Tom Dunne: Raye is a phenomenal talent but she almost didn't make it

Raye deserved all those awards at the Brits, but her backstory gives us scary insight into how the music industry works 

Rachel Keen, known as Raye, at the BRIT Awards 2024 ceremony at the O2 Arena in London. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty)

I have become fascinated by Raye. I wouldn’t normally find myself on the same page as the Brit Awards, but her six wins seems about right. She is a phenomenal talent. But it’s how she made it and the story that tells us that is so jaw dropping. Because, even with her generational talent: it almost didn’t happen at all!

I became aware of Raye, via daughter #1. She has inherited the “listen obsessively” gene. About a year ago I was summoned: “Track you have to hear, Dad,” she told me. I listened.