Oscar Winning Tears

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"Oscar Winning Tears"
Oscar Winning Tears - Raye.png
Single by Raye
from the album My 21st Century Blues
Released8 November 2024 (2024-11-08)
Length3:03
Label Human Re Sources
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Mike Sabath
Raye singles chronology
"Moi"
(2024)		"Oscar Winning Tears"
(2024)		"Born Again"
(2025)
Visualizer
"Oscar Winning Tears" on YouTube

"Oscar Winning Tears" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Raye from her debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues (2022). She wrote it alongside its producer, Mike Sabath. It became available as the album's second track on 3 February 2023, when it was released independently through Human Re Sources, and was issued as its seventh single on 8 November 2024. Musically, "Oscar Winning Tears" is a theatrical jazz-influenced song led by strings, piano, and drums. Its lyrics see the narrator ending an emotionally abusive and toxic relationship while confronting an ex.

Contents

Upon its release as a single, the song peaked at number 52 in the United Kingdom and 58 in Ireland, as well as at number 40 on the US Pop Airplay chart. Raye included "Oscar Winning Tears" the set list of the My 21st Century Blues Tour (2023–2024). She also performed it at several other ocasions, including the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards and the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. A live rendition of the song was included on her live album My 21st Century Symphony (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) (2023).

Background and release

Raye started writing songs for her debut album years before its release, including "Oscar Winning Tears"; she believed that these songs "have stood the test of time". [1] In 2021, the singer stated that the record label she was signed at the time, Polydor Records, refused to release her album several times. [2] She later parted ways from the label and became an independent artist. [3] In 2022, she signed a contract with the distribution company Human Re Sources. [4]

Following a string of singles, Raye announced her debut album, My 21st Century Blues , and later revealed its track listing, in which "Oscar Winning Tears" appears as the second song. [5] [6] The album was independently released on 3 February 2023, through Human Re Sources. [7] "Oscar Winning Tears" was issued as the album's seventh single on 8 November 2024 to digital platforms. [8] The song peaked at number 52 in the United Kingdom and 58 in Ireland. [9] [10] It also reached number 40 on the US Pop Airplay chart issued for 1 February 2025. [11]

Composition

Raye provided lead vocals and wrote "Oscar Winning Tears" with its producer, Mike Sabath. The latter also served as the engineer of the song and played drums, synthesizers, piano, bass, guitar, and was the string arranger. Other musicians were Jacob Braun on cello and Paul Cartwright on violin. Franky Fox, Jonathan Castelli, and Josh Deguzman were the mixing engineers, while Jenna Felsenthal was the vocal recording engineer. The mastering engineer was Dale Becker, and the assistant engineers were Nick Noneman, Katie Harvey, Noah McCorkle, Adam Krevlin, and Michael Harris. [8]

With a duration of three minutes and three seconds, [8] "Oscar Winning Tears" is placed in the album after its introduction, [12] which presents Raye to a jazz club. [13] It is a jazz-influenced song built over a theatrical and cinematic production with strings, piano, and drums. [12] [14] [15] Raye's vocal performance includes belting, which was praised by critics. [13] [16] The lyrical content of the song see the narrator ending an emotionally abusive and toxic relationship. [12] [14] Raye confronts an ex who played the victim when she decided to leave: "You was convincing though, very believable / The role that you played". [15] She sings that the ex "convinced [her] with bullshit", which The Guardian 's Alexis Petridis believed could be a reference to her experience in the music industry. [17]

Live performances

Raye added "Oscar Winning Tears" to the set list of the My 21st Century Blues Tour, which ran from February 2023 to February 2024. [18] [19] In September 2023, "Oscar Winning Tears" was performed as part of a standalone concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where Raye was accompanied by the Heritage Orchestra. [20] In a positive review, the NME critic Hannah Mylrea compared her vocals to those from Amy Winehouse and other jazz singers. [21] The performance was included on Raye's live album My 21st Century Symphony (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) (2023). [22] Raye performed "Oscar Winning Tears" at the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards on 10 November 2024, alongside "Escapism" and "Body Dysmorphia" with a choir and an orchestra. It was met with a positive reception from the public. [23] She also sang it as part of her appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show . [24]

