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In today’s episode of ‘Billboard Unfiltered,’ Billboard staffers Kyle Denis, Damien Scott, Carl Lamarre and Trevor Anderson break down Drake tying with Taylor Swift & Jay-Z on the Billboard 200 with ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U,’ if MCs should take J.Cole seriously, Ye sharing an alleged DM of The Game DMing Tina Knowles, Rolling Stone’s worst song on Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’ the 15 up and coming hip-hop, African & R&B artists to watch in 2025 and more!
Carl Lamarre:
Yo yo. What’s going on, y’all, welcome to a fresh episode of Billboard Unfiltered, gentlemen!
Kyle Denis:
Yo yo.
Carl Lamarre:
What it do, what it do, what it do, what it do? How y’all feeling?
Trevor Anderson:
You a little high today?
Carl Lamarre:
I’m on my high horse.
Trevor Anderson:
Clearly!
Damien Scott:
We all know why.
Carl Lamarre:
We all know why!
Kyle Denis:
A high horse? Uh-oh, why?
Carl Lamarre:
The reason why-
Kyle Denis:
Something happened?
Carl Lamarre:
Huh?
Kyle Denis:
Something happened?
Carl Lamarre:
Something monumental will happen.
Kyle Denis:
Oh, put me on. What happened?
Trevor Anderson:
Monumental?
Carl Lamarre:
Potentially, I’m not gonna say historic, but we’re on the doors of something, well, on the steps of some history-making sh–. I gotta say we’re gonna start this off with brother Aubrey Graham notched-
Damien Scott:
Surprise, surprise.
Carl Lamarre:
Notched number 14.
Trevor Anderson:
Come on, notch?
Carl Lamarre:
Notch. Come on. I took some advanced classes back in the day. Brother Aubrey and PARTYNEXTDOOR notched a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U.’ 246,000 album equivalent units, marking number 14 for Mr. Aubrey Graham, tying him with Jay-Z and Taylor Swift for the most No. 1s for soloists still trailing, of course, The Beatles with 19.
Kyle Denis;
Come on.
Trevor Anderson:
Hey, they got the AI song a few years ago, a lil AI album.
Carl Lamarre:
Still got some work to do. But you know, first off, of course, Mr. PARTYNEXTDOOR, shout out to PARTY getting his first No. 1 album.
Kyle Denis:
Absolutely.
Damien Scott:
This is his biggest first week, right?
Carl Lamarre:
Biggest first week.
Keep watching for more!
To launch the new series Billboard Live, Isaiah Falls exclusively performs “Diva,” “Butterflies” and an unreleased track. He also sits down with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly to chat about the inspiration behind his music and more!
Isaiah Falls:How are y’all doing? My name is Isaiah Falls, and we’re at Billboard Live. I’m here with The lovers, Luxury Lane, and we’re going to perform a few songs for y’all, so let’s get it.
Isaiah Falls:[Sings “Diva”]
It’s big love over here baby. Shout-out to all my lovers out there. If you know this s–t, vibe with me. We good? Y’all chillin’, that s–t felt amazing man. So my name is Isaiah Falls, and we’re here at Billboard Live. Big shout-out to Billboard. Thank y’all for having us for real. We gon’ get into this next song, it’s one of my favorite songs to perform. This song right here is called “Butterflies.” Man, big shout-out to my sister, Joyce Wright, she couldn’t be here today, but we gon’ rock out, so y’all ready? Let’s vibe.
Isaiah Falls:[Sings “Butterflies”]
Tetris Kelly:What’s up, man? Thank you for bringing the swag to Billboard, man. If i could just have, like, an ounce of that, I would be doing pretty good.
I appreciate that, man. Thank you, brother, I appreciate it for real.
But let’s talk about your swag in general. Listening to your music and watching your performance like in “Diva,” you say, “You know i’m not ashamed to love my b—h.” How are you with that in life and in music?
Keep watching for more!
Billboard is expanding its Rookie of the Month interview series by highlighting rising stars from more genres like dance and rock. But the new crop of artists emerging out of the African continent have continued making it clearer that their music can exist beyond the borders of “Afrobeats” and should not be broadly and lackadaisically labeled as such. “It has African intonations in it,” Tems said of her genre-bending music during her Women in Music interview last year.
