Raye
Raye: My 21st Century Blues review – swaggering floor-fillers and a long overdue debut
Nine years on from her breakthrough EP, the British artist is finally back on track with a new label and an artistic rebirth
Ammar Kalia
12, Feb, 2023 @3:00 PM
Raye: My 21st Century Blues review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week
After the singer claimed that Polydor refused to let her release an album, they parted ways. Her confident DIY debut, mixing house, pop, blues and dancehall, is a vindication
Alexis Petridis
02, Feb, 2023 @12:00 PM
Brit awards: all-male best artist category reveals wider music industry sickness
Out of the 71 acts eligible for the gender-neutral award, only 13 were female or non-binary. The dearth exposes the British industry’s inability to develop anyone but young men
Laura Snapes
16, Jan, 2023 @3:14 PM
The best new music to look forward to in 2023
Yo La Tengo, Billy Nomates, Låpsley and Paramore have hotly anticipated albums due out – while the BBCSO puts on an Everest opera and Simon Rattle waves goodbye to the Barbican
Alexis Petridis and Andrew Clements
29, Dec, 2022 @6:00 AM
‘The work we do isn’t algorithmic’: A&R in the era of TikTok
In the digital age, marketability is just as important as music. Artist and repertoire reps from Warner, Ministry of Sound and Partisan explain how they discover music in 2022
Eamonn Forde
29, Sep, 2022 @7:00 AM
‘I’m angry, I’m raging’: how Raye took on her record label – and won
After Polydor refused to release her album, the rising pop star spoke out. Now, newly independent, she's ready for a fresh start
Michael Cragg
25, Sep, 2021 @10:00 AM
‘I had no confidence, no money’: the pop stars kept in limbo by major labels
Raye is one of the world’s most listened-to artists, but her label wouldn’t let her make an album. She’s the latest example of stars who say their music is being sidelined
Rhian Jones
11, Aug, 2021 @11:19 AM
Raye: Euphoric Sad Songs review
There’s plenty of romantic devastation in pop songs with friendly beats and buoyant melodies on Rachel Keen’s album, but it’s not distinctive enough
Rachel Aroesti
20, Nov, 2020 @9:00 AM
'The narrative is we don't sell records': the black female singers uncredited by the UK industry
Their vocals and songwriting feature on some of the biggest hits, but black women are often not credited, leaving their solo careers stunted and causing them to lose out financially
Jumi Akinfenwa
04, Aug, 2020 @11:10 AM
‘Please don’t take my man’: Dolly Parton and Jolene’s enduring legacy
Why modern pop stars such as Katy B and Raye are still using the ‘other woman’ trope from the country legend’s 1973 classic
Leonie Cooper
24, Jul, 2020 @12:00 PM
Raye's lockdown listening: 'Nina Simone tears your skin and burns your eardrums'
The British dance-pop star considers Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come amid the Black Lives Matter protests, and picks out tracks by Otis Redding, Miraa May and more
Interview by Ben Beaumont-Thomas
12, Jun, 2020 @9:30 AM
Tracks of the week reviewed: Raye, Usher, Lil Uzi Vert
This week we’ve got pop’s next big thing, a comeback by an R&B veteran, and a blatant attempt to start the next dance craze
Graeme Virtue
03, Jan, 2020 @11:00 AM
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