points to her latest album, led by “Where Is My Husband!”, as proof of renewed faith in herself to perform under pressure as an artist, expectations running high following her successful debut, My 21st Century Blues. “It’s a pop song, it’s got a big round chorus, but it’s also to my rules. That’s what this album really has been. I’ve not allowed myself to simplify or dumb it down or make it less. I’ve not allowed myself to live by those rules enforced and taught in pop music.” After the years spent not knowing when she might make it to the big league, this moment – and all it comes with – feels well deserved. “I was working like someone was chasing me,” says Raye, who believes only time, practice and patience could have prepared her to find still greater tenacity and confidence. “The hours you put in are what you get out,” she muses. It’s strange to hear someone like Raye admit she was “never necessarily the best singer”, but the more she opens up about how much hard work has gone into refining her sound, the more you believe her. Every hour of training sounds audible in her voice now, as velvety smooth during this interview as it is belting out bold, brassy jazz standards on tour. “The singer I was on stage five, six years ago was nowhere near capable of the things I’m doing now.” Speaking of stages, it’s worth noting that Raye has performed on some of the best and biggest the world has to offer, from Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage to the legendary lakeshore of the Montreux Jazz Festival, which has hosted rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, as well as jazz legends Miles Davis and Nina Simone. Every concert, big or small, is a reflection of her creative direction; every aspect of the orchestration, set list and set design an extension of the unwavering dedication that got her there. “Even how we first opened the Glastonbury set with that song [‘Where Is My Husband!’], everyone thought I’d lost my mind,” Raye remembers, looking back at her much-talked-about appearance at the festival last year. “‘How are you opening Glastonbury with a song no one knows?’ But I believed in my heart, making decisions that felt right.” A similar level of decisiveness and unwillingness to compromise has gone into dreaming up her upcoming performance at Montreux this summer, called Moments in Time. “I don’t want it to just be an ordinary show,” says Raye, who acknowledges an immense pressure to deliver, but seems thrilled by it. “I love jazz, and the people that have stood on that stage in the last 60 years before me have been pioneers and experts in the craft of jazz and soul. I don’t take that lightly or for granted. I’ve got some special guests, which I don’t really do a lot. We’re going all out.” What makes Raye different in an industry full of manufactured stars and TikTok-ready songs is how much time and soul she invests in a single production. It’s also what made her a fitting match for Audemars Piguet. “It’s about all the details of the process people don’t see,” she says of their relationship, one based on a mutual appreciation for crafting top-notch experiences. “The invisible screws that go into creating something special. In a world where everything’s digital, analogue is beautiful, precious and timeless. Creating music that way with musicians who dedicated eight hours of their day, every day, to being good enough to make a beautiful sound through a trumpet.” It was through the watchmaker that Raye met Mark Ronson, the long-time producer renowned for his collaborations with Amy Winehouse among many others, for the first time. Together they wrote the track “Suzanne”, in honour of the brand’s 150th anniversary. “He’s my kind of analogue guy as well,” she says. “We get in the studio and it’s just two of the best horn players you’ve ever heard in your life. A wizard pianist, Mark on the bass.” Like much of Raye’s music, “Suzanne” features the singer’s retro vocals backed by a full band and stripped-down production with the lyrics – in her signature style – a result of “freestyling random stuff and scribbling ideas”. The song is testament to a career built on fortuitous timing and family values. Raye’s first year performing at Montreux, she points out, is when she met those she now touchingly calls her “AP family”, reconnecting her to her Swiss ancestry and forming the sort of relationships that have propelled her to the verge of major stardom. Raye has surpassed 5 billion streams on Spotify – not bad for someone who says she was never interested in playing the traditional pop music numbers game, but is coming out winning anyway – and is fresh off a tour of Europe and the US, supported by her actual family, with her manager parents and two of her sisters as opening acts. Shouting out other rising stars like former Brit School classmate Olivia Dean, Raye believes the future is bright for women in pop music. “I’m very proud of the girls,” she adds, “and long may it continue.”

Raye on her uncompromising rise to stardom – interview

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The British singer-songwriter has hit albums, billions of Spotify streams, and gigs at Glastonbury and Montreux Jazz Festival to show for years of hard work

The British singer-songwriter has hit albums, billions of Spotify streams, and gigs at Glastonbury and Montreux Jazz Festival to show for years of hard work