On 2 February 2025, Raye performed the song at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, where she was nominated in three categories including Best New Artist; she contributed to a series of performances from nominees of that category. [25] Raye wore a black dress and was accompanied with an orchestra and a backing choir. [26] Cerys Davies from Los Angeles Times believed that Raye hit "each of the high notes with ease", [26] while Heran Mamo from Billboard praised her vocals as "jaw-dropping" and wrote that it received a standing ovation. [27] The staff of Clash named it one of the best performances of the ceremony and said that it was "all technical excellence and shattering emotional impact". [28]

Personnel

The credits shown below are adapted from Apple Music. [8]

Charts

Chart performance for "Oscar Winning Tears"
Chart (2024–2025)Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA) [10] 58
UK Singles (OCC) [9] 52
US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [11] 40

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References

  1. ↑ Firth, Abigail (2 February 2023). "RAYE: 21st Century Blues". Dork . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  2. ↑ Cragg, Michael (25 September 2021). "'I'm angry, I'm raging': how Raye took on her record label – and won". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  3. ↑ Peay, Malik (3 February 2023). "Raye Explicitly Speaks Her Mind On Debut Album, 'My 21st Century Blues'". Nylon . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  4. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (16 June 2022). "RAYE signs to Human Re Sources nearly a year after parting ways with Polydor". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  5. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (14 October 2022). "RAYE finally announces debut album My 21st Century Blues". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  6. ↑ Wilkes, Emma (5 January 2023). "RAYE reveals tracklist for 'My 21st Century Blues'". NME . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  7. ↑ Mylrea, Hannah (2 February 2023). "RAYE – 'My 21st Century Blues' review: a triumphant, hard-fought debut". NME . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Oscar Winning Tears. — Single — Album by Raye". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on 5 January 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  10. 1 2 "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Raye Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Gonzalez, Alex (9 February 2023). "With 'My 21st Century Blues,' RAYE Is Finally In Control Of Her Own Narrative". Uproxx . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  13. 1 2 Milross, Hayley (31 January 2023). "RAYE opens her heart on her long-awaited debut My 21st Century Blues". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  14. 1 2 Mylrea, Hannah (2 February 2023). "RAYE – 'My 21st Century Blues' review: a triumphant, hard-fought debut". NME . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  15. 1 2 Early, JT (13 February 2023). "Album Review: RAYE – My 21st Century Blues". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  16. ↑ Rigotti, Alex. "Raye – My 21st Century Blues". Clash . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  17. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (2 February 2023). "Raye: My 21st Century Blues review – major label escapee makes revenge taste sweet". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  18. ↑ Kaplan, Rachel (5 October 2023). "RAYE Brings '21st Century Blues' To NYC With Sold Out Show". iHeart . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  19. ↑ Jones, Damian (13 December 2023). "RAYE announces rescheduled UK shows for 2024". NME . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  20. ↑ Walker, Sophie (27 September 2023). "Raye review – a triumphant act of independence and naked ambition". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  21. ↑ Mylrea, Hannah (18 March 2024). "Raye live in London: a simply sensational, career-defining performance". NME . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  22. ↑ "RAYE releases live album recorded with symphony orchestra in London". ABC Audio. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  23. ↑ Singh, Surej (11 November 2024). "Social media reacts to RAYE's 2024 MTV EMAs performance". NME . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  24. ↑ "Watch The Kelly Clarkson Show - Official Website Clip: 'Oscar Winning Tears' by RAYE". NBC. 10 November 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  25. ↑ Siroky, Mary (2 February 2025). "RAYE Delivers Triumphant Performance of "Oscar Winning Tears" at 2025 Grammys: Watch". Consequence . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  26. 1 2 Davies, Cerys (2 February 2025). "What went down when this year's best new artist nominees took the Grammys stage". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  27. ↑ Mamo, Heran (2 February 2025). "Benson Boone, Doechii, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey & Raye Deliver Best New Artist Nominee Medley at 2025 Grammys". Billboard . Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  28. ↑ "Grammy Awards 2025 – Five Key Performances". Clash . 3 February 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
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