If you were scrolling on TikTok and heard the familiar song, “a little context if you care to listen, I found myself in a **** position”, then you’re probably familiar with RAYE and her viral song ‘Escapism.’ 

The British singer took the TikTok app by storm in late 2022 as the sped-up version of the song was used in 658k videos on TikTok. With a bunch of other versions and snippets from the hit song being used across the app, it’s safe to say that song was used for at least a million videos on TikTok alone.

At some point, it was hard to escape the song (pun intended), but you could never really get tired of how catchy that chorus is. TikTok has been changing the way the music industry works and the virality of ‘Escapism‘ proves that.

Via Instagram @raye

The song transformed the course of the singer’s life as she went from being stuck with a record label that refused to release her album for 7 years to an independent artist who’s hitting #1 on the charts.

The 25-year-old musician has been part of the industry for way longer than you think. She has written for big names such as Beyoncé, Little Mix, Ellie Goulding, and many more. Now that she’s free from record labels and their restriction, she’s proving that she’s here to stay and ready to take over the world with her debut album My 21st Century.

In an exclusive interview with Cosmo ME, she opened up about going viral in the TikTok competition when it comes to music and the inspiration behind her album. 

As part of Virgin Radio’s 15th birthday, RAYE performed at the Global Village which was held on February 19th, and of course, she sang Escapism along with other songs from her albums.

Read our interview with Escapism singer RAYE below…

Cosmo ME: What was the inspiration behind the album title, and what made you choose your sister as the album cover?

RAYE: The inspiration behind the title, I think probably the theme of all the songs together. I wanted to reflect on real-life subjects. Some really tough subjects such as body dysmorphia and sexual violence and uncomfortable subjects that I feel a bit shy to look at the camera as I say them.

I think putting songs like this out has been such a therapeutic process and really is my 21st-century Blues. Having my sister on the artwork, it just felt right. It made sense. I was very young when I decided I wanted to be a musician. It felt like little me looking down, so innocent and wide-eyed and unaware of any of the struggles or hardships that I’d ever face in life.

Via Instagram @raye

C: Why is it important for you to be transparent as an artist and talk about these topics? 

R: Some of the subjects sound more beautiful inside a song than they do in my head. And I think it’s powerful, also. Sometimes it’s difficult, but I think it’s powerful and empowering to be loud about ugly things and things that we hide. I think maybe in a pattern of hoping that someone else needs it as well. It’s been very medicinal for me. It’s like therapy.

C: You recently blew up on TikTok for your song “Escapism”. Can you walk us through how that felt and how you found out?

R: To be honest, it was just happening. I think my sister pointed it out. I checked, and it had like 1000 videos made to the sound, I was like “oh that’s exciting!” and then the next day it was 2000 and it just kept doubling out of nowhere and I was like “wow”.

It’s the kind of thing you can’t plan. You can’t be like “Okay I’m gonna have a viral hit”. You know, it just doesn’t work like that. I’m just grateful that TikTok was like “Yeah we like that. Let’s make so many videos to it”. I was very overwhelmed.

Via Instagram @raye

C: With platforms like TikTok on the rise, and making all these musicians go viral, do you think it makes it easier for musicians to go viral, or does the competition becomes a little bit harder?

R: I think, regardless of the answer to that question, the important thing to remember is that you can’t control what happens or what does become viral or not. I think as creatives or artists or content creators or whatever your creative outlet, you should just focus on the quality of your art. Because otherwise, you’re just gonna get stressed and disappointed and all these emotions. You can’t control how people are gonna receive something, but you can control how good you make it. 

Don’t forget to stream RAYE’s debut album, My 21st Century Blues, here.