If you ever wanted to know who is on your favorite singer's playlist, or what albums inspired the latest “it girl” the most, tune in for Marie Claire’s resident music franchise Listen Up. In this interview series, we ask musicians about their listening habits and the specific records that informed their taste—and inherently their journey as an artist.
RAYE had “zero expectations” to hear her name when the 2025 Grammy nominations were announced in November 2024. The British singer-songwriter’s acclaimed debut album My 21st Century Blues went unacknowledged during the Recording Academy’s 2024 awards cycle, just months before she broke the record for most BRIT Awards won in one night. The soul artist thought her Grammy dreams would have to wait until she released her eventual sophomore project. Instead, she received three nods: Best New Artist; Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical; and Best Engineered Album (for her work on Lucky Daye's Algorithm).
