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Summer Walker’s “Heart of a Woman” beats the competition on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart this week as the single rules the list dated May 23. The new leader, released and promoted through LVRN/Interscope/ICLG, climbs from No. 2 and was the most-played song on U.S. panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of May 9-15, according to Luminate.
As “Heart of a Woman” rises, it ejects Leon Thomas’ “Mutt” from the chart’s prime spot after a two-week lead. “Mutt” retreats to No. 3 after a 12% slide in plays for the week. (Between the current and former leader, 803Fresh’s “Boots on the Ground” pushes 4-2; the track, best known for soundtracking a viral line dance, enjoys an 9% gain in weekly play count.)
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With “Heart of a Woman,” Walker captures her fourth Adult R&B Airplay No. 1. She first reigned through a featured role on Trey Songz’s “Back Home,” a three-week champ in November-December 2020, followed with her own “Unloyal,” featuring Ari Lennox, for one week in September 2022 and logged six weeks in charge thanks to “Good Good,” a collaboration with Usher and 21 Savage, in November-December 2023.
Improvements in the adult R&B sector help “Heart of a Woman” maintain its top-five status on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. There, the single spends a fourth consecutive week at No. 5 – after having previously reached a No. 3 best – but falls to 12.7 million in total audience, a 6% drop from the prior week’s total.
Elsewhere, “Heart of a Woman” slides 8-12 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (down 14%).
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Beyond “Heart of a Woman,” Walker enjoys a second current chart single, new track “Spend It.” The song, released May 2, opened at No. 12 on the Hot R&B Songs chart (dated May 17) and at No. 30 on the corresponding Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ranking.
“Heart of a Woman” and “Spend It” preview Walker’s forthcoming studio album, Finally Over It. The set, which was announced last October, is the third installment of the singer’s album series, following Over It (2019) and Still Over It (2022).
All Billboard charts dated May 24 will update on Tuesday, May 20, on Billboard.com.
In the five years since Opia, her Polaris Music Prize-shortlisted debut studio album, Canadian R&B singer-songwriter Savannah Ré has transitioned out of the major label system into an era of independence heralded by the self-assured melodies of Formed, her new full-length project.
Executive produced by her husband Yogi the Producer — who won his first Grammy earlier this year, thanks to his work on Chris Brown’s 11:11 (Deluxe) — Formed finds Ré building on her previously established sonic profile of soulful, midtempo R&B with forays into country-esque guitar samples (“Go’ Head”), gutsy wordplay (“Nine Lives”) and candid moments of pure seduction (“East Side Demon”). A featureless affair, the new project flaunts the three-time Juno Award winner’s versatility while keeping her grounding themes of maturation and divine femininity centered.
Formed was initially an expansion of Ré’s 2022 No Weapons EP, but her journey into the indie arena and general life changes caused the project to evolve into something entirely separate. The pitfalls and triumphs of that journey punctuate the entire project, from the testimonial that is “Made It Out” to the poignant self-reflection of “Where You Left Me.” Though she wades through a well of intensely personal experiences for Formed, the project feels notably looser than Opia – and that was intentional.
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“I think I was hypercritical of everything during Opia,” Ré tells Billboard just days after returning from a seven-year anniversary trip to St. Lucia with her husband, who was honored with a parade celebrating his Grammy win. “Being a perfectionist can ruin the essence of what you’re doing. I’m having more fun making music this time around, to be honest.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with Billboard, Savannah Ré breaks down Formed, reveals her initial reaction to Drake sampling her for 100 Gigs, and details how she’s navigating being an independent artist.
Opia, your last full-length project, dropped almost five years ago. Why the long wait between that album and Formed?
How much time do we have? [Laughs]. Honestly, a lot of things changed very rapidly. I was in a deal with Universal Music Canada from 2018 all the way to 2023, when I finally went a different direction. It took some time for me to figure out what it is I want to do. For my entire career prior to [this moment], I’ve been a signed artist; [I’m] figuring out navigating things myself. I had to be in the driver’s seat.
