Rayna Jaymes

Rayna Jaymes Claybourne (née Wyatt; previously Conrad^[1]) is a fictional character and one of the two leads in the ABC/CMT drama series Nashville. Rayna has been portrayed by actress Connie Britton since the series' pilot episode, which aired on October 10, 2012. Britton, who does her own singing in the series, as do many of its other cast members, received critical acclaim for her performance as Rayna.^[2][3][4] She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.^[5]

Casting and creation

Connie Britton was cast as Rayna Jaymes on March 6, 2012.^[6][7] Rayna was characterized as the “reigning queen of country,” a 50-year-old country music superstar singer whose star is beginning to fade. The character of Rayna Jaymes is inspired from Britton's role as Tami Taylor at the TV series Friday Night Lights, with Nashville creator Callie Khouri creating the central characters as well as developing the core format specifically for Britton to star in the lead role.^[8] Britton states that her performance as Jaymes is based on several country singers, including Faith Hill, Reba McEntire, and Bonnie Raitt.^[9]

Storylines

Background

Rayna, a nine-time Grammy Award–winner and fifteen-time CMA Award–nominee, is the daughter of the late Virginia Wyatt and her husband, politician Lamar Wyatt (played by Powers Boothe). She grew up from a wealthy family whose father is Lamar Wyatt who used to be the mayor of Nashville. Her mom died when she was 13. She and her father are estranged for a long time. She loves country music, her father never approved of it and kicked her out of the house at 16. Early in her career she was dating songwriter and guitar player Deacon Claybourne, but he was an alcoholic. Soon after Rayna sent Deacon to rehab (which would be his last time), she married Teddy Conrad. The couple had two daughters, Maddie and Daphne. Teddy is not Maddie's biological father, and there are hints that it may be Deacon—which is revealed to be true later on in season one.

Season 1

After two decades of topping the charts, Rayna Jaymes’ career has begun to fall. Her latest album flopped so her record label suggested that she open for the young country pop star Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere). Juliette hates Rayna because her mother Jolene (Sylvia Jefferies) was a fan of hers. When the president of their label, Marshall Evans, suggests that Rayna should collaborate with Juliette at a party for Edgehill, they write a song together. After their duet song, "Wrong Song", becomes a success, the two go on to co-headline a tour together. While Rayna is on tour Teddy visits her, telling her that he wants a divorce.

When Marshall threatens to release a Greatest Hits album without her consent and against her will, Rayna decides to work on a new album and work with a non-country producer, Liam McGuinness. At first, Liam doesn't want to work with her; he then decides to do so, and later joins her band. When Rayna comes up with the idea to start her own label, Liam does something behind her back making her fire him and dissolve their partnership. The two later patch things up and continue to work on her album. While they are on a break from the tour, Liam asks Rayna to spend the weekend away with him in St. Lucia. But when she is packing for the trip, she realizes that it felt wrong for her to go. She then goes to Deacon's telling him that she loves him and that has never been not true. The two end up spending the night together.^[10]

The morning after Rayna tells Tandy that she and Deacon spent the night together. Tandy says it was just one night, a fling and Rayna replies that it will never be one night or a fling with the two of them because how they have always had a relationship. Tandy mentions how it's always been all or nothing between them and ask her if that is what she wants and is that what Deacon wants. Teddy is not excited when he finds out that Rayna and Deacon may now be a thing. He is against it because there is a chance of Deacon finding out that he is Maddie's biological father. Teddy tells her that they made an agreement when Maddie was born and she has to honor it. Rayna promises him that she would never want to hurt their relationship and plans on keeping it a secret. After Maddie overhears her mother telling someone "I love you" on the phone she asks who she said that to. Rayna tells her that she said that to Deacon and that they are together now. Later on in the day when Rayna and Teddy are not home, Maddie goes snooping around her mother's closet and finds a box that contains a paternity test. Maddie talks to a friend over the phone and says that Teddy might not be her father. The next day Maddie goes to Deacon's and tells him that he might be her father which leaves Deacon shocked. Backstage at the CMA Awards, Deacon confronts Rayna about him possibly being Maddie's biological father. Rayna tells him the whole story on how she found out that she was pregnant when he went to rehab that last time. She ended up talking about it with Teddy, they decided to get married and do a paternity test after, Coleman advises her to cut ties with Deacon because they wanted him to get better. Teddy and Rayna wanted what was best for Maddie.^[11] Deacon storms off and goes to a bar and begins to drink again. On the night Juliette plays a show at the Bluebird Cafe, Rayna runs after a drunk Deacon who leaves the café when the two notice each other. Rayna tells him that he is not driving anywhere and makes him move over to the passenger's seat. On the way home the two argue which prevents Rayna from stopping at a stop sign. While swerving around the oncoming traffic, the car flips several times and lands in a ditch.

