Raye broke records at the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening, winning six gongs during a star-studded ceremony at London's O2 Arena.
The 26-year-old singer/songwriter won the night's first prize, Song of the Year, for her hit Escapism ft 070 Shake, just before she also took home the R&B Act gong and Best New Artist award.
She burst into tears as she later accepted Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year awards, at one point bringing her beloved grandmother on stage.
The star now holds the record for the most BRITs won at a single ceremony, a record that previously stood at four and was held jointly by Blur (1995), Adele (2016) and Harry Styles (2023).
She had been nominated seven times – the most ever for a single artist in a year – but couldn't possibly have won more, having been shortlisted for Song of the Year twice – for Escapism, which won, and for Prada.
In addition to Raye's major successes, Dua Lipa was named best pop act, while Kylie Minogue – who had a huge comeback hit with Padam Padam last year – won the global icon award.
Raye broke records at the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening, winning six gongs during a star-studded ceremony at London's O2 Arena
The star now holds the record for the most BRITs won at a single ceremony, a record that previously stood at four and was held jointly by Blur (1995), Adele (2016) and Harry Styles (2023). She bought her grandmother on stage for her final win of the night – album of the year
'I'm shivering. I don't really know what to say right now, but… thank you. “I always dreamed of saying this,” Raye said as she reached the podium to accept her first award of the night.
Just minutes later the emotional star, a former pupil of Croydon's BRIT School, accepted the award for Best New Artist and told the crowd: “What is happening because I just don't get it!”
Raye's latest success comes after she parted ways with her former label Polydor and released her critically acclaimed debut My 21st Century Blues as an independent artist. In her “Best New Artist Speech” speech, she referred to her new beginning.
“I have to thank my mom and dad, who are also part of my team, and my grandma.” Yes, grandma! In a way I feel like a new artist. “I released my first song at 15, my first mixtape at 16, don’t listen to it because it’s not that good anymore.”
“But I feel like a new artist, I have to start over.” The artist I was three years ago wouldn't believe what she sees today. I'm my own boss now, I'm in control. Thank you very much!'
Born in Tooting to a Ghanaian-Swiss mother and an English father, Raye began singing in the church choir. At the age of 14 she was accepted into the Brit School for Performing Arts, but dropped out after two years, saying she felt “trapped”.
She first rose to fame in 2016 at the age of 19 when she appeared on Jax Jones' “You Don't Know Me”, which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
But in 2021, she revealed that record label Polydor had refused to release one of her albums, despite having signed her seven years earlier. She said on Twitter: “I have had a record deal for four albums since 2014. And I wasn’t allowed to release a single album.”
NOMINATIONS FOR THE BRIT AWARD AT A GLANCE
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Arlo Parks
Central Cee
Dave
Dua Lipa
Fred again…
J Hus
Jessie Ware
Little Simz
Olivia Dean
Raye
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blur
Tracking and status
Headie One and K Trap
jungle
Young fathers
SONG OF THE YEAR
Calvin Harris – Miracle
Ray-Prada
Central Cee – Letting go
Dave – sprinter
Dua Lipa – Dance the night away
Ed Sheeran – eyes closed
J Hus – Who told you?
Kenya Grace – Strangers
Lewis Capaldi – I wish you all the best
Pink Panthers – Boy is a liar
Raye – Escapism
Rudimental – Dancing is healing
Stormzy – Firebae
Change disco – react
Venebee – Messy in Heaven
Her success came after she parted ways with her former label Polydor and released her critically acclaimed debut My 21st Century Blues as an independent artist
She had been nominated seven times – the most ever for a single artist in a year – but couldn't possibly have won more, having been shortlisted for Song of the Year twice – for Escapism, which won, and for Prada
Born in Tooting to a Ghanaian-Swiss mother and an English father, Raye began singing in the church choir. At the age of 14 she was accepted into the Brit School for Performing Arts
She also won the first-ever BRIT Awards for R&B acts, voted by the public via Instagram and a new standalone genre category after musicians and fans complained last year about R&B's association with pop.
Raye acknowledged the uproar in her speech, telling the crowd, “Look, I just want to say, when I was about 16, 15 years old, I wanted to be an R&B artist, that's what I would say.”
“And I was told a lie, I think, that R&B doesn’t sell in the UK, so I had to learn how to make different types of music.”
“I know this is a bit dodgy but I have to say R&B is so important and there are so many R&B artists in the UK who are eating it up.” I would like to thank Mahalia, who campaigned for this award, Cleo Sol, which is immaculate and express my thanks to Sault. That's really a lot – thank you very much.'
During her numerous appearances on the podium, the star went barefoot and kicked off her high heels on the red carpet
She also won the first-ever BRIT Award for R&B acts, voted for by the public via Instagram and a new standalone genre category
Raye was also named songwriter of the year, which was announced before the live ceremony when presenter Clara Amfo presented her with the gong in a surprise moment following her win for best new artist.
