Raye appeared on The Daily Show to showcase her song “Genesis” alongside a group of musicians, including string and horn sections. The English singer gave an impassioned performance of the emotional song, which touches on issues of body image and spans three distinct acts.
Raye released “Genesis,” which she co-wrote with Marvin Hemmings and produced with Rodney Jerkins, Shankar Ravindran, and Tom Richards, earlier this year. She initially performed the song live during the Brit Awards and later gave the track a bigger platform on Saturday Night Live in April.
Elsewhere on The Daily Show, Raye sat down with host Desi Lydic to discuss her new album, Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, and what inspired “Genesis.”
“I think music is medicine,” Raye told Lydic. “I always say that. Even sitting here and talking to you about these sort of heavier subjects I get nervous. I don’t really know how to address it or what to say, and I think music is a safe space to kind of be raw and honest. And for me, that’s my safe place. That’s my therapy.”
Raye released Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July, earlier this month. The seven-track album will be released in full on YouTube on Oct. 1.
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“Playing Montreux Jazz Festival was one of the greatest musical honors I have ever been granted,” the singer shared in a statement. I am so enamored and in awe of the history of all the artists who have stood on the stage we shared, a festival dedicated to celebrating and providing a platform for true musicianship. I left the stage feeling the highest of highs.”
Raye’s debut LP, My 21st Century Blues, won Album of the Year at the Brit Awards in March. During the award show, Raye herself won four other categories — Songwriter of the Year, Best R&B Act, Best New Artist, and Artist of the Year — after making history as the most nominated artist at the Brits.
