{"id":472262,"date":"2026-06-11T15:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/472262\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T15:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:58:11","slug":"raye-reveals-3rd-album-plans-advises-do-not-date-rappers-at-indie-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/472262\/","title":{"rendered":"RAYE Reveals 3rd Album Plans, Advises Do Not Date Rappers at Indie Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn the middle of a week celebrating the independent music industry, one of the world\u2019s most groundbreaking indie artists, RAYE<\/a>, delivered an unforgettable private concert at New York City\u2019s Blue Note Jazz Club on Wednesday night (June 10) for Billboard\u2018s Indie Live event.<\/p>\n

\n\tHaving just finished a headlining North American tour through large theaters \u2014 and now gearing up to play stadiums as support for Bruno Mars \u2014 the iconic West Village jazz club was a much smaller venue than the London native is growing used to. But that didn\u2019t take away from RAYE\u2019s singular performance abilities in the slightest, with her larger-than-life voice filling the room as she coursed through a mix of jazzy classics and tracks from her 2023 debut album, My 21st Century Blues, and 2026\u2019s critically acclaimed This Music May Contain Hope.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cReally and truly, ladies and gentlemen, I love singing jazz,\u201d she said after an incredible rendition of \u201cCry Me a River,\u201d which she\u2019d called one of her \u201cfavorite songs to have ever been written \u2014 not the Justin Timberlake version, please.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s what makes me happiest,\u201d she continued, earning cheers of agreement. \u201cWe\u2019re doing our best to keep it alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt multiple points, RAYE whispered to her drummer, bassist, guitarist, four-person brass section and keyboardist from behind her hand, calling out whichever song she felt moved to play in the moment. \u201cI\u2019ve completely rearranged the setlist, it\u2019s hilarious,\u201d she said, the audience laughing as she added that she likes to \u201ckeep my band feeling super uncertain on stage.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHer instincts led her to play \u201cGoodbye Henry\u201d from Hope \u2014 sans Al Green, whose spoken part on the studio track she filled with effortless, dexterous scatting \u2014 as well as a \u201cneo-soul\u201d version of breakout hit \u201cEscapism\u201d and \u201cWorth It\u201d from Blues. Both albums were released through Human Re Sources via The Orchard, executives from which were present in the compact crowd alongside Billboard staffers and leaders in the indie music space.<\/p>\n

\n\tSurprisingly absent from the setlist was RAYE\u2019s Billboard Hot 100<\/a> smash \u201cWhere Is My Husband!\u201d \u2014 but she shared that she\u2019d simply woken up that morning feeling too \u201csingle,\u201d so she couldn\u2019t bring herself to perform it. To make up for it, though, she gave one song its live debut: \u201cHappier Times Ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve already got the title for my third album \u2026 it\u2019s going to be called And Then She Falls in Love,\u201d she casually revealed while on the topic of happier times \u2014 although she hasn\u2019t gotten much further on the next project than that. The hitmaker added candidly, \u201cI refuse to write a single song\u201d for it until she actually does fall in love in real life.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m excited for that time, but that\u2019s not yet,\u201d she said, further charming the already enraptured audience. \u201cI\u2019m just not going to write a third album about, \u2018This guy sucks.\u2019 I\u2019m done with that era. We\u2019re going to look forward to a nice, positive chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJust do not date rappers,\u201d she concluded. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ll say to that. What a delusional person I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe private concert comes just one day after Billboard presented RAYE with the Indie Spirit Award at the annual Indie Power Players<\/a> event in NYC. Surrounded by copies of her first-ever Billboard cover issue<\/a>, which delved into the vocalist\u2019s challenging career trajectory, she gave a moving speech<\/a> motivating artists \u2014 particularly independents like herself \u2014 to always \u201cdream audaciously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are people out there \u2014 in suits, sometimes \u2014 who think that they know best, who think that they get to look you in the eyes and tell you, \u2018This is your ceiling \u2026 This is all you\u2019re ever going to amount to,’\u201d she said at the podium. \u201cI just want to encourage us to ignore those lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat fearlessness was on full display as she brought the Blue Note house down on Wednesday, the hard work she\u2019s put into her career underscoring every masterful note and musical choice she made on stage. See RAYE\u2019s Billboard Indie Live setlist and watch clips of the performance below.<\/p>\n

\u201dSuzanne\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dGoodbye Henry\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dCry Me a River\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dEscapism\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dWorth It\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dHappier Times Ahead\u201d<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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