Raye won’t rush second album

Raye won’t give into pressure to finish her next album.

The Where Is My Husband! singer is said to be weeks behind schedule with recording her second record – the follow-up to her 2023 debut My 21st Century Blues – and although record company bosses are keen for it to be completed before she goes on tour late next month, the “perfectionist” star wants every track to be the best it can be.

A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Raye is a perfectionist and will not be rushed if she is not happy with a track.

“There has been a lot of back and forth over tracks, but Raye will not rest until she is completely happy.

“The success of her single has been overwhelming and Raye wants every other track to be as good.”

Raye admitted earlier this week that her album “isn’t ready”.

She said on TikTok: “Album isn’t ready yet but it’s brewing like a cup of tea.”

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old singer recently admitted she has sacrificed socialising in bars and clubs in favour of hiking in order to preserve her voice for the years to come.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she said: “I live for playing live. I want to be singing on the stage until I die really, I wanna be that 70-year-old artist that is still going.

“I have to take care of my voice though – the thing is I don’t think people necessarily realise the immense amount of sacrifice that you have to have to be a vocalist and because I am a vocalist that chooses to belt every other five notes.

“Talking excessively you can’t do, so like socialising or going out when there’s loud music and trying to have a conversation…I gotta figure it out, maybe one day a month, or I go out and don’t talk and just do card games.”

Revealing her new hobby, she said: “Hiking is a vibe, and I never knew about, genuinely it was my first hike I ever done in my life, like in my life!

“It’s really good for the brain, I really like hiking, I am a hiker now.”

The Escapism hitmaker also revealed her plans to open her own live jazz bar in the future.

She said: “I’ll call it At Raye’s or something.

“Cocktails, 200 capacity, and just have true musicians pull up, jam nights, we’ll have a licence so we can be open until 5am, that’s my plan.”