It’s a completely different process being independent versus being signed. There’s so many extra steps, so many things to have your eyes across, so much business that I’m doing now. I wanted to make sure that the music wasn’t getting lost in that process, and that I was still sticking to my vision. It took a little while, but we’re here now!
Talk to me a little bit about Matrimony Records.
Matrimony is the label that I started with my husband, Johann [Deterville], Yogi the Producer, last spring. We were like, “We do everything together already, so why don’t we make it official before thinking about signing anywhere else or going back to a major? We should have our own thing on paper.”
A lot of our foundation, of course, is love and all the things that go into a relationship. But it’s music as well. That’s how we fell in love — so what better name than “Matrimony?” It’s marriage, as far as love, but it’s marriage to the music, as well. We’re also looking forward to finding and signing other artists as well. We want to build Matrimony up.
You won the Juno Award for traditional R&B/soul recording three years in a row, effectively making you, if not the face, one of the defining voices of Canadian R&B. How does that make you feel?
I hate that. No, I’m kidding! [Laughs.] Honestly, I felt seen. It was an honor to be the first artist to be nominated in both the traditional and contemporary R&B/soul categories in the same year. To be nominated, and then to win again and again and again, I was like, “OK, that’s enough now, guys!” I know everybody looks surprised, but I was genuinely surprised every single time I won. It’s been great, and it feels affirming.
What was the first and last song you finished recording for Formed?
“Go’ Head” was the first. It actually wasn’t for me because I’m a writer as well. I was pitching that song around, and from what I know, Chris Brown’s team had it for two years. We thought it was going to make it on [2022’s Breezy], and then it didn’t, so I kept the record. I played it for some of my non-musician friends, and they were like, “Oh my gosh, you need to release this song.” Seeing that visceral feeling, I was like, “I’m gonna put this on the project.”
I think we wrote that song in 2018, so we went back in and rejigged it a little bit to be closer to what I would say. The production is exactly the same, and the topline is pretty much exactly the same. And now it’s the focus track for [Formed].
The last song was “Made It Out.” I have this thing with projects where I’ll get really close to finishing, and then I’m like, “It’s missing one song.” I won’t exactly know what it sounds like, but I’ll know how it’s gonna make me feel when I hear it. I wrote “Made It Out” with Marcus Semaj, who wrote several songs on Opia with me. He sent me the song, and I was like, “Brother… can I have it?” And he was like, “Of course.”
Because I’m a writer, I’ll always change things or write another verse or whatever. But this song… it was like he was looking into my life. To me, it’s a message of, making it out of your circumstances and the things that were supposed to keep you down. After that, I knew the project was done.
What would you say changed the most — or not at all — about your approach to songwriting and singing on Formed versus Opia?
I’d say a lot changed. I think I was hypercritical of everything during Opia. While I’m still a perfectionist, I try not to ruin things anymore because, to be honest, being a perfectionist can ruin the essence of what you’re doing. Do you love the song? Does it make you feel something? Then you don’t need to scrutinize it into the ground or rewrite it 17 times or spend four or five studio sessions recording it. Go with your gut. I’m having more fun making music this time around, to be honest.
A couple of weeks ago, you got on Instagram to address some people missing the message of “Nine Lives” because they couldn’t get past the use of the word “p—y.” Was that a first for you? How does that make you feel as an artist?
It’s quite different! I’m not used to being on the “hate train” side of things. I was very clear that [“Nine Lives”] is for the girls. Unfortunately, it ended up, on the incel side of the Internet with older, non-Black men. And it’s like you, [this song] wasn’t for you. It’s a song about female empowerment sung by a very visibly Black woman. It doesn’t matter what I say when I open my mouth, you are not gonna like it. So, even when addressing it, I didn’t make it about them. I just doubled down on the song’s message.
And with [the word “p—y”] especially, it’s so interesting that it’s okay for it to be said in all these negative ways. But then, I reclaim it in a positive way, and it’s an issue. Although that word may have been used mostly in a vulgar way, to me, it holds power. When I sing, “bring life,” I’m not just referring to childbirth. I mean that there is a woman in everybody’s life who breathes life into them. I’m talking about some serious stuff in the song.
