RAYE Will Receive Hal David Starlight Award at Songwriters Hall of Fame Ceremony

The Songwriters Hall of Fame will give British singer-songwriter RAYE the Hal David Starlight Award at its 55th annual induction and awards dinner on Thursday, June 11, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. This honor goes to young songwriters who've made a big splash in music with their original work.

RAYE becomes the third woman straight to receive this. SZA got it in 2024. Gracie Abrams in 2025. RAYE is also the second English songwriter to claim it after Ed Sheeran in 2017.

"RAYE is exactly the kind of songwriter Hal David would have adored — someone who writes from the deepest, most unguarded part of herself, and somehow makes the whole world feel seen in the process," said Songwriters Hall of Fame Chairman Nile Rodgers in a statement. "What makes her story so remarkable is that long before she was a superstar in her own right, she was already quietly shaping the sound of a generation."

The South London native has written songs for Beyoncé, Little Mix, Charli XCX, Ellie Goulding, Madison Beer, John Legend, and LISA. Her work includes "Bigger" by Beyoncé, "Told You So" by Little Mix, "After the Afterparty" by Charli XCX, and "Sixteen" by Ellie Goulding.

In 2024, RAYE won six Brit Awards in a single year. Nobody's ever done that. She took home Album of the Year. She also earned an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year and received four GRAMMY nominations.

RAYE received the Recording Academy's Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award in February for "Ice Cream Man," a track about sexual assault survivors. She was nominated at the 2026 GRAMMY Awards for Best Music Film for Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

Her sophomore album, This Music May Contain Hope, dropped in March and hit No. 1 in the UK and No. 11 on the Billboard 200. The single "Where Is My Husband!" peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sailed past 1 billion streams.

This year's inductees include Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins, and Gene Simmons with Paul Stanley of KISS. John Fogerty will receive the Johnny Mercer Award.

Past recipients of the Hal David Starlight Award include Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Drake, Post Malone, and Nick Jonas. The award was created in 2004 and named after SHOF Chairman Emeritus Hal David.