RAYE addresses ‘fraudulent album’ claims and issues apology

RAYE just issued a public apology for her fans who brought her new album on vinyl as it is not the final version of the work she produced.

The Where is My Husband! singer has opened up abou the "beautiful but agonising" process of completing the final mix of a record and admitted the This Music May Contain Hope LP was pressed before it was finalised, so buyers have received a "first edition" that is different from the digital version of the tracks.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music, she said: “My vinyl is a first edition. I really apologise… I’m apologising to anyone who’s purchased an album.”

“Because you are getting the album. It’s not a fraudulent album,” RAYE clarified, adding, "However, it is a first edition. I want you to know the digital versions of some of these songs — some are quite different.”

"And you just need to embrace that because I tried my best,” she confessed.

RAYE poured “a lifetime’s worth of work” into the record and pushed herself to the brink in the process after taking full creative control, acting as executive producer and writing every lyric.

“It’s taken every blood cell. If I wasn’t on a stage, I was pouring into this body of work. I’m honestly exhausted — mentally and physically — but in a good way,” the Escapism singer said.

RAYE also revealed that while the album is about “passion and love” it also became a quiet act of rebellion.

She said: “There’s a subconscious rebellion in there.”

“For so long everything had to be simple, minimal, to brief — this BPM, this length, this vibe. It was a miserable existence for me,” the 28-year-old award-winning musician stated.

She added that being told she “didn’t know who she was” only fuelled the fire: “How can I define myself when you keep sending me into rooms with strangers to write top lines in a day?” and this made her refuse to fit into the standards of the industry.

“I’ve grown up with many cultures — my identity isn’t one thing. So how can you ask me to choose one thing? On this record I embraced maximalism… any genre I wanted to explore, I did,” RAYE told as she explained how she has kept herself versatile.