Season 2

Rayna is put in a medically induced coma and hanging on to life for two weeks following the wreck. Deacon believes he was the one driving and pleads guilty for driving under the influence. Rayna wakes up and is able to say that she was the one driving the car and Deacon is set free. There are several flashbacks showing Rayna and Deacon's life around the time she got pregnant with Maddie. During the flashbacks it's revealed that Deacon proposed to Rayna followed by Maddie's conception. The morning after Rayna realizes that Deacon had been drinking and he didn't know that he had proposed. She gives back the ring and leaves him, Rayna finds out that she's pregnant and goes to tell Deacon. She sees him drunk, tearing up his cabin, and Tandy suggests not telling him about the pregnancy.

Rayna struggles to get out of her contract with Edgehill and butts heads with the label's new CEO, Jeff Fordham because he steals Will Lexington from Highway 65 and threatens to release a Rayna James album against her will. Her father was going to loan her money to get her out of it but Lamar was sent to prison before he had the chance to. She is eventually able to get out of her contract by using her mortgage. Tandy finds out that Lamar was involved with the car crash that killed their mother but can't say anything about it. Rayna eventually finds out. Soon after Lamar is released from prison he suffers a fatal heart attack while visiting Teddy at his office.

During the season Rayna and Deacon are able to get back on good terms following the events of the wreck and him finding out that he is Maddie's biological father. Maddie and Deacon spend more time together and gives her music lessons much to Teddy's disliking. Also during the season, Rayna begins dating fellow country music singer, Luke Wheeler. When Maddie posts a video of herself singing, using Deacon's last name the media soon finds out the truth about her being his daughter. Rayna, Teddy and Deacon go on GMA to talk about the situation and Deacon says that Teddy did a great job raising Maddie.

After Rayna and Luke get done singing "Ball and Chain" at her show at LP Field, Luke proposes to her on stage and she accepts. Later that night Deacon visits her telling her not to marry Luke because he now knows how to love her. He also proposes to her.

Season 3

Rayna must make a decision whom to marry – Luke or Deacon. She goes through old letters that Deacon wrote to her, albums, and starts playing their song, "Postcard from Mexico". While listening to the song she looks back at their relationship, which includes her going to his hotel room and finding him being passed out or being unable to find him anywhere. She also remembers a time that Luke was there for her. Rayna then goes to Deacon and tells him that she chooses Luke because they have a clean slate and that he is the safe choice. Deacon responds that he is not the right choice.

Looking for new artists to sign at Highway 65, she comes across a fellow country singer, Sadie Stone who is looking for a new record deal. When Rayna hears that Jeff Fordham of Edgehill is talking to Sadie so does she. Rayna's manager Bucky later tells her that Sadie is leaning to towards Edgehill so Rayna rushes to her before contracts are signed. Sadie says that Edgehill can make her as big as 'Rayna Jaymes' but Rayna says no, only she (Sadie) can make herself big. Rayna then explains to her that Jeff only wants to sign her so he can show her off to his board and see that he has a female artist on his roster, then forget about her. With Highway 65 she won't. At the beginning of her show Sadie announces that she signed with Rayna leaving Jeff furious. In retaliation Jeff calls someone saying that he is interested in signing a young sister act then waves to Teddy. He wants to sign Maddie and Daphne. Rayna becomes closer to Juliette when she is the first person Juliette tells about her pregnancy.

