RAYE Was ‘Overthinking Everything’ Before Learning About Her Grammy Nominations: ‘What If My Career’s Over?’ (Exclusive)

“When I was little, the first image I saw was that gorgeous golden gramophone,” the “Escapism” singer, who’s up for three Grammy Awards, tells PEOPLE

RAYE wasn’t planning on tuning into the 2025 Grammy nominations announcement. Her debut album My 21st Century Blues was released long before this year’s eligibility period began, so she didn’t expect to see her name in any categories.

In fact, when this year’s nominees were unveiled in November, the Grammys weren’t even on the 27-year-old singer-songwriter’s mind. “You know them days where you’re just so mean to yourself? I was overthinking everything,” she tells PEOPLE over Zoom. “I was like, ‘What if that’s it now? What if my career’s over?'”

Nonetheless, one of RAYE’s team members turned on the announcement live stream — and quickly learned the London-born star is nominated for best new artist, best engineered album (for her work on Lucky Daye‘s Algorithm) and songwriter of the year, non-classical. “I started crying, and I feel like my entire career flashed before my eyes,” she recalls of the moment.