Like Tems, many African artists have discovered one-of-a-kind ways to express themselves that cannot fit into one box while staying true to their roots. And Billboard is dedicating a spotlight to them through our new African Rookie of the Month series, which Odeal kicked off in January and Qing Madi is continuing in February.
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Qing Madi learned in high school that “the only reason a queen exists is because of the king.” But her majestic moniker – pronounced “King” and spelled with a “Q” to symbolize her femininity – honors her rapid ascent in the African music space, and foreshadows her lasting reign.
Upon graduation, the Benin City native (real name Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma) moved to Lagos with her family and started writing songs for the country’s stars like Skales, Iyanya and Larry Gaaga. While she was grateful her pengame paid the bills, she also posted covers on TikTok and freestyles with guitarist and producer Wademix on Instagram. “He created this safe space where I could create my music even though I didn’t have a platform or anyone that was going to download it,” Madi, now 18, tells Billboard at Soho Warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, California.
One day, she went to the studio to record backup vocals for Blaqbonez, and his producer Ramoni played her the beat’s warped acoustic guitar loop and subtle trap hi-hats. Madi asked Ramoni if she could freestyle over it, and her poignant debut single “See Finish” was born in 2022. “I never put out anything original, because I wasn’t bold enough and didn’t think people would like it,” she told Billboard in an interview last year.
The viral TikTok success of “See Finish” eventually landed Madi a label deal with JTON Music and Columbia Records via BuVision. With only three singles to her name – “See Finish,” “Why” and the saucy standout “Ole” – Madi opened her “Ole” collaborator BNXN‘s six-date U.S. tour in October 2023, before dropping her eponymous debut EP the following month. The seven-track project melds her sweet R&B melodies and innocent, imaginative lyricism about embracing love and what the future holds while not letting her enemies get the best of her with irresistibly smooth Afropop production. “Vision” – a mesmerizing Afrobeats/R&B track Madi believes is “the most perfect thing I’ve ever written” – received an even dreamier remix treatment from her Columbia labelmate Chlöe for the deluxe edition of Qing Madi.
But for her debut studio album I Am the Blueprint, which dropped at the end of January, there’s only room for the Qing. She’s self-assured in the artist she’s always meant to become, and incredibly in tune with her emotions when it comes to love.
“You can tell that this is coming from a teenager, someone who’s lived a certain life and is trying to open her heart to the public,” she says. “My music is euphoric, it’s timeless. It’s going to live 100 years, even when I’m gone.”
Below, Billboard speaks with February’s African Rookie of the Month about the years-long journey of making I Am the Bluepint, the meaning behind her blue motif, how “The Rumble in the Jungle” inspired her single “Ali Bomaye,” and why “love songs are the easiest songs to write.”
My first question has to be about Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance since you’re a superfan of his. What did you think about it?
There were a lot of things were I was like, “Kendriiick.” I liked the Easter eggs, especially with the [Laughs] “A minor” necklace. I liked the coordination of Uncle Sam. There was a lot of stuff I pinpointed and was like, “Wow, this is so tough.” I like the fact he didn’t start with “Not Like Us,” because that was such an expected move. It was so sick.
When did you know music was your calling?
I genuinely believed songwriting was my calling because I loved it so much. I liked impressing other people because I would sing what I had written and everyone was like, “Oh, this is so sick!” I felt fulfilled. I never had stage fright, I was quite confident, but I didn’t think the world would put me in a position where I had to sing my own lyrics. But when I blew up on TikTok, and I got signed and started performing, I was like, “Ooh, this is definitely what I’m meant to do.”
I read in your OkayAfrica interview that you were “very jealous” of people who got to sing your lyrics, because “people appreciated it way more, because they had a familiar face in front of it.” How did you eventually transition from songwriter to the stars to a star in your own right?
It was really God — because originally, I hated the fact that I couldn’t really be a face to my music. I felt like I was selling a part of me, and I couldn’t argue with it because I was getting money off of it. But then I was always intimately hurt by the fact that I couldn’t really say, “Yo, these are my lyrics you’re singing!” I didn’t think it was possible, because at the time I was doing all of this, there wasn’t a lot of African female artists that were being appreciated. This space was very small for us. Once the new people started popping up, and I popped up, I was like, “Oh, OK, y’all letting us in? Thanks.” [Laughs.]
