Live Review: Raye @ The Village Underground, London

Humble performance from a rising star to a packed-out venue.

Raye has come leaps and bounds since she broke onto the UK music scene last year when she featured on Jax Jones single ‘You don’t know.’ This was evident last night at Village Underground. At 19 most people were starting university or their first jobs, instead, Raye had a full house singing along to her every word. There was an air of anticipation before the gig as the excitement was building. The crowd were clearly buzzing waiting for the south Londoner to take the stage. Despite her dramatic rise to fame, Raye has stayed humble to her roots. She came on the stage donning a leather jacket and infectious smile to the beat of ‘Crew,’ that got the crowd jumping and singing. The leather jacket came off and so did her shackles as she became more comfortable in the environment. She slowed the vibe down with her new song ‘More or Less.’ It was evident that Raye was soaking in the atmosphere. At times the 19-year-old seemed shocked to be performing in front of so many people. She continued to slow melodic vibe, stripping back Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy in Love’ and Ella Fitzgerald's ‘Sober’. Anyone would be brave to cover those two hit songs but it shows the raw talent Raye possess. Not only did she do the songs justice she owned them. The slow ballads cause some murmurings in the crowd. It seems like she needed a minute to take in the atmosphere. Her talent was most evident during the improvised ‘Sober,’ it was just her voice and her band. She was in control of the song telling her band what keys to play. Sampling new songs from Side Tape brought the energy back and had the crowd dancing again. Her rawness was clear, she was still getting used to being on stage. Hit songs ‘Cigarette’ and ‘Confident’ and ‘Check’ had almost everyone singing along. While she owned the stage and the room during songs, in between songs she kept looking backstage and it was clear she was understandably nervous. The crowd were singing along to every word and were dancing around especially when Kojo Fund and Jax Jones came on. Raye rawness was evident but so is her talent. Her collaborations clearly show her potential, with many big names associating themselves with her. She is a star in the making.