Raye's pain as Polydor holds release of debut album

Singer-songwriter Raye says she's been left in "tears and pain" as her record label holds back the release of her debut album.

The singer said in a series of tweets that the situation with Polydor - who she was signed by in 2014 - has made her "not want to get out of bed".

And speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat, the 23-year-old said she's "reached breaking point".

A Polydor spokeswoman said the record label was "saddened" by Raye's tweets.

She added that they've contacted Raye's management team "to discuss and offer our full support".

The singer, who has collaborated with Rudimental and David Guetta, released her new single, Call on Me, earlier this month.

She said she'll only be allowed to make an album if the single does well.

She told Newsbeat that not releasing an album yet makes her "feel like a fraud".

"Imagine the pressure of me waking up every day frantically looking at numbers and stats," she added in her Twitter thread.

Raye performed with David Guetta last year

Raye first released music on her record label in 2016 with singles Distraction, Ambition - which featured Stormzy - and I, U, Us.

In her tweets, she said: "I've done everything [Polydor] asked me, I switched genres, I worked seven days a week.

"I'm done being a polite pop star."

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• Raye comes third in BBC Music's Sound Of 2017

Raye, who was born Rachel Keen, told Newsbeat she's "not sad" about not having solo success so far because she's not in this "for the numbers".

"For me it's always been about the art. But it makes it difficult when I'm feeling I'm not good enough or being told it's not good enough when I'm not doing those numbers on singles."

Raye hopes her record label takes her concerns seriously

Raye said she truly believes "great music finds the light", especially in the age of streaming.

"Music speaks louder than words, a sales pitch or marketing campaign could ever," she said.

"We've seen music erupt and blow everyone's expectations, and it's come from the weirdest places. I disagree with limiting artists to one attempt in a single as opposed to a body of work."

'Run for the hills'

Raye added that if she could go back in time and tell her 16-year-old anything, it would be to "run for the hills".

"Knowing what I know now, I would not have put pen to paper on a full album record deal."

She said Polydor are "an incredible company when they want to be" but if they're not going to let her release an album, she wants them to "just let me go".

Polydor haven't responded to a request for comment on the interview Raye has given to Newsbeat.

Other stars have been quick to show their support, including fellow singer-songwriter MNEK.

Raye describes feeling "liberated" by tweeting and says it's good for her fans to "understand why I haven't released an album".

"It's made me feel like I do have a voice and I'm not alone in feeling like this. A lot of artists have reached out to me and said they're in the same situation," she says.

• Why Nadia Rose put her 'finger up' to music bosses

Raye's not the first artist to express frustration at a label's reluctance to release music.

South London rapper Nadia Rose, who finished two places behind Raye on the BBC Sound of 2017 list, left her old label to set up her own - Qwerky Entertainment.

"I was creating music that then wasn't seeing the light of day, so in order to actually have music out I had to leave that situation," she told the BBC last year.

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