The Meaning Behind Raye’s “Oscar Winning Tears”

There were many great performances during a medley of Best New Artist nominees at the 2025 GRAMMYs.

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But one stunning moment stood out—Raye’s stirring rendition of her outstanding jazz ballad, “Oscar Winning Tears.”

Raye has often been compared to Amy Winehouse. And like Winehouse, she possesses an easy timelessness that also brings to mind Shirley Bassey, among other jazz and R&B greats.

Speaking of great performances, what exactly are the Oscar-winning tears in Raye’s hit song?

Stop Pretending To Be Sorry

The smokey piano ballad arrived from a terrifying experience in Raye’s life. She caught a man spiking her drink, and she told Apple Music, “When the situation with the spiking happened, the man was just crying tears in my face. He was the victim. I was like, ‘Wow, I have a song for this.’”

Writing “Oscar Winning Tears” felt liberating and provided Raye with “a beautiful piece of medicine.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m gonna tell you ’bout
One of the many men, name is irrelevant, height is irrelevant
He was a one out of a ten, I wish that I knew it then
I’m still recovering

The hook reveals Raye’s reaction to the man’s wounded drama. Stunned and intrigued by his invented sadness, she reaches for the popcorn to watch.

So I’ll take this front-row seat
And, baby, baby, you can go ahead
Cry those Oscar-winning tears
Popcorn and I scream
Baby, baby, you can go ahead
Cry those Oscar-winning tears, baby

Gaining Independence

Bad partners haven’t been Raye’s only fight. She’s taken on the music business, too. After several years of writing and recording Top-40 singles in the UK, Raye went public with her frustration with her record label, Polydor.

She said the label had halted the release of her debut album.

“I got good at writing those big, earwormy hooks that stick in your head,” she told NME. “But where it got tricky was, like, I became ‘rent-a-verse.’ It was like, ‘Get RAYE on that artist’s track.’ And so people would know my songs, but they wouldn’t necessarily know me.”

So she negotiated a release from Polydor and independently released her 2023 debut, My 21st Century Blues. It was a bold move to leave the security and support of a major record label—especially with the chart success she’d already achieved.

But determined to carve her own path, Raye took a massive risk to gain control of her career. Her album reached No. 2 in the UK and the breakout single “Escapism” topped the UK singles chart.

Taking Risks

The personal story in “Oscar Winning Tears” echoes Raye’s professional life. Both included a struggle for power. In each instance, Raye refused to be a pawn in someone else’s game.

She’s emerged as one of pop music’s most powerful voices. Watching her triumphant performance of “Oscar Winning Tears” at the GRAMMYs and being celebrated with a nomination for Best New Artist only happened because she chose to put her entire music career on the line.

Though Raye didn’t win the award for Best New Artist, the emotional heights of her performance medley felt like one of those moments when someone becomes a legend.

Perhaps the short-term loss of that award, like the major record label, only fuels Raye’s enduring legacy.

Photo by Iwi Onodera/Redferns