The last time we saw RAYE on this stage, she was making history. Two weeks ago, she picked up a record-breaking six BRIT Awards during the annual ceremony held at London’s The O2, including the coveted trophy for British Album of the Year. Tonight, her first time headlining the same venue (in a show that sold out in less than a day, no less), feels like another key moment in the artist’s musical history.
Joined on stage by the Heritage Orchestra and vocal group Flames Collective, RAYE is here to put on a show dubbed ‘My 21st Century Symphony’ for the second time following a previous version at the Royal Albert Hall last year. It sees her critically acclaimed debut album, ‘My 21st Century Blues’, given the orchestral treatment, with huge, cinematic arrangements accompanying each of the songs.
It’s a triumphant celebration of an album that RAYE had to fight to put out. In 2021, while signed to a major label, she revealed on social media: “I have been on a 4 ALBUM RECORD DEAL since 2014 !!! And haven’t been allowed to put out one album.” Several weeks later, she announced that she’d split from said label and was now an independent artist, and in 2022 started sharing new music. In early 2023, the singer was finally able to share her first album, a powerhouse project that’s further elevated by the orchestra accompaniment.
RAYE’s joy at performing tonight is evident from the moment she runs on stage and exclaims, “What the fuck!” before launching into a soaring rendition of ‘Oscar Winning Tears’. Throughout, her effortless vocals – reminiscent of Amy Winehouse or nostalgic jazz club singers – fly across the orchestra, melismatic runs soaring through the huge arena and scat singing incorporated. In between songs, though, the star is all breezy charm, easily entertaining the crowd like fellow pop heroes Adele or Lewis Capaldi.
The new arrangements are magnificent. Pulsating ‘Black Mascara’ is a shimmering smash – sweeping strings and rousing choral arrangements bring theatrical drama to the song before it launches into its floor-filling, euphoria-driven finale. The jazzy ‘Worth It’ feels straight out of an old Hollywood movie, and ‘Buss It Down’ sees RAYE encourage the audience to take on the role of a gospel choir.
It’s ‘Ice Cream Man’, a powerful and honest song about experiences of sexual assault, that’s the most affecting moment of the evening. Introducing it, RAYE reflects, “[It’s] the saddest song I ever wrote, and it’s a song I wish I didn’t have to write”, later adding it “doesn’t get any easier to sing”. When she ends the song by switching the lyrics to sing, “I see some very fucking brave, strong women, in here tonight”, it feels like a collective moment of catharsis.
As the performance closes with an encore of left-field pop juggernaut ‘Escapism’, RAYE reflects, “I hope you had as beautiful night as I just did”, describing our evening together as “what dreams are made of”. A triumphant performance from a live sensation, this was a career-defining show for RAYE.
RAYE played:
‘Overture (Introduction)’
‘Oscar Winning Tears’
‘Hard Out Here’
‘The Thrill Is Gone Requiem’
‘The Thrill Is Gone’
‘Five Star Hotels’
‘Mary Jane vs Graeme Blevins’
‘Mary Jane’
‘Environmental Anxiety’
‘Body Dysmorphia’
‘Ice Cream Man’
‘Dani’s Interlude’
‘Flip A Switch’
‘Black Mascara’
‘Prada’
‘Let There Be Light’
‘Worth It Prelude’
‘Worth It’
‘Buss It Down’
‘Escapism’