2014–2018: Early career and breakthrough In November 2014, at the age of 17, Raye
independently uploaded her debut
extended play (EP),
Welcome to the Winter, to the audio streaming service
SoundCloud. She wrote, recorded, and co-produced the seven tracks on the track listing. Raye signed a contract with them thereafter. Raye's following EP,
Second, was released in August 2016 through Polydor. She co-wrote its single "I, U, Us" with the singers
Noonie Bao and
Charli XCX; the latter also directed the song's music video. The same year, Raye featured on
Jonas Blue's "
By Your Side" and
Jax Jones's "
You Don't Know Me", which respectively reached numbers fifteen and three on the
UK singles chart. "By Your Side" became her first song to enter the chart. Months later, Raye served as an opening act for a concert tour by the singer
Jess Glynne. Raye performed at the club
XOYO in London in February 2017, receiving positive reviews from publications. She worked on Charli XCX's "
After the Afterparty", and appeared on the "VIP" remix to the song with the singer
Rita Ora and the rapper
Stefflon Don. Raye starred on the music video for the
Stormzy song "Big For Your Boots" in the same month, and featured on the track "Dreamer" from Charli XCX's collaborative project
Number 1 Angel (2017). The singles "
The Line" and "
Decline" were also released in 2017; the latter featured the singer
Mr Eazi. following the release of the single "Cigarette", which features Don and the singer
Mabel. In parallel, Raye received writing credits on songs by the girl group
Little Mix and the singer
John Legend. Later in 2018, she released a stand-alone single dedicated to her friends and supported Ora and the singer-songwriter
Halsey on their respective concert tours. Raye embarked on her first headlining tour in 2018.
2019–2021: Euphoric Sad Songs and departure from Polydor In 2019, Raye featured on
Odunsi the Engine's song "Tipsy" and
David Guetta's song "
Stay (Don't Go Away)", released in March and May, respectively. The latter became Raye's first number-one song on
Billboard US
Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart. She supported the singer
Khalid on his
Free Spirit World Tour. Raye co-wrote the track "
Bigger" by the singer
Beyoncé, which featured on the soundtrack album
The Lion King: The Gift, released in July 2019.
BBC News believed that it was "arguably her biggest song-writing credit" at the time. Between August and November 2019, Raye released the solo single "
Love Me Again" and the collaboration "
Make It to Heaven" with Guetta and the producer
Morten. In early 2020, Raye released "
Tequila" in collaboration with Jax Jones and the DJ
Martin Solveig, and "
Secrets" with the DJ
Regard. "Secrets" peaked at number six in the United Kingdom and was
certified platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In July 2020, Raye released "
Natalie Don't", The project centred on the
stages of grief. In February 2021, Raye collaborated with Guetta and the DJ
Joel Corry on the single "
Bed", which reached number three on the UK singles chart—marking her highest-charting single as a lead artist on the chart at the time—and topped the US Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart. She also co-wrote and co-produced the song "
Let Them Know" by Mabel. In June, Raye released "Call On Me", a song written for her sister and intended to serve as the lead single for her debut studio album. Later that month, she revealed that Polydor had been withholding her debut album for several years. The statement was met with support from fellow artists. Following this, Raye went on a hiatus, and later announced that she had parted ways with the label to work as an independent artist. Raye closed the year performing her Euphoric Sad Show headline UK and Ireland tour.
2022–2024: My 21st Century Blues and international recognition Raye signed to the distribution company
Human Re Sources in mid-2022, and began to own her
master recordings. On 30 June, she released her first independent single following her departure from Polydor, "
Hard Out Here", alongside a music video depicting the early stages of an artist. "Black Mascara" was released in August 2022, and was followed by a
dual single in October: "
Escapism", featuring the rapper
070 Shake, and "The Thrill is Gone". All singles were part of Raye's debut studio album,
My 21st Century Blues, which was released in February 2023. It peaked at number two on the
UK Albums Chart, Raye embarked on a mini tour entitled The Story So Far, which marked her first headlining shows in Europe and North America. This was followed by the My 21st Century Blues Tour from February 2023 to February 2024. "Escapism" became Raye's first song to reach number one in the UK, three months after its original release. It became her first entry on the US
Billboard Hot 100 and her first top-ten entry on the
Billboard Global 200. By the end of 2023,
My 21st Century Blues had sold more than 60,000 copies in the UK. Throughout 2023, Raye opened for
Lewis Capaldi's Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent Tour in the UK,
Kali Uchis's Red Moon in Venus Tour in North America, and
SZA's
SOS Tour in Europe. She also performed on the programs
Jimmy Kimmel Live! and
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and at the
Glastonbury Festival 2023. "
Prada" (2023), a collaboration with Cassö and
D-Block Europe, reached number two on the UK singles chart and peaked atop the
UK Dance Singles Chart for 31 weeks, later receiving a triple platinum certification from the BPI. In October 2023, Raye released her first live album,
My 21st Century Symphony (Live at the Royal Albert Hall), recorded at the
Royal Albert Hall alongside the
Heritage Orchestra and the Flames Collective. Raye performed a
medley of some of her songs at the
Brit Awards 2024. She was one of the songwriters on the song "Riiverdance" from Beyoncé's
country music-inspired album
Cowboy Carter (2024). On 6 April 2024, Raye appeared as the musical guest on
Saturday Night Live; she performed "Escapism" and "
Worth It", and also previewed an unreleased track tentatively titled "Let There Be Light", later released as the three-act single "
Genesis" on 7 June. On 25 May 2024, Raye performed her first festival headline slot at
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in
Luton. She served as an opening act for
Taylor Swift's
the Eras Tour at
Wembley Stadium in August 2024. Raye collaborated with the rapper
Central Cee on the song "Moi", on which both artists sing and rap in English and French. On 13 September, she
surprise-released her second live album,
Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, featuring seven tracks recorded at the
Montreux Jazz Festival, including a cover version of the
James Brown song "
It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (1966). Months later, Raye revealed that her car was stolen along with finished lyrics for tracks from her second studio album.
2025–present: This Music May Contain Hope Raye sang "
Oscar Winning Tears" at the
67th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2025, as part of a medley performed by nominees for the
Best New Artist category. The same month, she featured on
Lisa's single "
Born Again" along with
Doja Cat. At the
Academy Awards 2025, Raye performed
Adele's "
Skyfall" (2012) as part of a medley in honour to the
James Bond franchise. She collaborated with
Mark Ronson on "
Suzanne", which premiered in June 2025 as part of a music program led by the watch brand
Audemars Piguet. She co-wrote four tracks on
Halle Bailey's album
Love?... or Something Like It (2025), and co-wrote and co-produced some tracks on
Jade Thirlwall's album ''
That's Showbiz Baby'' (2025). In June 2025, Raye debuted two tracks during her performance at the
Glastonbury Festival 2025, including "
Where Is My Husband!", which was subsequently released on 19 September 2025. The song became Raye's second chart-topper in the UK and her highest-charting release on both the
Billboard Global 200 and the US
Billboard Hot 100. She later released the singles "
Nightingale Lane" on 27 February 2026 and "
Click Clack Symphony", featuring the composer
Hans Zimmer, on 20 March 2026; both reached the top twenty in the UK. All three singles were part of Raye's second studio album,
This Music May Contain Hope, which was released on 27 March 2026. and became her first album to top the
UK Albums Chart. To support the album, Raye embarked on a concert tour entitled
This Tour May Contain New Music in January 2026, which is set to conclude in May of the same year. The tour will span 51 shows across Europe and North America. Raye is set to serve as an opening act for
Bruno Mars's
the Romantic Tour from August to October 2026. == Artistry ==