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Pop justice: RAYE scores personal best on Official Singles Chart with Escapism.
The singer-songwriter's viral hit is lighting up the Official Chart. Can it go all the way to Number 1?
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Could RAYE be about to land her first UK Number 1? The singer-songwriter’s latest track Escapism. continues to fire up the Official Singles Chart, up to Number 2 this week, marking a personal best for the star.
Across all her singles – RAYE has notched up ten Top 40 hits - her previous peak was Number 3, which she’s achieved twice: first in 2016 as a featured artist on Jax Jones’ You Don’t Know Me, and again in 2021 as a co-headliner with Joel Corry and David Guetta on Bed.
Escapism.’s success has been powered by TikTok, where users resonate with its rebellious and relatable lyrics. Its three-week climb up the Top 40 has been fast and furious, entering at Number 31, rising to 6 the following week, and now perched at Number 2.
A collaboration with American electronic artist 070 Shake, Escapism.'s growing influence on the Official Charts feels like a very personal win for Raye; last week, the track became her first UK Top 10 single as an independent artist (Raye was previously signed to Polydor, she's now inked a deal with distribution service Human Re Sources via The Orchard) following years of stuck in development hell searching for a hit.
Now, that hit is here. And it's never felt so good.
RAYE has quite the fight on her hands for the top spot. Currently, only Mariah Carey’s festive staple All I Want For Christmas Is You stands in her way of chart glory. But as the Official Christmas Number 1 battle heats up, she will have to face off with Christmas classics and the many other contenders vying for festive chart glory this year.
Escapism. features on RAYE’s long-awaited debut album, My 21st Century Blues, released on February 3, 2023. Read our recent interview with RAYE about her current chart success here.
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R
RyanT
poor Raye cockblocked by the annoying Taylor and now Mariah's hoary old tune
rayever
So proud!! 🥹🥹
Piran
Hope ‘Escapism’ can go all the way to the top in the New Year (or maybe even sooner?) – she really deserves this! 🤞
As it is, absolutely delighted that RAYE's in the Top 2 for the first time. :)
Rob Parkinson
ACR keeping Raye up there with the Xmas classics but think she easily going to get No.1 in the new year where as soon as the Xmas flurry has gone she will easily be the most streamed track!
Piran
I hope so! It reminds me of a similar chart run to ‘ABCDEFU’ from about a year ago. 🤔