Formed also houses “Sex With My Ex,” which Drake sampled on his 100 Gigs website. Where were you when you found out about that? What was your initial reaction, and what, if anything, do you think will come of that at this point?
We were in the studio working on finishing [Formed], funny enough. When it dropped, the internet started going crazy, so we went to check it out. We clicked around and found a Boi 1-da folder and started clicking through it. The first video was my voice, and then there was a second one, and a third one with a different vocal sample of mine. We’re sitting there flabbergasted at this point, because that third clip was actually Drake in the studio.
I immediately FaceTimed 1-da, like, “What the helly?” And he didn’t even know much. Based on [Drake’s] haircut, the footage seemed to be from the Certified Lover Boy era, I guess. 1-da has always said that it takes a lot for Drake to record on a beat, so, generally speaking, it’s probably going to come out. He has a 99% kill rate. So, I was like, “OK… so what do I do?” Because “Sex with My Ex” was a freestyle I recorded in 2018!
So, we ended up recutting the song in 2022, which is when I met Leon Thomas, and he, myself, and Yogi flipped it. “Sex” was already on [Formed] at that point, so to me, that was some universe stuff. What are the chances of a song that’s been sitting since 2018 ending up in this Drake 100 Gigs thing? Initially, it wasn’t a single, but the team quickly pivoted and dropped the song late last year.
I don’t know if he’ll ever do a 100 Gigs mixtape, but it definitely put more eyes on me and the song. As a freshly independent artist, I’m just grateful either way.
What’s the most important thing you learned from Boi 1-da while you were on his 1Music label?
Prior to signing with him, I was like, “Hey, there aren’t a lot of female artists out there that look like me, maybe I should just focus on being a writer.” That’s how our initial connection was made. Someone of his caliber and stature looking at me and saying, “Not only do I think you should be an artist, but you should also be my artist…” that changed the game for me. It made me confident and self-assured. I was able to lean on him when it came to anything musical.
People think being his artist made it easier – absolutely not. If he don’t like something, he [won’t mince words]. So that started to breed a certain standard within me as well. He would also start bringing me to [different artists’] sessions so I could be a fly on the wall and see how these things work. I was really fresh when he signed me, and I don’t think a better person could have ushered me into the music world and treated me with such respect. That’s like my brother for life, I talk to him every day, whether I’m signed to him or not. He changed my life.
How do your Jamaican roots – and Yogi’s Lucian roots – manifest in your music?
My Caribbean roots are what raised me. Even in the R&B space, [West Indians are] going to approach it a little differently. People have credited rap for some of my rhythmic choices, but I think it goes back to the different riddims and cadences we hear in our [reggae and dancehall] music. There’s always those little sprinkles, and they’ll definitely come through a lot more on the deluxe, [which will have three or four new songs and be out soon]. And Yogi be sneaking little riddims into things all the time!
Do you have any plans to tour Formed yet?
I do. And God willing, it will happen. But, chile, being independent is ghetto as hell, okay?! It’s an interesting climate for touring. We’re seeing so many major artists cancel their tours, and I just want to be very intentional about it and make sure I can give the best show possible. I’m sure I could figure out a way to just bring my little self and do my thing, but that’s not the show I want to bring for my first headlining tour. I want it to be as big as the music and as big as I can possibly make it. That’s one of my goals, and hopefully, this year, I can pull it off.
Kai Cenat will be making his directorial debut behind the camera as the streamer’s been tapped by Drake and PartyNextDoor to direct the OVO duo’s video for “Somebody Loves Me”. Cenat explained during a live stream on Saturday (May 17) that he’s going to direct the visual for Drake and PND’s moody hit, but also […]
As Joey Bada$$ handles California cats like Ray Vaughn, Reason, AzChike and Daylyt on his lonesome, it looks like the West Coast isn’t giving up last year’s “Not Like Us” and GNX-feuled momentum without a fight. Over the past few months, Joey has been heralding his return to the rap game with slick boom-bap tracks […]
Caleb Moore never thought he’d release “Comeback Kid.” But in a warmly-lit townhouse above a clothing store in Manhattan Friday (May 16), a crowd cheered and whistled so loudly for the song’s music video that applause for that night’s historic Knicks victory, hours later, paled in comparison.
