RAYE has admitted she “pushed myself to my limit” as she juggled nonstop touring, writing and studio sessions in the lead-up to her second album.
The 28-year-old star had huge ambitions for March’s This Music May Contain Hope following the success of 2023’s My 21st Century Blues, and the pressure she put on herself took a real toll.
She told Billboard: “There just comes a time in your life where, like, you have to, or you choose to, prioritise something over another, so I think in my case, like, work has really been my life for the last year, two years, three years. But I think this last year with this album, and the amount of touring, and just the vibe in general, I’ve really definitely pushed myself to, like, my limit.”
Reflecting on the intense schedule, she added: “I’ve worked really, really hard and I’m really happy to, like, finally let this album go and, you know, be able to just have a little bit more balance. So I think now it can just be shows and rest time. Whereas before, it was shows, and then the studio and writing, and editing, and production.”
RAYE said the pressure was entirely self-driven, explaining that the scale of the project was something she chose to take on.
She added: “By the way, like, I was the one who chose to make an album like this, and I was the one who had all these ambitious goals and ideas for it, and things I wanted to do and achieve.”
Another added pressure came when she lost her lyric books when her car was stolen.
She made the revelation in a post on Instagram to mark her birthday in October 2024, writing: “It’s my birthday and my car got stolen with all my song writing books in the boot so no second album any time soon love you bye.”
Fortunately, the motor and her notebooks were returned to her months later after police found the stolen car.
RAYE crafted the chart-topping record alongside a wide circle of collaborators, teaming up with Jordan Riley, Chris Hill, Mike Sabath, Tom Richards, Pete Clements and even film-score titan Hans Zimmer. The record also features contributions from Zimmer, soul legend Al Green, and RAYE’s sisters Amma and Absolutely.
The lead single, Where Is My Husband!, gave RAYE her second UK number one.
My 21st Century Blues got off to a flying start after the single Escapism went viral and went on to be crowned British Album of the Year at the 2024 BRIT Awards, where RAYE made history for the most wins in a single ceremony.
