Raye is sitting at a piano recalling the moment in her career she learned to fake it. It was 2016 and her manager was suggesting she jump on a track with dance act Jonas Blue. “On first listen I hated the song,” she says. “That was when I became a great actress because everyone thought I loved this song. But I’m going to perform it for you now.”
Such candour, rare in pop today, is understandable from Raye. It was only last year that the 24-year-old tweeted that her record label were preventing the release of her debut album despite her securing seven Top 20 hits and racking up millions of monthly listeners on Spotify. “I’m done being a polite pop star,” she wrote, and parted ways with Polydor soon after.