What kind of music did you grow up listening to, and how did that influence the music that you make?
I grew up listening to Kendrick Lamar, Brandy and a lot of other artists that I’m not even certain I know their names, because I lived next to a bar [that] used to play music all night. I would fall asleep to ‘90s R&B. And then I fell in love with rap music. Because of how much storytelling Kendrick has in his songs, I always want to think my songs should have a direction, a storyline, a target. I’m trying to hit a particular nerve or emotion. I’m like, “OK, if I’m writing a heartbreak song, there has to be a reason, a subject and a person.” I also listened to a lot of Wande Coal – he’s an African GOAT, melodic genius.
And what kind of music do you listen to now?
Kendrick Lamar. I was listening to GNX, DAMN., To Pimp A Butterfly. It’s a nostalgia thing, because I grew up on him. Listening to him puts me back in Benin [City], in that house.
You’ve also sung background vocals for other artists. How did you get on Wizkid’s 2023 “Diamonds” track?
My friend P. Prime called me and told me he needed assistance on a particular record. I pulled up to put my vocals on the song — but when I got there, I met Wizkid and Wande Coal. I was like [nervously chuckling], “Hi.” That is such a random thing to do on a Tuesday. Growing up, [I was] in school and trying to have discussions about these artists, and now I’m right in front of them [and] on their songs. It was an insane feeling.
They really did a good job of making me feel comfortable. [Wizkid] vocally led me on what he wanted, because he knows exactly what he wants on his record. He loved it, he was like, “Yeah, this is it. It’s perfect.”
How did you get Chloe on the “Vision” remix?
For my deluxe, I remember my team saying we have to get a feature on a record. And I’m like, “Oh, ‘American Love.’” And they were like, “No, no, no, no. We can’t hear nobody on it. We want to get a feature for ‘Vision.’” At the time, I was like, “I cannot hear anybody on ‘Vision.’ That is my baby, do not put nobody on that record.” I was so against it. Then they went ahead and reached out to Chloe’s team and sent her the record. She recorded her verse, and they sent it to me.
I loved it a lot, I can’t even lie. I was like, “Wow.” I never thought anyone would sound good on ‘Vision’ ‘cause it’s such an alternative track, and I’m like, “What are you going to add to it? It’s perfect.” But she really brought out a different perspective, and because she’s an R&B-based artist, it was such a perfect blend.
When you toured the U.S. for the first time with BNXN in 2023, how was seeing your fans live and the way they received your music?
It was great. I had never traveled to America before in my life, so [it’s] my first time in America and I’m going on tour. I got to meet fans, like, “How do people even know me?” I was shocked.
BNXN [is] the best big brother in the entire world. He would always hype me up on stage and say, “Everybody say, ‘Go Madi! Go Madi!’” It was less of a performance and more of a family reunion. It felt great being on stage and knowing that music is beyond my geographical area. The world is actually paying attention.
What’s your favorite place that you’ve performed at, and why?
Uganda. It was my concert, and as a new artist, that is an insane thing to do. Having a whole country that I’ve never been to – I don’t have any relatives from there, I don’t know anyone from there, it’s a place that is so alien to me – and receiving so much love, it’s definitely a significant place in my mind.
Take me back through the making of your debut album I Am the Blueprint.
There are songs from different versions of me as a person. There are songs I wrote when I was 14, when I was 16, when I was 18. I’m 18 now. It’s like a letter to myself. The first record is called “Bucket List.” It’s me prophesying a bunch of things I want to achieve, and saying, “I hope I become that artist.” And the last record is called “Right Here.” It’s me being more confident and being like, “I’m that artist.” It’s a confirmation.
I Am the Blueprint is a journey of me growing to discover that I am the blueprint. It doesn’t start with so much confidence. It starts with this 14-year-old girl confirming that, “This is who I am, this is who I believe I am” — and it ends with this is who I’ve become.
