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\n\tOne thing Raye<\/a> will never pass up is an opportunity to bring big band back to big stages. The singer and songwriter hit the stage at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards<\/a> for the first time as a soloist with a six-piece string section and more than a dozen additional musicians. She sure knows how to make an entrance.<\/p>\n \n\tRaye opened her set with \u201cI Will Overcome,\u201d which references the legacy of the late Amy Winehouse, while draped in a luscious, floor-length white fur coat. When the garment dropped away, the 28-year-old launched into \u201cWhere Is My Husband?\u201d in a glimmering red dress. As always, she traded high heels for high notes and delivered the performance barefoot. <\/p>\n \n\tThe performance included an updated recording from her grandmother, whose voice is featured on the original studio version of the track. \u201cI know you have been promoting this song for a long time,\u201d she says. \u201cBut be patient, my granddaughter. Your husband is coming.\u201d And just for the hell of it, Raye slipped an interpolation of the disco-funk hit \u201cFunkytown\u201d into her set. <\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s been a big year for Raye, who released her second studio album, This Music May Contain Hope<\/em>, in March. The acclaimed album featured lead single and global breakthrough, \u201cWhere Is My Husband!\u201d In a Rolling Stone<\/a><\/em> review for the album, Rob Sheffield observed, \u201cThe south London belter has a story to tell on This Music May Contain Hope,<\/em> and it\u2019s an epic autobiography of romantic despair and nonstop emotional turmoil. Her mighty pipes are as unstoppable as her flair for mascara-melting melodrama.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRaye is up for the coveted Song of the Year award for her hit \u201cWhere Is My Husband,\u201d which peaked at Number 11 on the\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u00a0Hot 100. Raye is up against Madonna and Carpenter\u2019s \u201cBring Your Love,\u201d BTS\u2019 \u201cSwim,\u201d Ella Langley\u2019s \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d Huntr\/x\u2019s \u201cGolden,\u201d Olivia Dean\u2019s \u201cMan I Need,\u201d and PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson\u2019s \u201cStateside\u201d remix for the award.<\/p>\n