BRIT Awards 2024: RAYE reveals she was told NOT to make R'n'B music...as she picks up Best R'n'B Act
RAYE was discouraged from making R'n'B music at the beginning of her career.
The 26-year-old singer picked up her second award of the night at the BRIT Awards 2024 with Mastercard in London on Saturday (02.03.24) when she was named Best R'n'B Act after she scooped Song of the Year for 'Escapism' but revealed that she was initially told that she would have to explore other genres if she wanted to make it.
Speaking live on stage on Saturday (02.03.24), she said: "Hi, erm, look I just wanna say when I was about 16 or 15 years old I wanted to be an R'n'B artist. I was told a lie that R'n'B doesn't sell in the UK so I needed to learn to make different kinds of music. I know that's a bit shady but I do that mean that to say that R'n'B is so important and there are so many R'n'B incredible artists in the UK who are eating it up."
Just moments before RAYE's win, Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris took to the stage for a crowd-pleasing performance of 'Miracle', which had been nominated for Song of the Year.
Prior to that, electronic music project Jungle - which consists of Josh Lloyd-Watson Tom McFarland and Lydia Kitto - picked up the name for Best Group, following a year that has seen them release smash-hit album 'Volcano'.
Lydia said: "This is mental, I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. Thanks to mum and dad, thanks to my sister and thanks to these two sexy lads standing here!"
Josh added: "We've been doing this since, we were nine years old. This is nuts, I'm gonna cry."