Explain the blue motif that’s not only been central to I Am the Blueprint but your overall aesthetics, from your hair to your style.
According to my mom, I’ve loved blue since I was literally conscious. It’s funny, because I was born left-handed, so she would beat my hand and tell me, “No, no, you’re doing things the wrong way. You’re supposed to use your right hand. Pink is for girls.”
I never changed. Every time, I’d be like, “I want it in blue.” Whenever I talk about blue or I implement blue in my hair or my album, it’s me putting in that little piece of me, that younger version of me, in everything I’m doing. If I have blue hair, I’m trying to say Chimamanda is still there. That blue is a remembrance of her.
Love plays a paramount role in this album, from feeling that intense chemistry for the first time with someone special on “Goosebumps” to questioning if your feelings are even valid or reciprocated on “It’s a Game.” Are you singing from personal experiences, or where does your source of inspiration come from?
Love songs are the easiest songs to write, because when I used to write for other artists, I prioritized putting myself in different people’s situations because they were very specific. They would say, “I want to buy a love song about this,” and tell you exactly what they wanted. I play with it sometimes. I have songs like “Ole” that talk about wanting another person’s partner. I’m like, “How crazy would it be to talk about love from this perspective?” So when it comes to love songs, it’s just me playing with my imagination and trying to talk about love in every way possible because it’s such a broad topic.
Considering this album reflects the emotional roller coaster that comes with being in a relationship, how did you figure out the sequencing of the tracks?
I purposefully arranged them to tell a story. We have “Bucket List,” “Ali Bomaye” and “Akanchawa,” and you can tell that slowly this person is growing from a very positive, energetic person to a very rage-filled person. From there, you slowly lurk into songs like “Pressure” and “Damn It All” that are so aggressive that you’re like, “Where does she come from?” In the beginning of the album, it was so welcoming and we’re just trying to lure you into this person who was so sweet and saw the world from this angle, and now she’s growing into realizing not everyone is as pure as she imagines.
It’s a journey of my emotions as a person and how I’ve seen life. The album sequencing is very intentional. I feel like we got the perfect arrangement to tell that story.
“Ali Bomaye” is derived from the chant yelled during Muhammed Ali and George Foreman’s 1974 match in Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo), also known as “The Rumble in the Jungle.” How did you find inspiration from that?
I learned that in school, and I was like, “That is so tough.” Having a word that is so significant to a violent sport put into love was something I thought would be so sick. Some people say, “You knock me off my feet,” like the wind. And I’m like, “You knock me off my feet,” because literally he knocked his opponent off. It’s wordplay for me — and then, obviously, referencing the legend Muhammed Ali is. It shows how deep in knowledge I am about being descriptive about my love toward you.
If you grew up in Lagos, Lagos is such a busy place, everything is always on the go. The record “Ali Bomaye” is about living in this place where there’s so much stress — but when you meet that person, it just knocks you off your feet.
BNXN, Chloe and Kizz Daniel were all featured on the deluxe version of your self-titled EP last year. Why did you decide to not have any features on I Am the Blueprint?
With the album, I really wanted to be selfish. I wanted to show the world, “This is about me. This is not about any other artist.” There are so many artists that would have sounded so great with a lot of the records, but I’m more concerned about showing you who I am. It’s a statement, it’s a movement, it’s a whole confirmation. That’s the artistic part of it.
On the business side, you could put a bunch of artists and say it’s for promotion. But I’m a true artist — I really care more about making sure that my message is heard and I’m able to accomplish the artistry I’m going for.
“Bucket List” mentions some things on your bucket list that you want to accomplish, like winning a Grammy and buying your mom a mansion. What else is on your bucket list?
Definitely tour. I want to go on tour so bad. There are so many countries I’ve never been to, and the fact that I’m not going as a regular person is intriguing to me. I want to meet my fans all over the world. I would try different aspects of art – acting, maybe screenwriting.
What’s been the biggest “pinch me” moment of your career so far?
Naomi Campbell followed me on Instagram. I was like, “No freaking way!” And then I saw she commented, and I was like, “OK, stop.” It was a lot for me, because it’s Naomi Campbell.
Who would you love to collaborate with this year?