The “Comeback Kid” video release party on the second floor of Lingua Franca felt like summertime’s grand entrance, complete with chilled wine and beers, smoke breaks on the balcony, live music and a movie projector for the main event. A crowd of about 50 close friends, family and industry colleagues — including actor Billy Crudup, designer Cynthia Rowley and comedian Dan Toomey — dotted sofas and stood or sat cross-legged around Moore, son of actress Julianne Moore and director Bart Freundlich, who seems to move with his own gravitational pull.
Caleb Moore performs at his “Comeback Kid” video release party in NYC on May 16, 2025.
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With his guitar on his knee, the 27-year-old alternative R&B artist — who recently released his debut EP, Doing Better, and opened for Barry Can’t Swim at the Surf Lodge — delivered a raw, acoustic performance to kick off the night.
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Moore started with “Paranoia,” his first release of 2025, followed by his March single “Bad Guy,” a harmonious collaboration with NYC indie-pop artist India Thieriot, who joined Moore at the mic to perform it together for the first time. Commanding the audience with a gleaming smile, Moore riffed and joked between songs, injecting his set with lightheartedness, laughter and gratitude. The crowd sang along to “Sunshine,” a fan-favorite at Moore’s local shows, and quieted to absorb “Burn It Down,” an unreleased single.
An intimate crowd cheers for Caleb Moore at his “Comeback Kid” video release party in NYC on May 16, 2025.
Tania Veltchev
Finally, before screening the “Comeback Kid” music video, Moore played it live for the first time. The song is a reflective ballad that Moore says comes from the realization that he used to hold a “‘keep your chin up’ attitude almost to a fault.” Initially, he thought the song lacked broad appeal.
“The one you don’t think anyone will want to listen to ends up being the one they like the best,” Moore mused before settling into the song’s meditative melody. Moore wrote, produced, mixed and mastered “Comeback Kid,” which he says is his most stripped down song yet, featuring only vocals, guitar and bass.
Its video mirrors that vulnerability. Filmed on 35mm in one continuous take, the nearly five-minute shot follows Moore through the bustle of Lower Manhattan in the early morning light as he sings “Comeback Kid” to himself with mounting vigor. Between budget constraints and the rising sun, the crew — directed by NYC filmmaker Giles Perkins — only had two tries to get the shot right. Their first take became the final cut. Once the credits rolled, the room erupted.
With his music video officially out in the world, Moore, a native New Yorker, promptly replaced it on the projector with the Knicks game and assured everyone that pizza was en route. Moore grew up attending home games with his family — even during the Knicks’ especially painful losing years — so not even his own show was going to stop him from catching the game. The crowd stuck around, too, and joy for Moore melded with joy for the city as the Knicks clinched victory, making it into the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1999. What a night for a comeback.
Lizzo dished on her reaction to being mentioned in Beyoncé‘s “Break My Soul — The Queens Remix” on the May 15 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
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After confirming she had absolutely no idea the name-drop was coming (“Beyoncé don’t give nobody no heads up! She is the queen of surprise drops!”), the singer revealed that she was actually on vacation in a “pretty remote” location when the track was released back in the summer of 2022.
“I thought somebody was messing with me,” Lizzo said about receiving the news via text. “And then, I was like, ‘OK, it’s in a song, maybe it’s quick’…And then when I found out what it actually was, it was her paying homage to all of the women who inspire her, that really moved me.
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“And she put me in the family! I’m next to Kelly [Rowland], I’m next to Solange,” she continued, referencing her name being sandwiched between Queen Bey’s younger sister and her lifelong bestie and Destiny’s Child bandmate in the spoken word bridge.
