My 21st Century Blues

My 21st Century Blues is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Raye. It was released independently by Human Re Sources on 3 February 2023. The album is Raye's first project following her departure from Polydor Records in 2021. Largely co-written and produced by herself, she worked with notable names including Mike Sabath, BloodPop, Punctual, and Di Genius. The album features guest appearances from 070 Shake and Mahalia. My 21st Century Blues received acclaim from critics, with some publications including Variety naming it as one of the best albums of 2023. It lyrically explores themes including Raye's struggles with addiction, misogyny, insecurity, body dysmorphia, and sexual assault.

Spawned by the release of several singles "Escapism" (featuring 070 Shake), topped the charts in Ireland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, and entered the top ten in over the 20 countries. It won "Best Social Trended Song" at the Global Awards, "Best Contemporary Song" at the Ivor Novello Awards, and was nominated for "Best Independent Track" and "Best Independent Video" at the AIM Independent Music Awards. It also received a nomination for "Best British Pop Single" at the Popjustice £20 Music Award Show. A fifth single titled "Ice Cream Man", peaked at number 69 on the UK Singles Chart, while the sixth single "Flip a Switch" featuring Coi Leray reached number 35.

The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with 15,516 units, becoming her first top ten album in the UK. It charted in over 13 other territories, including reaching number 58 on the US Billboard 200. It was nominated for "Best Independent Album" at the AIM Independent Music Awards, and also shortlisted for "Album of the Year" at the 2023 Mercury Prize. In 2024, it won British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards, in which it re-entered the UK Albums Chart the following week at #5.

Background
In an interview for Rolling Stone UK, Raye stated that her debut album features some of her most personal songwriting to date, including her struggles with body dysmorphia, anxiety, and sexual assault. She credits some of the songs on her album as helping her as part of her healing process by adding:"'Some of these songs have helped me process. I had just been needing to hear them in a more beautiful form. Like 'Body Dysmorphia,' it sounds so ugly in my head, but when you put it into that song, it makes it a little bit easier for me to digest. A lot of these stories are very medicinal and very raw and therapeutic for me. I think it's been really important for me to take it there, as hard as it's been sometimes.'"Raye also talked about the first time she self-directed a video for the song "Ice Cream Man" which details her experience with sexual assault. My 21st Century Blues also features tracks that were written by Raye from previous years, with many songs being cut from the final tracklist because they didn't fit the theme of the album.

Release and promotion
In September 2022, Raye went on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge to perform "Black Mascara" and a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill". On 13 October 2022, Raye announced the project on her social media along with the release of the songs "Escapism" and "The Thrill Is Gone". Following the dual release, Raye performed both songs on Later... with Jools Holland. Raye later performed "The Thrill Is Gone" on The Graham Norton Show.

Singles
On 30 June 2022, Raye released the lead single "Hard Out Here", which was her first independent release following her separation from Polydor Records. The second single, "Black Mascara", was released on 24 August 2022 after previously being teased at the end of the "Hard Out Here" music video, two days before originally scheduled. A dual single release, "Escapism", and "The Thrill Is Gone" was released on 12 October 2022. "Escapism" would later chart at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. On 2 February 2023, a day before the album's release, the fifth single, "Ice Cream Man", premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Radio 1's Hottest Record. The seventh single, Worth It gained popularity after it was selected to be used for the soundtrack to Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.

Tours
In support of the album, Raye embarked on a mini tour in October and November 2022 entitled The Story So Far, which marked her first headlining shows in Europe and North America. The tour consisted of an acoustic, intimate setting with a seated audience, and Raye discussed her career in chronological order between performances of her discography. This was followed by the My 21st Century Blues tour, which commenced in February 2023. A second European leg was announced in January and commenced in November 2023.

Live album and concert film
On 16 October 2023, Raye released the live album My 21st Century Symphony (Live at the Royal Albert Hall), recorded at her concert there on 26 September 2023. The album is a collaboration with The Heritage Orchestra who accompanied Raye in her performance alongside the Flames Collective as a gospel choir. The tracklist includes every song from My 21st Century Blues alongside several orchestral interludes. A film of the concert, directed by Paul Dugdale and entitled Raye at the Royal Albert Hall, aired on BBC One on 3 January 2024.