During her tour Rayna is also planning her wedding to Luke. Rayna and Luke go two months without really seeing each other and when they do they have a few days off which Rayna uses that time to be interviewed by Rolling Stone. Luke gets mad and angry at her since they have barely seen each other. The Rolling Stone reporter then interviews her at home; as she, Luke and the reporter walk around they hear music playing loudly. They go find the noise and when they do they walk in on Maddie and Luke's son, Colt making out. Fearing that the reporter will write what he saw, Rayna goes to him and convinces him not to write about it if she instead gives her story about Deacon. Rayna gets the most CMA nominations with six including her and Luke both being against each other for "Entertainer of the Year", "Album" and "Single". When the CMA's finally come around, right off Rayna wins the first award of the night for "Single of the Year" beating Luke. During her speech she thanks Deacon who co-wrote it with her, as she says his name Luke is not pleased. Rayna keeps winning with again beating out Luke, this time for "Album of the Year". Luke so far has only won "Male Vocalist" and then "Musical Event" with Rayna. To blow off steam he drinks and his ego gets to him. He walks off to the restroom where Rayna follows him to see what's wrong. He complains about her thanking Deacon, she came to the show with him not Deacon and he is the reason why her album went gold because he proposed to her the day it was released. As the show closes Rayna sweeps her nominations and wins "Entertainer of the Year". At home Luke apologizes for his behavior, blames it on his ego and drinking which isn't an excuse, and she is the only reason why her album went gold.

As the wedding gets closer Rayna starts to feel unsure about going through it. The girls talk about going to boarding school when they hear from Luke that his kids do. Rayna doesn't like them talking about that with him without her. She tells the girls that they aren't going to boarding school. One of the reasons why is because she is feeling that everything is changing and not for the good. The day of the wedding arrives and before the ceremony Rayna tells Luke that she can't marry him and calls it off leaving him furious. Later on that day Rayna goes to Deacon's to tell him that she loves him, always has but needs some to time for herself. Jeff now only wants to sign Maddie so he can have a Taylor Swift like singer on his roster. He blackmails Teddy into signing off on Maddie being signed since only one parent's consent will do. Rayna is furious when she finds out but she is able to prevent it when she tells Jeff's boss about Layla overdosing at Jeff's house and among other things. In addition to Maddie not getting signed, Jeff gets fired and Edgehill folds. Deacon finds out that he has liver cancer and doesn't want Rayna to know because he tells Scarlett that he is the one who is supposed to take care of her not the other way around. He keeps his distance from her for a while until she asks him to sing with her to celebrate her tenth anniversary of being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. When they get done singing he runs off so he can avoid talking to her. He goes to his cabin at the lake but she follows him. Deacon finally tells her that he has cancer and she breaks down. After spending all day at the lake talking, they finally get back together. The two go back to Rayna's house so they can tell the girls they are back together and that Deacon can tell them that he is sick.

With Deacon's sister Beverly being his only match as a donor, Rayna goes to Mississippi to ask her but Beverly refuses. Rayna and Beverly also don't have a good history with each other because years ago Deacon chose to join Rayna's band instead of making it big with Beverly. She resents her for that. Beverly eventually comes through to be his donor. As the surgery approaches Deacon has nightmares about not making it. Before he goes into the O.R. he asks Rayna to marry him right then and there. She tells him no, they will wait until after the operation so they can have a proper ceremony. They do however recite the wedding vows to each other. Rayna assures him that he is going to be alright. While waiting for the surgery to be over, Dr. Rand brings Rayna over to the side to quietly tell her something went wrong. The heart-monitor then appears on screen showing a flat-line, leaving viewers to wonder if it was Deacon or Beverly who flat-lined.

