Raye’s new collaboration with Mark Ronson is less a mimicry of past greatness and more a recalibration of it. “Suzanne,” their elegant, smoke-laced single, doesn’t just nod to the legacy of Amy Winehouse—it carves a parallel path, one where Raye reclaims her own identity among the ghosts of British soul.
For those still shackled to the Winehouse comparisons, Raye’s timing is poetic. Days after shrugging off the weight of being measured against Amy, she releases a track with the very man who helped catapult Winehouse into pop mythology. But “Suzanne” is no “Valerie” redux. It’s subtler, dreamier, more deliberate. Where “Valerie” bopped with Motown-infused urgency, “Suzanne” breezes in like an early evening cigarette—cool, melancholic, effortless.
The lyrics feel like pages torn from an old, water-stained notebook, romanticizing a woman who might be a person, might be a season, or might just be the English countryside wearing perfume and eyeliner. “Eyes are like the ocean, her nails are painted green… Grey skies out the window, but she’s a summer breeze.” Raye delivers each line with the poise of someone who knows exactly what she’s doing—and who she’s singing for.
Ronson’s production, as expected, is immaculate. There’s restraint here, a minimalist swagger that lets Raye’s phrasing breathe. It’s brass-soaked but not overdone, smoky without collapsing into cliché. You can almost feel the vintage Neve knobs turning under Ronson’s fingers, EQing a space that feels both retro and present.
The fact that Audemars Piguet is behind the pairing is one of those delicious coincidences you can’t make up. They signed Raye as an ambassador post-BRITs, not knowing Ronson was already in their orbit. After “Suzanne” was cut, the two artists discovered that one of AP’s founding family descendants was—of course—named Suzanne. It’s a perfect twist for a song already drenched in a kind of old-world glamour. Premiering it at 180 Studios for the brand’s 150th anniversary felt less like a product launch and more like a private jazz club showcase you wish you hadn’t missed.
More than anything, “Suzanne” feels like a moment. Not just for Raye, who continues to shape-shift into one of the most intriguing artists out of the UK right now, but for the broader pop-soul landscape. In an age of overproduction and TikTok-ready hooks, here’s a song that sips its wine slowly and invites you to do the same.