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RAYE ‘firmly in the running’ for James Bond theme

RAYE is “firmly in the running” to record the next James Bond theme.

The 26-year-old singer – who scooped a record-breaking six prizes at the BRIT Awards 2024 with Mastercard on Saturday (02.03.24) – left her record label Polydor in 2021 after five years when they failed to release her debut LP, going on to score huge success with her album ‘My 21st Century Blues’ and producers from the spy franchise are said to love the way she has triumphed over adversity, making her the perfect person to help relaunch the franchise with a new 007.

A source told the Sunday Mirror newspaper’s No Filter column: “Raye’s story is about female power. She’s shown formidable strength in the face of industry repression and rejection, and these are the qualities Bond bosses want for a modern-day franchise.”

And producers are confident in Raye’s hit-delivering abilities.

The source continued: “As well as producing her own number one album, Raye has written for the likes of Beyonce, produced for Rihanna and collaborated with Stormzy – she has the proven talent to deliver a huge contemporary hit.

“While no decisions will be made until next year, she is firmly in the running.”

After being released from her record contract, RAYE previously admitted she never imagined having a number one with her massive track ‘Escapism’ with rapper 070 Shake and a number two with her independently released debut album.

She told Amazon Music’s ‘+44 Podcast’ of the music industry: “At the end of the day, being a musician is tough anyway, because you’re putting out something to be judged, right? Being judged is always a difficult and intimidating thing for any human. But as a musician, you have to be at peace with the fact some people will hate what you do. Some people will like it. Some people will love it.

“But my purpose was, I have to love it. Otherwise, what’s the point? And I started releasing these songs with no intention of being these big chart hits.”