Raye has the talent to make her live arrangements pop with new and brilliant interpretations each time, and the London star showed that off with her Saturday Night Live performance of “Escapism.” Fans said they hadn’t heard jazz sound so vital since Amy Winehouse, while others made comparisons to a James Bond theme. Whatever it was Raye was channeling that night, it was completely spellbinding and fans could not get enough of it.
Raye’s studio version of “Escapism” is set to a brash hip-hop beat, but the English siren gave it a classy jazz work over with her live band. She expertly gave the song a fresh dramatic vibe, with plenty of old-school class. This slow-burn jazz interpretation made the song a perfect vehicle for Raye to lean into the emotional elements of the lyrics, which are that much more heartbreaking in this style. The Music Man is always in awe of Raye’s live shows, and she def did it again with this smoking SNL appearance.
Raye uploaded her SNL appearance to YouTube on July 10, 2024, and it has since gained 1.2 million views. Fans praised her ability to shake up her songs stylistically live and added comments such as “This is brilliant. Such Amy Winehouse vibes but also her own” and “Mark my words: She is absolutely perfect for the next 007 theme song.”
Raye is swiftly becoming one of our favourites here at The Music Man, and that’s in no small part due to her ability to consistently deliver the goods live with captivating performances. More recently, she gave a cracking performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards on her single “Oscar Winning Tears”. The performance features the same band as the SNL performance, who pump out a slithering groove that Raye builds on to create a thunderous vocal performance.
Raye released “Escapism” on October 12, 2022, as the third single from her debut studio album My 21st Century Blues. She co-wrote the song with Mike Sabath and rapper 070 Shake, with the former providing production and the latter appearing as a featured artist.
“Escapism” became Raye’s commercial breakthrough, and she notched her first UK number one with the single. The breakup anthem went triple Platinum in her homeland, as well as double Platinum in the US, making it her biggest hit to date.
Raye spoke to Clash about the meaning of the song, saying “‘Escapism’ is a story about running away from everything as fast as you can. The lyrics are about just leaving everyone on read, and going out on your own. It came from a messy time, but as humans, we just have to keep surviving!”