For seven years, 25-year-old singer/songwriter Raye, or Rachel Keen as she goes by the name, was prevented from releasing her own album, as her former label wanted her to stick to danceable pop singles.  

Meanwhile, she also wrote songs for big names such as Beyoncé, Charli XCX and Zara Larsson.

She was also heard in hits such as "You don't know me" with Jax Jones and "BED" with David Guetta.  

But Raye was determined to go his own way as an artist, which eventually resulted in the debut album "My 21 century blues".  

- I had no interaction with my listeners, because that type of music was mostly the kind you jumped around and got drunk.

It didn't feel like that many people knew about who I was back then.

But now I'm on my first album tour - and it feels fantastic, says Raye. 

Releasing music on own terms

Now she makes music on her own terms.

Last year, she released the single "Escapism" together with American rapper 070 Shake, which went viral on Tiktok and entered the Billboard Hot 100 - where it is still climbing.

The song is about escaping from one's emotions, which is a passing theme in the debut album as she addresses her own experiences around topics such as addiction, body dysmorphophobia and abuse.  

- I really wanted to find out what was important to me, and that is integrity and honesty in my songs, says Raye.

Singing about an abuse

Most recently, she also released an attention-grabbing music video for the song "Ice cream man", which is about sexual abuse in particular - and how difficult it is to deal with one's feelings on one's own.  

For Raye, it's easier to make music out of it, she believes.  

- These are feelings that exist in my head in a very ugly way.

So for me at least it's more beautiful if it can come out in a song instead of in my head.