Season 4

A month has past since the transplant, Deacon and Beverly made it through the surgery though Beverly has had an aneurysm and is in a coma. Rayna who just officially dropped Juliette from Highway 65 gets a call from her crying, saying she that needs help. So Rayna flies out to Los Angeles to go see her because she cares about her. When Rayna tries to talk to her after her set she doesn't have much luck. Juliette only yells at her and says that she is not having good luck with Highway 65. On her way back home in Nashville, Rayna hears the radio DJ's criticizing her about letting Juliette go and how she is not that good at running a label. In efforts to save her label Rayna tries to find a big named artist to sign. She comes up with a rocker named Markus Keen who is looking for a new label but Bucky thinks it won't work since he is a rock artist. On a flight to New York she is conveniently seated right next to Markus. During the flight she smooth talks him about switching to country, at her label he can be heard and also sign with Highway 65. Markus ends up signing with her. Scarlett makes the tough decision of letting Beverly off life support. At the funeral Deacon breaks down during the eulogy so Rayna takes over. After the funeral Markus calls Rayna saying that he is on his way to Nashville ready to work. Rayna gets mad at Maddie when she finds out that Juliette invited to her sing on stage with her in Atlanta and punishes her. She is having a tough time Maddie and brings her and Daphne to the meeting with Markus. Markus gets Rayna to produce his album after he fires Avery for not "getting" his vision and among other things. While working on the album he acts like a jerk as usual, they don't see eye to eye so he storms off saying this was a mistake. Markus eventually gets her version of his song now. Deacon decides to buy into a bar with one of his buddies Frankie, who was his AA sponsor but Rayna is not to sure about it since he is a recovering alcoholic. The two get into an argument over it but she eventually supports him. Deacon proposes to Rayna and she says yes.

When Rayna and Deacons wedding day arrives, the paparazzi has discovered where the wedding is going to be held - at Rayna's late mother's country property, where she had lots of wonderful childhood memories with her mom and Tandy. Rayna's publicist finds a private barn where the wedding can be held, out of the public eye. Maddie is concerned about her parents getting married, because sometimes Deacon can be violent like how he pushed a paparazzi photographer out of the way and broke his camera in rage. Daphne is concerned about the marriage too, as she's worried about being the outsider. Rayna assures both of the girls that there is nothing to worry about and that they are a family nothing is going to tear that apart, and Deacon loves them both more than anything. Tandy is openly opposed to the marriage, and threatens to hunt Deacon down if he ever hurts her sister. Everyone is at the wedding ceremony and the two say their "I Do's".

Maddie Frankie's daughter Cash. Maddie runs away from home to live with Cash, and Cash is going to help her with her career. Cash tells Maddie about the recording contract at Edgehill she was offered that she didn't know about. Maddie feels that her mother is preventing her from a career and wants to be emancipated so she can take control of her career. Rayna doesn't want Maddie to be like her how she was younger, and left home for a career. She wants to shield her from this lifestyle but she also feels like she is losing her. At the hearing Deacon's violent drunken past is exposed to the judge. The lawyer uses this as a tool to help get Maddie emancipated. Deacon realizes the only way the lawyer knew all of that is because Frankie told Cash who then told the lawyer. Deacon then goes to confront Frankie outside of their bar. The two get in a brawl after Frankie punches him. Just as Frankie noses gets busted and is all bloody everyone from inside walks in on them and Frankie accuses Deacon of trying to kill him. This causes the judge to make the decision of granting Maddie with the emancipation. Cash wants Maddie to get away from Nashville so there will be no connections with Rayna. Maddie ends up signing with a label in New York. When an older record producer attempts to seduce Maddie, Deacon bursts in and rescues her. Maddie reconciles with her family and, as the season comes to a close, Rayna, Deacon, Maddie and Daphne are a happy family once more.

References

External links

• Rayna Jaymes at the Internet Movie Database