I would love to collaborate with Wande Coal, Fave, Chris Brown, Billie Eilish. Kendrick Lamar. I would love to collaborate with him for sure.
What’s next for Qing Madi in 2025?
More collaborations — so many surprises that me and my team are working on. I can’t wait for the whole world to be a part of it.
Lauryn Hill paid loving tribute to the “beauty and brilliance” of late quiet storm singer Robert Flack on Tuesday (Feb. 25) in a lengthy post in which the Fugees frontwoman and solo star described the world-changing, enduring impact the “Killing Me Softly With His Song” singer had on her life and career.
“Whitney Houston once said to me that Roberta Flack’s voice was one of the purest voices she’d ever heard. I grew up scouring the records my Parents collected. Mrs. Flack was one of their favorites and quite instantly became one of mine as soon as I was exposed to her,” Hill, 49, said of Grammy-winning singer Flack, who died on Monday at 88 of undisclosed causes.
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“She looked cool and intelligent, gentle and yet militant. The songs she recorded from ‘Compared To What’ to ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ to her version of ‘Ballad Of The Sad Young Men’ fascinated me with their beauty and sophistication,” Hill continued in an Instagram post that featured a gallery of Flack in her 1970s prime, as well as a shot of the two women together as part of one of the many emotional tributes to the singer, pianist and lifelong educator.
“Mrs. Flack was an artist, a singer-songwriter, a pianist and composer who moved me and showed me through her own creative choices and standards what else was possible within the idiom of Soul,” wrote Hill, who noted that though Flack did not write her Grammy-winning, career-defining 1973 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Killing Me Softly With His Song” — it was penned by Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel and Lori Lieberman — she made it “hugely popular.”
In fact, not only did Flack score a No. 1 with the track and win record of the year and best pop vocal performance, female Grammys for “Killing” in 1974, she also gave Hill and her group the song that “catapulted myself and the Fugees into household phenomena.”
The hip-hop group recorded their own version of the song in 1996 and also hit No. 1 around the world — though not in the U.S. because it wasn’t officially released as a commercial single — topping the Pop Airplay and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts on its way to winning the group a Grammy for best R&B vocal performance by a duo/group and an MTV Video Music Award for best R&B video. Flack and the Fugees performed the song together at the 1996 VMAS.
“We wanted to honor the beauty and brilliance of this song and her performance of it to our generation,” Hill wrote. “I will forever be grateful for the sensitivity and delicate power of her Love and Artistry. Rest in Grace Beloved One.”
Check out Hill’s tribute here.
Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor Roberta Flack, who died on Feb. 24 at age 88, by looking at the singer’s second of three No. 1 hits as a recording artist: the instant standard “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” (In case you missed it, here’s a look at her first No. 1, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”)
Roberta Flack could have brought a book or a magazine to read on an American Airlines flight from L.A. back home to New York in 1972. She could have watched the in-flight movie or even taken a nap. Let’s all be grateful that she instead chose to listen to the in-flight audio program, which included a pretty pop/folk ballad recorded by a then-20-year-old singer named Lori Lieberman.
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Flack scanned the list of audio selections and learned that the composition, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox. Gimbel was then best-known for writing English-language lyrics to such global hits as “The Girl From Ipanema” and “I Will Wait for You”; Fox for creating the sunshine pop musical backgrounds on the hit ABC show Love, American Style.
“The title, of course, smacked me in the face,” Flack later said. “I immediately pulled out some scratch paper, made musical staves [and then] play[ed] the song at least eight to 10 times jotting down the melody that I heard. When I landed, I immediately called Quincy [Jones] at his house and asked him how to meet Charles Fox. Two days later I had the music.”
By most accounts, the song was inspired by Lieberman seeing Don McLean perform at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles in November 1971. McLean’s “American Pie” entered the Billboard Hot 100 that month (on its way to No. 1 in January 1972), but Lieberman was more taken by another song in the set, the haunting ballad “Empty Chairs.” The singer jotted some notes and impressions on a napkin. She later described the experience, and how deeply it affected her, to Gimbel, with whom she was working at the time. (Gimbel and Fox had signed her to a five-year production, recording and publishing deal.)
