Ravyn Lenae is an R&B singer who has been making music since 2015. This year, her song “Love Me Not” from her 2024 album Birds Eye went viral on Tik Tok. After her success broke out, she performed and made appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, The Tonight Show, BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, and more as her audience grew. She has also opened for Sabrina Carpenter on her tour and reached No. 5 in the Billboard Hot 100.
After the 2026 Grammy nominations were announced, many fans wondered why “Love Me Not” was not nominated for Song of the Year, given how popular it became over the past year. Others were surprised she was not nominated for the Best New Artist award and believe she was snubbed from being nominated for other various awards. Unfortunately, though, “Love Me Not” did not fit into the eligibility window to be nominated for this year’s Grammy’s because of the time of year it came out. But, she was eligible for Best New Artist.
Though she was not nominated for any Grammy’s this year, her success is still going strong as she is going on to do great things throughout this year and into the next. One of these accomplishments is her 2025 world tour where she performed across the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe. The tour began in September and will continue until the end of August.
What else is new with Ravyn Lenae?
After wrapping up touring with Sabrina Carpenter on Nov. 23, Lenae will be performing at an exciting line up of festivals, including the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour across the U.S., the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, the Way Out West festival in Gothenburg, and the All Points East Festival in London. Among these dates she will be in Philadelphia at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on December 15 for Q102’s Jingle Ball.
What’s Lenae’s most recent music after Bird’s Eye?
Lenae’s most recent single is a collab with Kali Uchis called “Cry About it!” This is a pop, doo-wop-inspired song, which is an anthem telling listeners to go on striving for their best life despite the ones who seem to be bothered by it. They tell anyone who is against this to “go cry about it.”
This October, Lenae has also collaborated with PinkPantheress on another pop song, “Romeo”, from PinkPantheress’ latest full-length album filled with artist collaborations, remixes, and other original tracks.
A deep dive into Ravyn Lenae’s career and discography.
Now that we know what Ravyn Lenae has been up to and what to look forward to, let’s dive into Lenae’s background and music career up to this point. While yes, you may know her for her viral hit, “Love Me Not”, her contagious energy during her performances, and her beautiful vocals, let’s go back in time a little to appreciate how she got to this point.
Lenae’s success this year has been a decade in the making, beginning when she was a sophomore in high school at Chicago High School for the Arts, according to Billboard. She independently released her first EP called Moon Shoes in 2015, and in 2016 Atlantic Records signed her and reissued the EP in 2016. This followed with two more EPs, Midnight Moonlight (2017) and Crush (2018). She went on to open for artists such as SZA and collaborate with artists like Steve Lacy. She also sang on the soundtrack of the HBO original series, Insecure (2020). Then, in 2022, she released her debut studio album, Hypnos, which blended the alternative and R&B genres. Her genre of blending and experimentation with sounds and ideas is what drew in her early fans, along with the relatable lyrics.
In 2024, she came out with her Bird’s Eye album, in which she tried a new sound that was different from her previous work, but authentic to who she was, according to her manager, John Bogaard. Bogaard explained to Billboard that, “Her future sound and aesthetic will continue to reflect what her music has always expressed: her complex, varied and sincere self.”
What’s next for Ravyn Lenae?
As we look back on all that Lenae has been up to in regard to her past music, touring, and collaborations, I’m looking forward to what’s to come in 2026 for her career. Ravyn Lenae’s music is one-of-a-kind for so many reasons, including the fact that she always sticks to who she truly is, whether that’s through blending unlikely genres to create something new, or through speaking up about things others may be scared to through her storytelling. Though it took a decade, she has definitely won the hearts of many and will continue to do so through her genuine talent and sincerity.