Elsewhere in the track, which samples Madonna’s classic 1990 No. 1 hit “Vogue,” the Cowboy Carter icon shouts out everyone from trailblazers like Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Grace Jones to contemporaries like Michelle Williams, Alicia Keys and Rihanna.
“And by the way, it’s not like she just used me ’cause she needed someone — she said Grace Jones twice. That means she really wanted to say my name,” Lizzo concluded before launching into the hook of Destiny’s Child’s 1999 hit she’d just inadvertently referenced. “I’m very, very honored to this day. I love her very, very much. And, yeah, I’m still gooped and gagged.”
Elsewhere during the show, the “Still Bad” songstress threw shade at an unnamed celebrity who treated her differently after she achieved success on the Billboard charts and even spilled some flirty bedroom secrets with host Andy Cohen.
Watch Lizzo recall the moment she found out about Beyoncé’s surprise name-check below.
The Weeknd shares how his music from his album Hurry Up Tomorrow helps tell the story of his new movie of the same name, his inspiration for how the song works through the movie, why he decided to include his older songs in the movie and more with Billboard‘s Senior R&B, Hip-Hop & Afrobeats Writer Heran Mamo.
Heran Mamo:Heran Mamo from Billboard, as you know …
The Weeknd:Yes, how are you?
Heran MamoI’m good. How are you?
The Weeknd:I’m good, I’m good.
Heran Mamo:Good, well, congratulations on the film.
The Weeknd:Thank you.
Heran Mamo:Exciting to see you venture out into, you know, different mediums. But also I feel like knowing how much you love film, it’s such a natural progression to see your career go this way.
The Weeknd:Thank you.
Heran Mamo:One thing I wanted to know is, obviously you said in previous interviews that the film came before the album. Yeah, and you hear a lot of the like, the songs in the film, like, “Wake Me Up,” Cry for Me,” “Drive,” etc. Were those made specifically for the film and then later appeared on the album, and then all the other songs on Hurry Up Tomorrow the album, like, “Enjoy the Show,” “Reflections,” “Laughing,” etc., made when you realize, “Oh, OK, now this is gonna become an album”?
The Weeknd:Yeah. So there are certain songs that we needed completed for the film. Obviously, that performance drive was actually it wasn’t complete, but the idea was there, but we always wanted a performance song, like it was like, “What’s a concert song that we can open the film with, and in the vein of a pop record of live performance,” and “Wake Me Up,” was kind of the inspiration some of the stuff that Justice was doing. We always wanted that to kind of hit in that type of way. So, so there are certain songs, and then, of course, the the title track, the title song. That’s that idea.
You know, I was really inspired by, by Robert Altman, The Long Goodbye, where there’s this one song that you you hear it throughout the entire film. That’s what different iterations of it. When you hear it on the radio, you hear like a pop version of it, and you know, subjectively in the score, you know, diegetically, like a mariachi band will sing it every time he’s like when he goes to Mexico. And I kind of wanted to do that with Hurry Up Tomorrow, where you know, you hear, you know, pieces of this song throughout the film. It’s essentially you’re you’re seeing the making of it, not literally me making it, but like the themes and the concept and the melody and the soul of it is being made throughout the film. And you hear it the DNA is you. You hear it in the in the in the score. But eventually, by the end of it, it’s fully blossomed into this, this song, which essentially is what the film is saying. And funny enough, I actually had to finish the lyrics so that the night before, I had to perform it at the end. So yes, this music is very much a big part of the film. It came after, but it is like a sister piece. They don’t exist without each other.
Watch the full video above!
Lil Wayne, Teyana Taylor, GloRilla, Playboi Carti, and Leon Thomas are the first performers announced for the 2025 BET Awards. The 25th anniversary show will air live from Peacock Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Monday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET.
GloRilla is one of this year’s leading nominees, with six nominations, including album of the year for Glorious. Playboi Carti has one of the most successful albums of 2025; Music (which was released after the eligibility period for the 2025 BET Awards ended) topped the Billboard 200 for three weeks in March and April.
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More performers and honorees will be announced. Comedian Kevin Hart will host the show. It’s his second time fronting the show, having previously hosted in 2011.