Critical reception
My 21st Century Blues was met with universal acclaim by music critics, receiving a score of 82 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Writing for Clash, Alex Rigotti felt that "In her haste to tell her story, "My 21st Century Blues" suffers from a frenzied second half that cushions the gut-punch it could have been". Hayley Milross of The Line of Best Fit writes that "My 21st Century Blues will be labelled as an iconic debut" and that "the album has excellent high points [which are] tracks that showcase what brought Raye to the forefront in the first place." Ben Tipple from DIY states that the record "[are] mirroring Raye's desire to explore all facets of herself, and it is autobiographical to its core, whether touching on heartbreak, discrimination, or distorted self-image." Neive McCarthy of Dork called Raye "unstoppable on her latest offering" and added that she's "tackling every hardship that has befallen her of late and doing so with smooth, jazz-leaning vocals and slick beats."

In a positive review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis writes that "Whatever its failings, though, there's enough in the way of potential hit singles – moreover, potential hit singles with attitude and character to spare – on Raye's debut to ensure that her current success amounts to more than a sympathy vote or a flash in the pan."

Track listing
Notes
 * All tracks are stylized with a stop at the end

Personnel
Adapted from album liner notes.
 * Raye – vocals, songwriting (2–15); production (6–9, 11, 13–15); background vocals (7, 12–14); string and horn arranging (13)
 * Mike Sabath – production (1–3, 5–15); songwriting (2, 3, 5–8, 10–14); engineering (5, 6, 8–11, 14, 15); piano (2, 6, 8); bass (2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14); drums (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12); synthesizer (2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11); string arranging (2, 3, 5–7, 13); Mellotron (5, 9); guitar (6–12); background vocals (7, 13, 14); horn arranging (7, 13); strings (12)
 * Jenna Felsenthal – vocal engineering (2–15); songwriting (11)
 * Pete Miller – songwriting, piano (1); production (12, 14, 15); piano, B3 (14, 15)
 * Adam Krevlin – string engineer (2, 5–7, 13)
 * The MoonGirls – drums, bass, Wurlitzer electronic piano, (7, 13); B3 (7); guitar (13)
 * 070 Shake – vocals, songwriting (5)
 * Mahalia – vocals, songwriting (12)
 * Franky Fox – engineering (1, 13)
 * Jacob Braun – cello (2, 3, 5–7)
 * Paul Cartwright – violin (2, 5–7)
 * Austin Lichtenstein – songwriting, voice (1)
 * Tia Ferguson – background vocals (1, 7)
 * Justin Tranter – songwriting (3)
 * Brandon Colbein – songwriting (3)
 * Charlie Bisharat – strings (3)
 * Chad Gordon - engineering (3, 5)
 * Punctual – songwriting, production (4)
 * Anton Göransson – songwriting (7)
 * Isabella Sjostrand – songwriting (7)
 * Michael Harris – engineering (7, 13)
 * Tristan Hurd – trumpet (7, 13)
 * Alex Young – tenor saxophone (7, 13)
 * Alex Csillag – trombone (7)
 * Tim Mckay – baritone sax (7)
 * BloodPop – songwriting (8)
 * Di Genius – songwriting, production (9)
 * Eddie Benjamin – songwriting, guitar, bass (12)
 * Kennedi Lykken – songwriting (12)
 * Alex Robinson – vocal engineering (12)
 * Luca Buccellati – production, drums (12)
 * John Hill – songwriting, synthesizer (13)
 * Akil “Fresh” King – songwriting (13)
 * Sean Deschamps – cello (13)
 * DSharp – violin (13)
 * Eyelar Mirazazadek – songwriting (14)
 * Antoinette Smith – songwriting (14)
 * Jon Castelli – mixing (all tracks)
 * Dale Becker – mastering (all tracks)