Raye fights back tears on Glastonbury stage as she opens up about facing sexual abuse

at Glastonbury’s main Pyramid Stage this afternoon.

The You Don’t Know Me singer, 25, wowed a growing crowd with her soulful tracks and incredible voice.

Opening the set with the powerful Oscar Winning Tears, Raye began by saying how bowled over the was at the size of the crowd.

‘ I can’t quite believe this sight in front of my eyes, hello,’ she said.

‘Thank you so much for coming down and taking the time to see our set.’

As if we didn’t know who she was, Raye continued: ‘My name’s Raye and I didn’t think anyone would turn up, so hello!’

‘The brilliant thing about being a writer, being a musician is that everything ugly in my life I get to turn into a song.’

What ensued was an incredibly impactful set, as halfway through the singer paused the music to share some words with the crowd, and she got pretty emotional in the process.

‘Do you know what, screaming down a microphone is one of my favourite things to do in the world,’ she began, to a cheering crowd.

Choking up, she reminisced how when she was as young as eight, all she ever wanted was to be a writer, musician, and singer.

‘And I haven’t had the simplest of journeys,’ she explained.

‘I was told that I would never have a fan base big enough for anyone to care about an album, and right now Glastonbury, in front of the Pyramid Stage, I’m performing my album. My debut album. My baby, and my first child.’

Visibly tearing up, Raye admitted: ‘I’m a bit emotional.’

She continued to the engrossed crowd: ‘And you know what’s beautiful about this moment is that there’s a lot of stories that I held in silence, and I dealt with a lot of things alone.

‘I dealt with a lot of tough things. You know, that’s just the journey of life, right, and I’m going to bring the mood down just for a second.

‘This next song is about sexual abuse, and rape, and sexual violence. And I know that’s heavy, okay. But I also know one in four men and women will experience that in their lifetime.

‘So I know that I’m not alone when I sing this today.’

Raye then explained how she doesn’t sing this song because it’s ‘fun’ – quite the contrary – but because it makes her feel powerful.   

‘Powerful in a time where I was silent,’ she continued. ‘Powerful in a time I had no voice. A story I waited a long time to tell. And this song is called Ice Cream Man and I’m going to sing it for you right now with all my entire heart. Thank you.’

The festival-goers were loving Raye’s honesty, as they clapped and whooped in support for the teary star.  

Raye was performing songs from her debut album, Raye My 21st Century Blues, which she dropped in February this year.

The Pyramid stage crowd will be entertained later today by Aitch, Lewis Capaldi, Lizzo, and Guns N’ Roses.

Sunday will see Yusuf/Cat Stevens take the legends slot, and will close the festival in the evening.