Watch Out. If RAYE Spies You On The Tube, You May End Up In A Song...
The 'You Don't Know Me' singer and Brand New For 2017 nominee tells us where she finds songwriting inspo...
Mike PellRAYE is killing it right now. Her vocals are setting dancefloors and the charts alight on Jax Jones' 'You Don't Know Me' and Jonas Blue's 'By Your Side', she's been writing for the likes of Snakehips, Charli XCX and more, and now she's nominated for MTV Brand New For 2017.
The Croydon singer-songwriter - aka Rachel Keen - has been toiling since the age of eight/nine when she wrote her first songs, and now to be recognised on artist-to-watch lists she told us in our exclusive interview that "the hard work feels like it's starting to pay off so it feels really good."
Admitting that those first attempts were "really rubbish", RAYE's been honing her craft ever since and revealed where she's finds she gets most of her inspiration for her work:
"I think the most inspirational place to write music is on the tube 'cause there's just so much going on and so many faces and it's...really interesting to wonder what someone's story might be. It's just really good for stimulating ideas I think."
WATCH OUR EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT ON RAYE HERE:
Last year RAYE dropped her SECOND EP featuring the Charli XCX-assisted 'I, U, Us'. The track "came about really randomly," she told us. "I had no idea Charli was going to be at the session at the studio. We just started making music and we just had such a blast, we were just running around like little kids, like so excited.
"I had this really weird idea and I was just like 'what if Charli was to direct it?' And I thought obviously there's no way that it was gonna happen but I thought I'd ask anyway. So I just sent her a text like 'oh what would you think about directing the video?', not even expecting a reply. But she was like 'oh my god yes, when are we gonna do it? Where? Let's do something exciting!' Yeah, it was just super fun."
WATCH RAYE'S 'I, U, Us' HERE:
While she's having fun, RAYE is also taking this opportunity seriously. "The one rule I adhere to as an artist I think to just work really hard,"she said. "Everything you do just to put that extra [little bit in], like you just give all you can, I guess."
To vote for RAYE to win MTV Brand New For 2017, like/heart the Instagram image below:
https://instagram.com/p/BPdBwitALBm
See RAYE Live:
9th Feb - XOYO, London
13 Things You Need To Know About RAYE
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RAYE is a 19-year-old from Croydon, South London. -
RAYE co-wrote the new Snakehips & MØ track, ‘Don’t Leave’, which is a Certified Banger™. -
RAYE released her debut EP ‘Welcome To The Winter’ in 2014, when she was a student at the Brit School. She later dropped out.[Getty] -
Olly Alexander, from Years & Years, helped RAYE secure her record deal with Polydor records.[Getty] -
Charli XCX co-wrote her single ‘I, U, US’.[Getty] -
In return, RAYE helped Charli write her current single, ‘After The Afterparty’, which featured Lil Yachty.[Getty] -
RAYE also worked with Jonas Blue on ‘By Your Side’.[Getty] -
Jonas heard of RAYE after her dad’s friend, who is an Uber driver, kept telling him to listen to her. Jonas loved RAYE’s sound and asked her to sing on the track.[Getty] -
RAYE recently appeared as a guest vocalist on Nas’ new single, ‘War’, and with Stormzy on ‘Ambition’. RAYE’s worked with everyone, basically. (Including your nan.)[Getty] -
Stormzy once said that he reckons RAYE is “an alien from the future”.[Getty] -
RAYE, because she’s unstoppable, supported Jess Glynne on her arena tour.[Getty] -
RAYE is inspired by female singers like Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Lauren Hill and Amy Winehouse.[Getty] -
RAYE said that her goal “is to be the biggest singer I can be. I want to be as big as the biggest artists out there - a Katy Perry or a Taylor Swift.”[Getty]
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