Singer and songwriter Raye won six awards on Saturday in London, including artist and album of the year, at the Brit Awards, the equivalent of the Victoires de la Musique in the United Kingdom, a record. “You can’t imagine what this means to me,” she said, moved to tears, as she received her award for album of the year, her grandmother at her side.
Almost unknown a few months ago, the 26-year-old singer ended the evening with six trophies: song of the year for Escapism, best new artist, songwriter of the year, artist and album of the year with his disc My 21st Century Blues. She also dominated the R category
“The artist I was three years ago wouldn’t believe what she sees today,” said the singer whose music sits at the crossroads of RnB and jazz. Never before has anyone won so many awards at the Brit Awards in a single evening. Blur in 1995, Adele in 2016 and Harry Styles in 2023 received four.
This London-born author, composer and performer has long collaborated with artists like David Guetta or written for Beyoncé, without her label at the time, Polydor, according to her, letting her release her own album. She denounced the situation on social media in 2021, leading to the termination of her contract, and started from scratch as a freelancer. His first studio record My 21st Century Blues was released in March 2023.
Like many artists in recent years, she has built her notoriety in part thanks to the success of her hits on TikTok, such as Flip A Switch and especially Escapism.
Accumulating trophies, Raye left little room for other artists. But the evening was marked by performances on stage by Dua Lipa and Australian star Kylie Minogue, who after more than 35 years of career made people dance again this year with her hit Padam Padam. She received the “global icon” award. Dua Lipa won a trophy in the Pop category. Jungle was crowned group of the year. American Sza was crowned international artist of the year. Miley Cyrus received an award for the song Flowers. The female trio Boygenius was crowned international group of the year, with their indie rock music.
In the Artist of the Year category, six women and four men competed. Last year, this category only saw men compete, which caused an uproar.