I came across this post on popjustice and it got me thinking

 

Quote

 

I love her but her singles discography since the album release has been a SHAMBLES

 

- Coi Leray Remix

- Prada - Bop but a remix of a feature verse she did years ago

- Single with Stormzy that did nothing

- Hopped on a remix of a KPop song

- Hans Zimmer X David Attenborough collab

- 4am Remix of Escapism she'd teased over a year before she released it

- Cover of Feeling Good

- The 7 minute single that kind of flopped

- What on first glance looks to be a British Airways Ad Single but it's actually for for an upcoming film

 

 

Escapism was a big moment for her, as was her BRITs sweep, and there seemed to be a lot of goodwill behind her after all of her label drama. Unfortunately the GP doesn't seem to be checking for her, as her latest single Genesis only charted on UK Spotify for one day. I also saw this interview with her today where, when asked what her plans are for the future, she said a second album is nowhere near ready and she wants to do some busking and perform in jazz bars

 

Do you think she can recapture the momentum she had at the start of 2023 or will she become a more niche act?

Edited July 29, 20242 yr by glitch

Yes

I think she's done well to utilise off her success as an independent artist. The GP tuned in for debut and she got her desrrved flowers. I think she is more focused on making music that she enjoys than hits or charts

No, she's done a lot this year to build up a proper fanbase and keep her name out there (the amount of countries she's visited this year between all those tour dates and festivals is kinda insane), Genesis wasn't a hit but it's not like it was leading to anything (it technically did more than enough streams to chart more than a day in Spotify UK, considering how the streams were split between the 4 versions), the new album is nowhere close to done. 

 

It's not like she'll ever replicate Escapism, tiktok latching onto it was an anomaly and not what she should try to achieve with every release.

Edited July 29, 20242 yr by Popboi.

I don't think so, hasn't she been non-stop performing all over the world building her fanbase?

Yes, and it's what she deserves for scrapping Fantastic/Born Again/C'est La Vie/Walk Away/etc.

No Raye knows how to write pop perfections so she's gonna come back swinging even harder i just know it

She's never going to be a hitmaker and I don't think that's what she wants, as evident by the 7 minute long single and all of her live shows being jazz renditions of her tracks. I think she is doing a decent job at building a following with longevity rather than chasing quick lightning in a bottle fame. 

8 minutes ago, Psycho said:

Yes, and it's what she deserves for scrapping Fantastic/Born Again/C'est La Vie/Walk Away/etc.

down  your loss  no man  California dreaming 

 

So many smashes 

Genesis was a smash in my household, so no!

She is doing it right. How many pop girls are chasing quick hits, where are they now, Ava Max? Kim Petras? Anne-Marie? Jess Glynne? Zara Larsson? 

Raye established herself as a wildcard - from being released off her contract by her label, to doing it all independently, smashing, winning any and every award (deservingly so! I must add) and then showcasing that her pop songs work as jazz and she can really do what she feels like/wants to. 

Escapism was a phenomenon that doesn't happen everyday to many, it helped her create THE HIT but she's focusing on touring, playing for audiences, building fanbase and generally collecting people that will pay again to see her live and listen to her music. All this is very important for longevity not for two or three years and disappearing only performing once in a blue moon one song that was once a hit. 

 

Genesis to me was a "gift" to fans, one final goodbye to this era, a full-stop to M21CB. 

She's been thriving in the UK, which is quite surprising given how her career was in disarray before - worse off than some indie artists. It's really refreshing to see her make such a strong comeback. So, to answer your question, I don't believe she'll hit rock bottom again. As we both know, it's tough for female artists in the UK ( ), and her two top-two hits in today's pop landscape prove she's here to stay.

She's fine

this is just speculating for fun, she is one of my top 10 artist of all time

 

Her career shift soundvise shakes/shaked her fanbase a bit I guess, many og fans knew her from rnb and danncepop songs and this jazzy/orchestral/band type of music is a bit different to digest.

 

she is kinda in the phase where she left Disney channel and is starting to find her own thing. many Disney channel fans enjoy and want her Disney stuff style (Fantastic, C'est La Vie, Down, Born Again, Mercy) and the newer fanbase enjoy the new style of music (Genesis, Worth It, Ice Cream Man, Oscar Winning Tears, Fly Me To The Moon) iykwim

 

she sounded great on Feeling Good, Fly Me To The Moon, Genesis pt. ii, Mother Nature etc. but those are hard to listen in a regular playlist with more upbeat tracks you know?

 

out of the independent era official droplets I've listened only Mother Nature, Prada and Genesis pt. iii.

 

maybe the diversity of the newer tracks is a bit hard to grasp on to too? previously she released solid/cohesive stuff from back to back what her small fanbase liked continuously but now she is releasing so many different genres in a short amount of time it's a bit hard to keep up maybe.

 

she will always obviously have her fanbase but I guess as of momentum/popularity she will be like Zara Larsson. she will have her few bigger hits here and there after this Escapism wave starts to calm down a bit. I would love her to be more successful of course but at this rate if you look at the streaming of individual tracks the momentum is calming down to her pre-escapism numbers

 

Edited July 29, 20242 yr by alexaalto

she can always smash with the right single in europe but i do think she's been kind of messy with her single relaxed especially genesis 

As long as she's happy, I'm happy, and she seems happy 

Her pengame is unmatched. She can always bounce back with a major song. Being independent I think she plans on building good will instead of chasing charts

She doesn't need "momentum" she's extremely talented and will have a long successful career 

She's fine, especially because she's releasing music on her own terms, I doubt she's chasing hits since she's already had them. 

54 minutes ago, perpetual novice said:

She's never going to be a hitmaker and I don't think that's what she wants, as evident by the 7 minute long single and all of her live shows being jazz renditions of her tracks. I think she is doing a decent job at building a following with longevity rather than chasing quick lightning in a bottle fame. 

Came to say this.

I think she's a shoe in for the next Bond soundtrack, so don't count her out yet 

Are we surprised? Britain gives up on their female artists very quickly.

She's fine 

I feel like she's one of the only acts who did it right when she had a top hit.

 

*Also, I feel like her focus on building a fanbase and audience is much better than releasing countless singles to try to get hit after hit with the general public, considering how fickle GP support is in the UK.

Edited July 29, 20242 yr by BOOMBAYAH

Who cares? Doesn't mean she has no fans.