18 months after severing ties with the record company that refused to release her debut album, pop diva Raye has achieved her first number-one single. The hard-hitting, drink-the-pain-away club anthem Escapism, by the five-time Brit nominee, has reached number one on the charts.
She told the BBC on Friday, “As someone who writes for a living, I have no words.” I have been in tears all day.
It only goes to prove that you should stand by your decisions no matter what others may say.
And we did it independently? That’s crazy, she continued.
Escapism had already been dominating the charts, but over the holiday season, a slew of Christmas tunes kept it from taking the top spot.
Escapism surpassed them this week with 5.6 million streams, according to the Official Charts Company, while those songs faded away.
After “tears and suffering,” Raye separates from the label. Previously, Raye has twice made it to the third spot on the UK Singles Chart, once as a guest vocalist on Jax Jones’ You Don’t Know Me in 2016 and once on the Joel Corry and David Guetta song Bed last year.
She openly broke off her relationship with record company Polydor in 2021, claiming she was being treated as a “rent-a-vocal” dance musician after her solo songs failed to achieve the same heights.
In an open letter published in June 2021, she penned, “Imagine this suffering.” “Since 2014, a major label has signed me… … I have albums upon albums of music that have been gathering dust in drawers, songs that I am now giving away to A-list artists while I wait for approval to release an album.
“I complied with all [Polydor] requests; I changed genres and worked seven days a week. I’ve had it with being a nice pop star.
Escapism’s late-last-year release provided vindication. Before making it to the mainstream charts, the juddering, dramatic song became viral on TikTok about numbing the agony of a breakup with a night of hedonism.
You can see the statistics, which is ridiculous, she remarked. “Of the two people who heard the music on TikTok, one went to a streaming platform and added it to their library.
“Substance addiction isn’t a pleasant issue for a woman to address so bluntly, but maybe it was vital to be that visceral because there are so many people out there who are brokenhearted and venting in the wrong manner.”
The vocalist, who previously placed third in the BBC Sound Of 2017, acknowledged that the song’s odd composition and varying tempos made it improbable to become a hit.
“Proving people incorrect”
After she left Polydor, major labels heard the song but weren’t optimistic about its potential.
However, she attended several meetings just in case. “I was reluctant to ever become connected with a major again,” she said. “And after hearing the song, folks said, “Yeah, this is good, but Raye just needs to get this out of her system.
“When you get to show somebody they’re wrong, it’s absolutely amazing,” she continued. “This song was all about passion; it wasn’t about charts or numbers.”
Nevertheless, she claimed that reaching number one was “the most beautiful confirmation I could ever want as a performer.”
On February 3, the 25-year-old will finally release My 21st Century Blues, her debut album.
There are an astounding 46 new entries in the Top 75, with blockbusters like Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits and Beyoncé’s Cuff It returning to the countdown while Christmas songs stage a major exodus from this week’s rankings.
Numerous other songs have resurfaced on the chart. Swift’s Anti-Hero has climbed 51 spots to number two, while Messy in Heaven by Venbee & Goddard has soared from 65 to number three.
SZA, a US R&B singer, has climbed 28 spots to number four with her revenge fantasy Kill Bill, giving her her first top 10 hits.
Shirt and Nobody Get Me, two further songs from her critically acclaimed album SOS, are also in the Top 40.
Another Love, a 2012 song by Tom Odell, has recently found new life on TikTok as a representation of Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s invasion.
It made an appearance in London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display and has since returned to the list at number 10, where it now holds the highest position.
Midnights, Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album, debuted at the top of the albums chart, and there are four more of her songs in the Top 40.
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