“We’re setting the tone for a night that celebrates 25 years of impact, creativity, and Black culture,” Connie Orlando, evp of specials, music programming & music strategy at BET, said in a statement. “With electrifying performances from some of the biggest names in music and an iconic comedic host, BET Awards 2025 will be a can’t-miss celebration of everything the culture represents.”
BET will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of its music video countdown show 106 & Park with a special tribute, with creative direction by Teyana Taylor and The Aunties Production. Former hosts AJ Calloway, Free Marie Wright, Julissa Bermudez, Keshia Chanté, Rocsi Diaz, and Terrence J will reunite on stage for a nostalgic celebration. The tribute will feature performances by Bow Wow (who hosted the show from 2012-14), Amerie, B2K, Jim Jones, Mya, T.I., and more. 106 & Park aired on BET from 2000-14. There are reports that a reboot of the show will premiere by September.
Kendrick Lamar leads the 2025 BET Awards nominations with 10 nods. Doechii, Drake, Future and GloRilla are tied with six nominations, Metro Boomin earned five, and SZA and The Weeknd are tied with four each.
Orlando serves as the executive producer for BET Awards 2025, with Jamal Noisette, svp of tentpoles & music community engagement, for BET. Jesse Collins Entertainment is the production company for the show, with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon, and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay also serving as executive producers.
Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Coco Jones brought the house down during her sold-out NYC stop on the Why Not More? Tour — even in the middle of a rainstorm. On a wet and windy Wednesday night, fans wrapped around the block in ponchos and hoodies, eager to witness the rising star’s undeniable presence. For many, Coco […]
Chris Brown was arrested at his hotel in Manchester, U.K. on Thursday morning (May 15) over what British authorities alleged was an attack on a music producer at a London nightclub two years ago. According to The Independent, Brown, 36, was detained by Metropolitan Police at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Salford just hours after he arrived on a private jet.
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The singer was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, with officials telling the paper, “A 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester shortly after 2am on Thursday, May 15 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm,” without naming Brown, per protocol. “He has been taken into custody where he remains. The arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on February 19, 2023. The investigation is being led by detectives from the Central West Area Basic Command Unit.”
According to the paper, producer Abraham Diaw accused Brown of smashing him over the head with a bottle and kicking him at the Tape nightclub on that night, with Diaw previously telling The Sun on Sunday that Brown “hit me over the head two or three times. My knee collapsed as well.” Diaw has also lodged a civil complaint against Brown for $16 million seeking damagers for injuries and losses as a result of the alleged incident, according to The Independent.
At press time a spokesperson for Brown had not returned a request for comment on the arrest.
Brown has a long history of arrests and allegations of violence, including his 2009 beating of then-girlfriend Rihanna, which led to him being charged with felony assault; that incident resulted in the U.K. denying Brown a visa to travel there for a short tour in 2010. In 2012 he was involved in a brawl with Drake and his entourage at a N.Y. nightclub that injured eight people, followed by an altercation with Frank Ocean over a parking space in West Hollywood in 2013.
The singer was also arrested for felony assault for punching a man outside a hotel in Washington, D.C. in 2013, which led to him being charged with a probation violation and a sentence of 131 days in lockup. He was also allegedly among the men behind an assault on a man during a basketball game at Palms Casino Resort in 2015, an incident his team denied he was involved in. In 2016, Brown was arrested at his home on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and, a year later, was court-ordered to stay 100 yards away from ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran after she told a court he’d repeatedly threatened her. Among other similar incidents, Brown and several members of his entourage were named in a lawsuit over an alleged assault following one of the singer’s shows in Fort Worth, Texas in which Brown and several accomplices allegedly “brutally and severely beat” four men.
Brown is preparing to launch the European leg of his Breezy Bowl XX Tour, which is slated to kick off on June 8 at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. It was not known at press time if Brown’s arrest will hamper his ability to play a planned series of June shows in the U.K. on the tour.
At press time it was also unclear if Brown was still in custody and it did not appear as if he’d commented on the arrest on his social feeds; a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police department had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.