We know that, sometimes, actions say more than words, and that’s an adage Raye took to its extreme during a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall last night. The singer-songwriter, who has previously spoken candidly about suffering from body dysmorphia, stripped down to her underwear mid-rendition of her song, “Body Dysmorphia”, which details in its lyrics her struggle with the condition (“And I don’t really like my body/But knowing it’s my only body/I should pro’ly call somebody/I should really show you how I’m feeling inside”).
The 25-year-old, Tooting-born star, who rose to fame songwriting and producing for the likes of Beyoncé and Ellie Goulding, is currently in the middle of a World Tour which includes the USA and Australia together with the UK. She began her performance last night in a silver corset and black satin trousers, before beginning to unlace her corset on-stage as the backing track to her song played – with the audience cheering in anticipating of what was to come.
Subsequently, she took off her trousers and stepped out of them, kicking them to one side, to reveal a simple, white underwear set of briefs and a triangular, non-wired bar. She then broke into song, accompanied by an orchestra. The soulful, bewitching performance is available to watch in full on TikTok.
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“I’m taking my clothes off at the Royal Albert Hall,” she announced at the end of her performance, cue applause from the audience.
“So refreshing to see,” wrote one user. “I lover her, such a powerful message” [sic],” wrote another. The clip has received almost 2,000 likes at time of writing.
Raye continued to perform in her underwear while singing her next song, “Ice Cream Man”.
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The latter is a song that Raye previously discussed in an interview with GLAMOUR last year, describing it at the time as “the hardest song I’ve ever written.” She continued: “Every time I listen to that song, I literally can’t make it through without bursting into tears. It is genuinely like therapy in its fullest form.”
Later in the interview, she discussed the power of channelling her experiences through her musci – including body dysmorphia: “There are some interesting themes as well on this album. I’m discussing things like body dysmorphia. Things like you keep in the darkness and behind the closed doors of your mind. Things can thrive in the darkness, the second that you bring them out to light, they hold less power.”