RAYEhas announced her hotlyanticipatedsecond studio album, ‘This Music May Contain Hope’.
The South London musician’s debut record ‘My 21stCentury Blues’wasa major breakthrough, winning theBritish Album of the Year prize at the BRITsand picking up Mercury andMobonominations.
Last September, she returned with the new single ‘Where Is My Husband!’,which was named asone of the best songs of 2025 byNME,and was described as a “jazzy, soul-pop bop” that “showed off her formidable vocal chops with the help of a larger-than-life brass band”.
Now, RAYE has confirmed that the new album will be titled ‘This Music May Contain Hope’ and it will be released on March 27. You can pre-order your copyhere.
The album will be set in four “seasons”,with each side of the vinyl release covering a different season.
RAYE has said: “Music is medicine, I’ve always said that. I guess I’m in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it’s going to be all right, and I’m going to have faith in the seeds that I’ve planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug, bed or soft place for that person who needs it.”
The singer is also heading out on an extensive tour across Europe, theUKand North America, which kicks off tonight (January 22) in Lodz, Poland. It will include shows in Manchester,Glasgowand Dublin and two huge shows at London’s O2 Arena at the end of February. Seeall ofthe dateshereand find any remaining ticketshere.
The new album has been a long time coming for RAYE’s fans, who began to worry whenthe singer admitted in late 2024 that her next recordwouldn’tbe arriving any time soon, as the books she had written new material in were stolen from her car.
In a more recent interview, RAYE spoke about the new record, saying: “Idon’twant this album to feel like it was made in a studio. I want it to feel like it was informed by the live experience.”
She also said that while her debut album was about helping herself overcome tough times, this one will be about uplifting the people around her and the listeners.
‘My 21st Century Blues’ scored afour-star review fromNME, which read: “RAYErecently saidsuch bold and brave declarationswouldn’thave been released had she still been signed to a major label. Granted her creative independence, though, the hard-fought ‘My 21st Century Blues’ is unequivocally RAYE from start to finish.”
Later this year, the pop star willto headlineReading & Leeds 2026alongsideFontaines D.C.,Florence + The Machine,DAVE,Charli XCXandChase & Status.