“Five years ago, people told me my career was over,” says RAYE, looking out at a sold-out O2 Arena with a smirk. “Never let someone tell you what you can or can’t be.”
Her debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues’ was a dogged record of survival, released independently after RAYE’s major label refused. Turns out they were incredibly wrong – RAYE went on to pick up a record number of BRIT Awards, topped the charts with candid single ‘Escapism’ and played a lot of big, validating gigs. It’s little wonder her new record is called ‘THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.’.
Tonight, the third of six homecoming shows at the 20,000 capacity arena ahead of a headline slot at Reading & Leeds later this summer, RAYE is running on pure self-belief. That plucky underdog story is very much finished, and instead, we see a star at the height of their power.
Early on, RAYE warns the crowd that she has officially entered her dramatic era, as if the fake snow, 19-piece backing band and West End theatrics weren’t enough of a giveaway. Unreleased opening track ‘I Will Overcome’ sets the optimistic tone for the evening before gargantuan comeback single ‘Where Is My Husband’ has the entire room on their feet.
RAYE leans into Las Vegas extravagance for old favourites ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ and ‘Flip A Switch’ while new track ‘Beware The South London Lover Boy’ is a campy romance horror. Later, the stage is transformed into a jazz club for a soaring cover of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’. After a swift costume change, her name in lights is transformed into a neon “Rave” sign for a quick run through of her dancefloor classics ‘You Don’t Know Me’, ‘Prada’ and ‘Black Mascara’, designed to help people let go of any sadness, frustration or heartbreak. At one point, RAYE takes to flogging her upcoming record via a handheld sign. “This might look very fancy, but I’m still an independent artist with an album to sell,” she explains, shortly before being distracted by some excitable kids in the crowd. The wonderful two-hour show is sleek and chaotic in equal measure.
There’s purpose behind the feel-good hijinks, though. “Music has the power to help us through the toughest of times,” says RAYE ahead of ‘Ice Cream Man’, a gut-wrenchingly direct song about her experiences of sexual assault that she performs every night as part of the fight to “reclaim joy”. Uplifting new song ‘I Know You’re Hurting’ is about “those of us walking around acting like everything’s fine, even when it’s not” and inspires an arena-wide chant of “it’s going to be alright”.
The delicate euphoria of ‘Lifeboat’ bridges RAYE’s crossover dance anthems and the brutal honesty of her debut, delivered with the ferocious self-assurance that drives this new era. ‘Click Clack Symphony’ is just as ambitious, a twisting symphonic epic that goes from heartbreak to dancefloor liberation, while the cinematic funk of ‘Joy’ sees her joined by her sisters, Absolutely and AMMA, to preach the pursuit of happiness. “I declare there will be joy,” sings RAYE, who knows how to get exactly what she wants.
Leave a Reply