The Canadian country-rock powerhouse that is Nicole Rayy has kicked off 2022 with the release of her latest single “House of Cards”
Ontario’s Nicole Rayy is known nationwide for consistently creating initiatives not only to support but also to raise up fellow female artists. This includes her #AllWomanMusic online series, her annual all-female festival HarmoniaFest (which she says, “we are in a sisterhood together and together we can make it!”), and laminating it all with the release of her 2020 EP All Woman, which is considered “magical!” Her 2020 smash single, “Unfinished” showcased her strength as a solo artist and her openness to take on country music. That release landed her a Female Artist of the Year nomination at the 2020 CMA Ontario Awards. Maintaining that momentum, Nicole was nominated for two CMA Ontario Awards in 2021 – Album of the Year (All Woman) and Video of the Year (“Broken Boys”).
Rayy, a giving selfless human, has been making waves as a singer and a songwriter for years with a string of great singles and albums but now she is rapidly growing her name in the country music industry with over 28.3K social followers and 25K TikTok likes. She has amassed over a million catalogue streams to date, with “Broken Boys” racking in over 500K streams alone. Four-time CMA Ontario nominee is finding her music places across popular playlists like Spotify’s New Music Nashville and Live Country, as well as Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Country and Certified Country.
On January 21, perhaps as an early birthday gift from Rayy to her fans, she released her first single of 2022 – a fiery tune, “House of Cards.” It was written by Rayy and hit US songwriter Catt Gravitt (Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini) and her producer Brian Howes. It was recorded at the beautiful Armoury Studios in Vancouver, BC.
This tune comes hot off the heels of her 2021 smash hit “Feels Like Yesterday,” a love letter to the ’90s and all the amazing trends that she and her friends experienced during that time.
In an exclusive with Canadian Beats, Rayy had this to say about writing “House of Cards,”
“My producer Brian set up the write with Catt over Zoom. I felt an instant writing connection with Catt and she was on board immediately when I told her I wanted to write a badass babe country-rock song. Catt said she had been thinking about the title “House of Cards” and I loved it! I absolutely love what we came up with, a song about a very passionate but dangerous relationship told through the metaphor of a house of cards “
On the new single, Rayy also shares,
“This song is about a very passionate but dangerous relationship. One that is unstable and is bound to fall apart at any moment. This relationship is one that you have been in before and you know it will likely crash and burn but you can’t help but try it again. During my live shows I have always loved covering rock and country/rock music but I haven’t explored that side of my voice within my own music as much as I would like. I am excited to showcase that side with the release of “House of Cards”.”
Stream or download “House of Cards” HERE.
Canadian Beats asked Rayy what her plans for 2022 are and in this exclusive, she told us this.
“In 2022, I hope to continue to grow as an artist and make bigger and better music for my fans. I am working towards completing my fourth studio album as well as adding some more tunes to my Christmas album this year. I know the state of the world is still uncertain but I certainly hope to get on some big stages this year and connect with new fans. I will of course be continuing my work fighting for more opportunities for female artists, and throwing the third annual HarmoniaFest!”
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