Raye (singer)


Rachel Agatha Keen, known professionally as Raye, is a British singer and songwriter from London. Raye debuted with her EP Welcome To The Winter which was released on 11 December 2014. After signing with Polydor Records, Raye released her second EP titled Second on 11 August 2016. She is best recognised for featuring on the 2016 singles; "By Your Side" by Jonas Blue and "You Don't Know Me" by Jax Jones as well as being co-lead artist on the 2020 single, "Secrets" with Regard. All songs achieved commercial success in Europe, specifically in the United Kingdom where the latter two songs peaked inside the top ten on the UK Singles Chart.
Raye was short-listed for the BBC Music Sound of... award for 2017 and was named in third place. Her collaborative singles, "Decline" with Mr Eazi, and "Cigarette" with Mabel and Stefflon Don, were released preceding her third EP Side Tape, which was released on 4 May 2018. Both singles were certified Platinum and Silver by the BPI respectively. Her fifth EP, Her Heart Beats in 4/4, is scheduled to be released in 2020, which was preceded by the single "Natalie Don't".

Early life

Rachel Agatha Keen was born on 24 October 1997 in Tooting, London, to a Ghanaian-Swiss mother and an English father. She moved to Croydon, where she studied at Woodcote High School before being accepted to attend the BRIT School for two years before dropping out after she felt "confined...despite learning an extensive amount."

Career

2014–15: Early beginnings and ''Welcome to the Winter''

On 11 December 2014, Raye released her debut extended play Welcome to the Winter. Raye released the singles "Flowers" and "Alien" on 7 February 2015 and 28 April 2015 respectively, the latter featuring London based rapper Avelino.

2016–2018: Breakthrough and EPs

On 11 August 2016, Raye released her second extended play, Second. The EP was preceded by promotional singles "Distraction" and "Ambition", the latter featuring rapper Stormzy. "I, U, Us" was released as the lead single from the EP on 14 October 2016. A video was released which was directed by British singer/songwriter Charli XCX. A live performance video for the song "Shhh" was released 17 November 2016. Stand-alone singles, "The Line" and "Sober " were released on 19 May 2017 and 4 August 2017 respectively.
Raye was featured on Jonas Blue's single "By Your Side". It was released on 28 October 2016 and peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. She also featured on Jax Jones' single "You Don't Know Me", released on 9 December 2016. It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and has been certified double Platinum by the BPI. On 9 February 2017, Raye performed her first headline concert at XOYO in Shoreditch, London. Raye was featured alongside Starrah on the track "Dreamer" from Charli XCX's Number 1 Angel mixtape, which was released on 10 March 2017.
On 3 November 2017, Raye released "Decline" featuring Mr Eazi, which peaked at Number 15 on the UK Chart and has been certified Platinum in the same country. On 22 February 2018, Raye released a collaborative single titled "Cigarette" with Mabel and Stefflon Don. The song peaked at Number 41 on the UK Chart and has been certified Silver by the BPI. In March 2018, Raye collaborated with Kojo Funds and released "Check" which peaked at Number 26 on the UK Chart and has been certified Gold in the United Kingdom. Both "Decline" and "Cigarette" would appear on Raye's third extended play, titled Side Tape, which was consequently released on 4 May 2018. A video for promotional single, "Confidence" with Maleek Berry and Nana Rogues, was released 16 May 2018. Later in 2018, Raye released the stand-alone single titled "Friends" which peaked at Number 66 on the UK Chart.
In September 2018, Raye supported Halsey on the European leg of the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour. In October 2018, Raye headlined her own tour visiting a number of cities around the UK and Ireland.

2019–present: ''Her Heart Beats in 4/4''

In April 2019, it was announced Raye would support Khalid on his Free Spirit World Tour in Autumn 2019, alongside Mabel.
In February 2019, Raye was featured on the song, "Tipsy" by Odunsi. Raye collaborated with David Guetta on the single "Stay " which was released in May 2019 and peaked at Number 41 on the UK Chart. Another Guetta collaboration, "Make It to Heaven" was later released on 22 November 2019 along with producer Morten.
Raye was revealed to be a co-writer on the track "Bigger" sung by American singer Beyoncé, which was featured on the soundtrack album released on 19 July 2019.
In August 2019, Raye released the single "Love Me Again" whilst a remix of the song with Jess Glynne was later released on 30 August 2019. The single later peaked at Number 55 on the UK Chart and has been certified Silver. Follow up singles "Please Don't Touch" and "All of My Love", the latter featuring rapper Young Adz, were released on 13 December 2019 and 6 February 2020 respectively.
"Tequila" was released as a single in collaboration with DJs Jax Jones and Martin Solveig on 21 February 2020. The song peaked at Number 21 on the UK Chart as well as peaking inside the top 20 on the Ireland and Scotland charts. The track received a Silver certification in the UK.
A collaboration with DJ Regard titled "Secrets" was released on 23 April 2020. The song peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK Dance Chart. The song also reached the top 10 in Ireland and Scotland as well as on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. "Secrets" charted in numerous countries such as the Netherlands, France and Germany making it Raye's first chart appearance as a lead artist.
On 10 July 2020, Raye released the single, "Natalie Don't", alongside a music video. In an interview with BBC News, Raye announced that her fifth EP titled, Her Heart Beats in 4/4, would be released later that same year. The project would be centered around the theme of the "seven stages of loss" and will include previously released single "Natalie Don't".

Discography

Tours

Headline
Supporting