Raye: Brit Awards choir 'honoured' to share stage with singer

For upcoming singers and song-writers, there's probably no one you want to be sharing a stage with more than Raye.

The Escapism singer was backed by London-based choir Flames Collective during her performance at the Brits.

Raye bagged six of the seven prizes she was up for. at Saturday's show, beating Blur, Adele and Harry Styles' record.

And after performing behind her, singers Izzy Withers, Baaba Nkansah-Asamoah and Nayana Brathwaite say Raye has paved their way forward.

"All of us were just so honoured to be able to share the stage with her and play a small part in her incredible performance," says Izzy.

The choir, based in London, was started in 2016 by national youth music organisation UD and works with inner-city secondary school children to help them build a career in music.

It has more than 30 members and helps them get paid performance work.

While the Brits was Izzy's first time sharing a stage with Raye, the singer has performed with the choir a few times now, including at the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury.

"I think we all didn't actually anticipate how big of a deal [the Brits] was to be fair, because we've done other things before," says Baaba, 20.

But after two days of rehearsals, they say they were feeling the pressure.

"It's nerve-wracking, performing with an artist who's at her calibre," says Nayana, 21.

The Brits "was quite daunting," Izzy adds. "Knowing how big of a performance this was for Raye and how much importance this performance holds in her career."

Raye collected Artist, Album, Song and Songwriter of the year, as well as best new artist and best R&B act, breaking the record for the most wins at a single Brits ceremony.

"She's an inspiration," says Baaba.

Raye's rise to success hasn't always been straightforward. Her former label had questioned and rejected the music she was writing for herself and even refused to release her debut album five years into her contract.

It was a difficult time for the singer, who has spoken about her struggles with drugs.

Seeing her turn that around and be top of her game has given her backing singers the inspiration to keep up their hard work.

"Everybody who's a part of this industry has the understanding of how tricky it can get," says Nayana. "Most times, you're probably not going to get lucky and get a good deal.

"The fact that she talks about it so much and exposes it is an amazing thing. There is somebody who's showing that there's other ways around it - other ways to do it and be super successful."

"We all want to follow in her footsteps," Izzy adds.

And it's not just her artistic independence the singers find inspiring, but also her position as a black woman in the industry celebrating black music.

"Seeing and hearing black music has helped me realise that your story is important," says Baaba.

Izzy adds that black music has often been "overlooked" - not least at the Brits who this year introduced R&B as a separate category after criticism from stars like Mahalia.

"It's so inspiring to see a black woman win so many awards," Izzy says.

As for the future, while Izzy, Baaba and Nayana all say performing with Raye was a dream - there's maybe one place they'd rather be.

"I would love to be able to be on that stage and do something even half as good as what Raye did," says Nayana.

"It would be an honour."

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