Radio 1 DJ Clara told the audience how she introduced Raye to her first radio play as a teenager. “British awards come like buses, you wait for one and then three come!” She gushed about her friend, while Raye clutched her gongs, speechless.
The artist then made an impassioned appeal to the music industry, taking to the microphone to declare: “While I'm here on behalf of the UK music industry, I'd like to speak briefly about normalizing the awarding of master royalties to songwriters.”
“It may be a net cost, it doesn't necessarily have to be at your expense, but it means that the writers also make big profits if the songs make it big. “Please allow that to happen.”
Later in the evening, the star won one of the night's top prizes – Artist of the Year.
The gender-neutral Artist of the Year award sparked outrage last year after it replaced individual male and female categories but then failed to include female or non-binary artists among its five nominations.
This year, however, thanks in part to the doubling of the category, there were six of the 10 nominees, including Raye.
Arlo Parks, Jessie Ware, Lil Simz, Olivia Sims and Dua Lipa were the female nominees, while Central Cee, Dave, J. Hus and Fred Again… were also nominated.
“Stranger Things” star Joe Keery presented Raye with the award for best new artist
Raye hugged actor Jonathan Bailey after he was named Artist of the Year
Raye was also named songwriter of the year, which was announced before the live ceremony when presenter Clara Amfo presented her with the gong in a surprise moment following her win for best new artist
“There are so many incredibly incredible artists here tonight, it's especially overwhelming,” Raye told the crowd after her fifth win. Man, what's going on? What the hell is happening? Greetings Croydon! South London! What! Greetings my team! My sisters! “My best friend Carly, I love you so much Carly, don't scare me!”
“Thank you, that's unfair, that's unfair, that's wild.” Someone take this microphone from me, I've had my first drink. Thank you to the British, thank you very much!'
Raye brought her grandmother on stage as she won Album of the Year, which was presented to her by BRIT School principal Stuart Warden, who she had previously praised.
The star of the evening also took to the stage to perform a hit trio – Ice Cream Man on piano, an orchestral version of Prada, before closing with Escapism.
Raye has previously told how she was attacked by a music producer – an experience she used for the album track Ice Cream Man.
The 26-year-old was shortlisted in seven categories – the most of any artist in a year – including two separate nominations in the Song of the Year category for “Prada” and “Escapism”.
Later in the evening, the star won one of the evening's top prizes – Female Artist of the Year – marking her fifth gong of the evening
The star of the evening also took to the stage to perform a hit trio – Ice Cream Man on piano, an orchestral version of Prada, before closing with Escapism
Raye looked incredible as she donned a plunging white dress for her appearance
The barefoot star wowed with her incredible singing in front of a full orchestra
A record 98 artists applied for the new BRIT Awards 2024, designed by British visual artist and painter Rachel Jones.
The only men to receive awards were Calvin Harris for his dance performance; Sheffield quartet Bring Me The Horizon in the alternative/rock category; Casisdead for Best Hip-Hop, Grime or Rap Act; and Duo Jungle for Group of the Year.
The second gong of the evening went to Jungle for Group of the Year. Meanwhile, Bring Me The Horizon secured another early win for alternative/rock act, while Sza was named International Artist of the Year.
It's the first BRIT for Bring Me The Horizon, who were shocked by the win.
Oli Sykes told the audience: “I don't know what to say because we didn't think we were going to win this at all.” “Cheers to the British for making the electoral system so complicated that only our fans are going crazy can.”
Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act went to Casisdead and Calvin Harris took the award for Best Dance Act, following on from his successful collaboration with Ellie Goulding, Miracle, which spent eight weeks at number one last year.
Calvin called out Ellie in his speech and told her, “Without you, I wouldn’t be on this stage this year. “What you brought to Miracle was incredible, I couldn’t have done it with anyone else.”
The second gong of the evening went to Jungle for Group of the Year
Meanwhile, Bring Me The Horizon secured another early win for alternative/rock act
Accepting the fan-voted Pop Act gong, Dua Lipa gushed to her fans, “I think for more reasons than one, my fans are the reason I'm standing here today, so I want to say a huge thank you to each and every one of them.” .'One of you who voted for me.'
“This means so much to me, I'm so happy to be here.” You give me this radical confidence that I can do anything, that I can try and experiment… and all the love, optimism and support inspires me , so thank you very much. Furthermore, it takes a village, so I would like to thank my father.'
The international group went to Boygenius, the supergroup consisting of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.
Chase and Status won the producer category just before they took the stage with Becky Hill.
Will Kennard told the audience: “We're proud to represent British music and are always championing new talent, but tonight we're especially proud to represent drum and bass music.”
Miley Cyrus was a notable absence from the evening, thanking her for the International Song win for her hit “Flowers” in a video message.
“Hello everyone at the Brits.” “I would like to thank you so much for choosing 'Flowers' as International Song of the Year and a special thank you for giving me a place to wear this dress can,” she said, showing off her tiny gold number.
“It's incredible to win, but the real prize is seeing this incredible song achieve worldwide success. “I know this video is a little short, but I just wanted it to match my dress.”
