Raye made history at the Brit Awards on Saturday night, winning six of the seven prizes she was nominated for and beating the previous record of four wins at a single ceremony held by Blur, Adele and Harry Styles.
Collecting her awards barefoot, an emotional Raye said: “The artist I was three years ago would not believe I’m in control – I’m my own boss.” She also called on the music industry to “give songwriters master royalty costs”, adding: “It means if the songs win big, the writers get to win too – please allow that to happen.”
Raye’s first award, for song of the year for Escapism, was presented by former subpostmistress Jo Hamilton, a victim of the Horizon IT scandal, and the actress Monica Dolan who portrayed her in the recent ITV drama. Mrs Hamilton urged the public to keep supporting postmasters, stating that despite government promises, they are not being paid.
By the time Raye collected her sixth award, album of the year, she brought her grandmother Agatha on stage. Raye, whose hits include Cigarette and Second, had faced years of rejection from her record label before being freed from her contract, allowing her to release her own music and go viral on TikTok with Escapism.
Other winners included Dua Lipa, who won best pop act and thanked her fans for giving her “this radical sense of confidence”. Kylie Minogue received the global icon award, saying she would be “sobbing with Raye” and performing a medley of her hits. Best international artist went to SZA, Calvin Harris won best dance act, and Miley Cyrus took international song of the year for Flowers.
