RAYE and Polydor Records had a checkered history with each other. As she went home with a record-breaking six BRITs in one night, RAYE is now at par with Harry Styles, Oasis, Phil Collins, and David Bowie in the number of BRITs won.
The issue between RAYE and Polydor Records is now revived following RAYE's triumphant success at the 2024 BRITs.
From feeling like a "toilet" because her debut album was kept from being released, she now made history by being the artist who won the most BRITs in one night with six, including a clean sweep on Songwriter of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.
For those who don't know what happened to RAYE and Polydor Records, below is everything you need to know.
RAYE, Polydor Records Issue Explained
RAYE has been signed with Polydor Records since 2014. In 2021, she revealed that Polydor Records has been withholding her debut album for years.
In an explosive rant on her Twitter account at the time, RAYE detailed what transpired and what pushed her to the breaking point.
holding it inside and pretending I am 100% fabulous will only hurt more. So here it is. Today I feel like a toilet. I’m going to be brave and talk about it. You are not alone, we can talk about our worries and our tears. It’s not embarrassing to speak out, It is brave #callonme pic.twitter.com/nFx3IHDcuE
— RAYE (@raye) June 29, 2021
"Imagine this pain. I have been signed to a major label since 2014...and I have had albums on albums of music sat in folders collecting dust, songs I am now giving away to A list artists because I am still awaiting confirmation that I am good enough to release an album," she tweeted.
Elsewhere in her tweets, she revealed that she had been waiting for seven years for her debut album to be released. At the time, she said that her song, "Call One Me," had to perform well before they would greenlight her debut album.
"I know this is the kind of thing I'm suppose to keep behind closed doors, but I have worked and waited and hustled and given EVERYthing I have and if I am going to suffer I am NOT going to do it in silence anymore," she furthered.
RAYE shared that she had done everything Polydor had asked her - switched genres and even worked seven days a week.
"I'm done being a polite pop star. I want to make my album now, please, that is all I want," she said at the time.
Polydor Records Reacts To RAYE's Rants
In a statement, Polydor Records said that they were "saddened" to learn of RAYE's situation and assured that they contacted her management to smooth things out.
She received support from other artists like Charli XCX, MNEK, and Rina Sawayama. (via NME)
Shortly after, there was radio silence with RAYE and Polydor until she announced that she had parted ways with Polydor Records.
She then embarked on her music career as an independent artist and released "My 21st Century Blues" with Human Re Sources. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart in 2023 and has been highly reviewed by critics.
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