Accepting the fan-voted pop act gong, Dua Lipa gushed to her fans, “I think for more reasons than one, my fans are the reason I'm standing here today.”
“This means so much to me, I'm so happy to be here.” “You guys give me this radical feeling of confidence that I can do anything,” she said
Calvin Harris took home the award for Best Dance Act, following on from his successful collaboration with Ellie Goulding, which saw Miracle stay at number one for eight weeks last year
Dua Lipa and Ellie Goulding gave their all as they headlined performances for the 2024 BRIT Awards at the 02 Arena on Saturday night.
Two-time nominee Dua, 28, opened the ceremony with her new song “Training Season” from her upcoming third studio album.
The singer looked incredible in her all-leather look while Ellie, 37, stormed the stage just a week after announcing the end of her marriage.
Dua showed off her abs in a black bra, which she paired with hot pants, a biker jacket and heeled boots.
Flanked by a group of background dancers, Dua was in her element as she worked the audience for hosts Maya Jama, Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo.
Dua Lipa (left) and Ellie Goulding (right) gave their all as they headlined performances for the 2024 BRIT Awards at the 02 Arena on Saturday evening
Two-time nominee Dua, 28, opened the ceremony with her new song “Training Season” from her upcoming third studio album
Dua mesmerized the audience with the opening number of the ceremony
Maya Jama, Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo hosted the evening
At one point she was knocked off her feet as her clan of dancers worked on the floor below her.
And it was a poignant moment for Ellie when she took the stage after a turbulent few weeks.
The singer announced last week that her four-year marriage to 31-year-old Caspar Jopling had ended after she was photographed befriending hunky surf instructor Arrmando Perez.
But on Saturday evening, music was all Ellie's focus as she took the stage with Calvin Harris to perform “Miracle,” which was named best song of the year.
The singer stunned in a white ruffled bodysuit and thigh-high leggings that showed off her gym-toned body.
The pair previously collaborated on dance-pop anthems “I Need Your Love” in 2012 and “Outside” in 2014.
It was a poignant moment for Ellie Goulding as she also took to the stage after a turbulent few weeks.
The singer announced last week that her four-year marriage to 31-year-old Caspar Jopling had ended after she was photographed befriending hunky surf instructor Arrmando Perez
Tate McRae also took the stage during the BRIT Awards ceremony
The 20-year-old singer showed off her breasts in a sparkly bra, which she paired with blue pants and sneakers
WINNER OF THE BRIT AWARDS 2024
SONG OF THE YEAR
Calvin Harris – Miracle
Casso x RAYE – Prada – WINNER
Central Cee – Letting go
Dave – sprinter
Dua Lipa – Dance the night away
Ed Sheeran – eyes closed
J Hus – Who told you?
Kenya Grace – Strangers
Lewis Capaldi – I wish you all the best
Pink Pantheress – Boy is a liar
RAYE – Escapism
Rudimental – Dancing is healing
Stormzy – Firebae
Change disco – react
Venebee – Messy in Heaven
BEST NEW ARTIST
Mahalia
Olivia Dean
Pink pantheress
RAYE – WINNER
Yuseff Dayes
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Arlo Parks
Central Cee
Dave
Dua Lipa
Fred again…
J Hus
Jessie Ware
Little Simz
Olivia Dean
RAYE – WINNER
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blur
Tracking and status
Headie One and K-Trap
Jungle – WINNER
Young fathers
INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blink 182
Boygenius – WINNER
Foo fighters
Gabriel's
Paramore
DANCE ACT
Barry can't swim
Becky Hill
Calvin Harris – WINNER
Fred again…
Romy
R&B ACT
Cleo Sol
Jorja Smith
Mahalia
RAYE – WINNER
Sault
ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Blur
Bring Me The Horizon – WINNER
The Rolling Stones
Young fathers
Yusseff Dayes
HIP HOP/GRIME/RAP ACT
CASSIEDEAD – WINNER
Central Cee
Dave
J Hus
Little Simz
POP ACT
Calvin Harris
Charli XCX
Dua Lipa – WINNER
Olivia Dean
RAYE
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
Asake
Burna Boy
Caroline Polachek
CMAT
Kylie Minogue
Lana del Rey
Miley Cyrus
Olivia Rodrigo
SZA – WINNER
Taylor Swift
INTERNATIONAL SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – What I was made for
David Kushner – Daylight
Doja Cat – Paint the City Red
Jazzy – Giving Me
Libianca – people
Meghan trainer – made you look
Miley Cyrus – Flowers – WINNER
Noah Kahan – Embroidery Season
Oliver Tree – I miss you
Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire
Peggy Gou – It goes like this
Rema – Calm down
SZA – Kill Bill
Tate McRae – Greedy –
Tyla – Water
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Blur – the ballad by Darren
J Hus – Beautiful
Little Simz – No thanks
RAYE – My 21st Century Blues – WINNER
Young Fathers – Hard Hard
BRITISH RISER
Caity Baser
Sekou Island
The Final Dinner Party – WINNER