Ahead of tonight’s ceremony, The BRIT Awards 2024 with Mastercard have announced RAYE as the winner of Songwriter of the Year.
RAYE is the first female winner of this award, which was first introduced in 2022, and follows in the footsteps of Ed Sheeran and Kid Harpoon. The award celebrates exceptional songwriting talent and was decided upon by a select panel of expert judges.
This is RAYE’s very first BRIT Award, however, the artist is tipped to sweep the board this evening after breaking the record for the highest number of nominations by a single artist in any one year. She has received seven nominations this year including Artist of the Year and Mastercard Album of the Year.
Speaking about her win, RAYE said: “I am so so honoured and blown away, honestly to be given this prestigious award for Songwriter of the Year, it is my very first BRIT award and I will treasure this trophy very much. I am so grateful to be recognised as a songwriter as this is a craft I am so passionate about and have been since I started my journey as a musician, and I’m very grateful to those who voted for me to have this award.”
Damian Christian, Managing Director and President of Promotions at Atlantic Records (part of Warner Music UK) and Chair of the BRIT Committee for 2024 added: “After receiving a record-breaking seven nominations, I’m delighted that RAYE has also been named Songwriter of the Year. RAYE has been such a prominent and respected songwriter for many years, so it’s great to see her getting the recognition she deserves on the biggest stage. I’d like to congratulate her on this win and wish her all the best for Saturday night.”
RAYE’s journey to the top has been phenomenal to watch and it’s so thrilling to see her receive the recognition she deserves. A former BRIT School attendee, RAYE has been grafting behind the scenes for a number of years and has been the voice we’ve loved on a number of hit singles, including Jax Jones’ ‘You Don’t Know Me’ and Jonas Blue’s ‘By Your Side’.
However, last year saw her achieve her first UK number one with ‘Escapism’ featuring 070 Shake. The track went viral on TikTok and became the biggest selling single by a female British artist in the UK in 2023. RAYE also released her long-awaited independent debut album, My 21st Century Blues, which made an immediate impact, hitting the number two spot on the UK albums chart.
This put RAYE on the map in a whole new way, earning the Best Contemporary Song Award at the 2023 Ivors, AIM Best Independent Track and Best Social Trending Song at the Global Awards, as well as contributing to her winning a BRIT Billion Award in recognition of 1 Billion career UK streams (globally, 4.5 Billion cumulative).
Alongside writing and releasing her own music, RAYE has also written songs for the likes of Beyonce, Little Mix, Zara Larsson, Mabel, David Guetta, Jennifer Lopez, Madison Beer, Rita Ora, Charli XCX, and more.
This year’s BRIT Awards 2024 with Mastercard takes place tonight (March 2) from The O2 Arena, London and will be broadcast live on ITV from 8:30pm. Hosted by Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp, the star-studded line up includes performances by RAYE, Becky Hill X Chase & Status, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa, Jungle, Kylie Minogue, Rema and Tate McRae.
A number of awards will be presented across the evening including Mastercard Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of the Year with Mastercard and International Artist of the Year – as well as the five public -voted genre awards Alternative/Rock, Dance, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap, Pop and R&B. Each winner will collect a trophy designed by the British visual artist and painter Rachel Jones.
Along with RAYE, The BRITs have revealed the winners of three more awards in advance of this year’s show. Announced last year, the winners of this year’s BRITs Rising Star award are The Last Dinner Party, and as confirmed last month, Chase and Status have been named as Producer of the Year whilst Kylie Minogue will be presented with the BRITs Global Icon award on the night.
Tune in to ITV tonight at 8:30pm to find out who’ll win bin at this year’s BRIT Awards!