The English singer and songwriter Raye, recently revealed to fans in a social media post that she is forced to delay her second album after her car was stolen, which had her songwriting book. The London-born singer announced the incident on her social media, in a somewhat light-hearted style, whilst sharing snaps from her birthday, as the singer recently turned 27.
The Instagram post’s caption reads: “it’s my birthday and my car got stolen with all my song writing books in the boot so no second album any time soon love you bye.”
Despite the devastating news of her car being stolen, the ‘Flip A Switch.’ singer remained in high spirits on her birthday. The post featured many celebratory photos including Raye posing alongside a ‘Queen for the DAY’ sash, multiple birthday cakes – one of which is homemade with icing stating: “sorry ur car got stolen” and a customised Nintendo Wii Switch.
Known for her tracks ‘Escapism’, ‘Worth It.’ and ‘Prada’, Raye’s fusion of pop with R&B and jazz, feels soulful, refreshing but relevant to the experiences of her listeners. Her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, gained worldwide traction following its peak at Number two on the Official Albums Chart when it released in early 2023.
SIX @BRITs & ALBUM OF THE YEAR please just thank you https://t.co/c23XcFUtUl pic.twitter.com/4MAYkWiFgj — RAYE (@raye) March 3, 2024
My 21st Century Blues proved its relevance when it won Raye six Brit awards, including Album of the Year, at this year’s BRIT Awards, alongside endless social media trends following the album’s relatability.
Raye’s fans were waiting on tenterhooks for her highly anticipated sophomore album, therefore, the news of its delay is very unfortunate but understandable.
Since the success of her debut, Raye released a comeback single titled ‘Genesis’ on June 7 of this year. The track is exactly seven minutes long and features socially-conscious lyrics in a spoken word format alongside instrumentation which elevates the R&B and hip hop elements to the track. Raye amalgamates these quintessential themes of her discography with gospel and jazz, remaining reminiscent of the big band movement to exhibit the multitude of her musical inspirations. ‘Genesis’ accompanied an EP which broke the single down into three parts and a live version, to appeal to Raye’s diverse listeners.
The success of Raye’s ‘Genesis’ only proves that the talented singer is unequivocally a visionary, with a unique sonic style that excites listeners for future music. The delay of her sophomore album grants Raye with the ability to further cement her artistry in the curation of new music.
