Raye may be the Brit Award’s Songwriter of the Year and Best R&B Artist but her story has been far from easy.

Born Rachel Agatha Keen and raised in Croydon, it could be argued that music is a part of her DNA with a dad working as a musical director of a local church, while her sister is a successful songwriter, having penned songs for stars like Ariana Grande and Rihanna.

Her first single featuring British DJ Jax Jones catapulted Raye into mainstream notoriety, but by 2021, the artist began to feel stagnant.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), she detailed a battle she was having with record label Polydor to release her own album, saying the time that "I am giving away [songs] to A list artists because I am still waiting for confirmation that I am good enough to release an album”.

Despite these struggles, she endured. And that leap of faith appears to have paid off as 18 months after her departure from Polydor, Raye claimed her first number one single with her song Escapism.

The London-born star is proving to be one of the most sought after acts at the Brits this year, breaking the record for the highest number of nominations by a single artist.

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