AS HER MUSIC TEACHER REVEALS HOW HE SPOTTED HER GIFT RAYE THE R'N'B STAR CONQUERS THE CHARTS AND THE BRITS AFTER FIGHTING BACK FROM REJECTION

The 2024 Brit Awards could be summed up in one name: Raye.

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The 26-year-old R'n'B star swept the board at the British music industry's annual celebration, breaking the record for the most Brits won at a ceremony with her haul of six awards, trumping previous joint record-holders Harry Styles, Adele and Blur.

Her success came only three years after she quit her record label, and just days after the ceremony, it was announced that her songs have been streamed five billion times since her debut album was released last year.

No one can believe how far Raye, real name Rachel Agatha Keen, has come-least of all the woman herself.

"I do feel like a new artist. I got to start again," she told the crowd at London's O2 arena as she picked up her award for Best New Artist. "The artist I was three years ago would not believe what she's seeing today. I'm my own boss now; I'm in control." The star was born in South London to mum Sarah, who is of Ghanaian-Swiss heritage, and Yorkshire-born father Paul. She first made her mark aged eight at her local school in Croydon.

"I was Rachel's music teacher in 2011, when I first started teaching at Woodcote High School," Darren Harrow tells HELLO!. "She would have been aged 13 and 14 at the time.

"It was clear she had a raw natural talent, with a determination to succeed. Her vocal abilities, even at that young age, were astounding well beyond those of her peers. She was musically gifted in songwriting and performing "Rachel was friendly and popular in school. She was pleasant to everybody.