Raye Claims First Ever UK #1 Album With This Music May Contain Hope
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- Raye topped the UK album chart for the first time with her second album "This Music May Contain Hope," released last week
- The album is her second UK number one of the year, following her single "Where is My Husband," which she debuted at Glastonbury last summer and which is approaching its billionth stream on Spotify
- Raye's previous album, 2023's "My 21st Century Blues," debuted at number two; she then set a record with seven Brit nominations in 2024 and won six
- The new record fuses old-school jazz with orchestra, blues, big band and soul — a sound Raye told the BBC she was "really excited to really, really experiment with," saying she misses "that kind of Motown feeling, that classic feeling, that analogue feeling" in modern pop
- Elsewhere on the charts, Olivia Dean's "The Art of Loving" is at number two, Kanye West (now Ye) is at three with new release "Bully," and Olivia Dean and Sam Fender's Brit-winning single "Rein Me In" leads the singles chart
Why it matters: Raye becomes the latest UK artist to convert critical acclaim into chart dominance, following a 2024 Brit Awards sweep that already signalled her commercial ceiling had lifted. With her hit single nearing a billion Spotify streams, her label now has a rare artist who can anchor both the singles and albums chart simultaneously — a position that materially strengthens her leverage for future releases and touring.