Lieberman’s description reminded Gimbel of a phrase that was already in his idea notebook: “to kill us softly with some blues.” The phrase had appeared five years earlier in a novel by Argentinian writer Julio Cortázar and Gimbel thought it had possibilities. Gimbel drew from Lieberman’s account, crafted the lyrics, and passed them on to Fox, who set them to faintly melancholy music.
Lieberman did not receive a co-writing credit on the song. There is even a dispute over whether, and to what degree, the song was inspired by McLean’s performance. When Dan MacIntosh of Songfacts asked Fox in 2010 about the McLean origin story, Fox said: “I think it’s called an urban legend. It really didn’t happen that way.”
Lieberman had a falling out with Gimbel (who died in 2018) and Fox (who is still living at 84). This backstage drama is intriguing, but mostly irrelevant to the story of Flack’s recording, which quickly became one of the biggest and best (and most celebrated) singles of its era.
Jones, who died less than four months ago, played a key role in this story a second time. In September 1972, Flack was opening for Jones at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Flack was red-hot at the time, having landed million-sellers that year with the classic ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and the ebullient “Where Is the Love,” a silky duet with Donny Hathaway.
When the audience at the Greek kept cheering, Jones advised her to go back out and sing one more song. “Well, I have this new song I’ve been working on,” Flack replied. “After I finished [‘Killing Me Softly’], the audience would not stop screaming. And Quincy said, ‘Ro, don’t sing that daggone song no more until you record it.’”
As usual, Jones’ instincts were correct. Flack recorded the song on Nov. 17, 1972 at Atlantic Studios in New York. Flack arranged the track, Joel Dorn produced it and Gene Paul engineered. Flack also played piano on the track, while Hathaway contributed harmony vocals. The other musicians were Eric Gale (guitars), Ron Carter (bass), Grady Tate (drums); and Ralph MacDonald (congas, percussion, tambourine).
Flack completely transformed the song. Lieberman’s version of the song, produced by Gimbel and Fox and arranged and conducted by Fox, is pretty, but rather bland. Her version plays like a very good demo, which is essentially what it was.
Flack boldly restructured the song. Her recording has a cold open on the chorus “Strummin’ my pain…” Lieberman’s version opens with a long, moody piano solo (which sounds like it could have been featured in Love Story, one of the biggest movies of the era). Then she sings the first verse, only hitting the “Strummin’ my pain” chorus at the 0:51 mark.
Flack also transformed the song from a pop/folk tune to one that drew from a wide range of American music forms – pop, soul and jazz. A 25-second section, which doesn’t appear at all in the Lieberman version, borrows from the scatting tradition. Lieberman’s version ends with a 40-second instrumental outro. In Flack’s version, she is singing until the final note. And Flack sings the song with more passion, bringing out all the drama of the key line, “I felt he found my letters/ and Read Each One Out Loud!”
Flack’s transformation of this song was as complete as Aretha Franklin’s reinvention of Otis Redding’s “Respect” or Ike & Tina Turner’s re-imagining of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.” All three remakes show the power of interpretation – just as Lieberman’s largely unsung involvement in the song’s creation shows the importance of inspiration.
“Killing Me Softly” runs 4:46, longer than any other No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in 1973. But it doesn’t seem long or padded as it seamlessly moves from section to section.
Fox has suggested that Flack’s version was more successful than Lieberman’s because Flack’s “version was faster and she gave it a strong backbeat that wasn’t in the original.” According to Flack: “My classical background made it possible for me to try a number of things with [the song’s arrangement]. I changed parts of the chord structure and chose to end on a major chord. [The song] wasn’t written that way.”
Flack’s version was released as a single on Jan. 22, 1973, with a version of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” (drawn from her 1970 album Chapter Two) on the B-side.
It was the top new entry on the Hot 100 (at No. 54) on the chart dated Jan. 27. It reached No. 1 on Feb. 24, displacing Elton John’s first Hot 100 No. 1, “Crocodile Rock.” “Killing Me Softly” reached the top spot in just five weeks, the fastest climb since Sly & the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” also reached No. 1 in its fifth week in December 1971. “Killing Me Softly” held tight in the top spot for four weeks before being bumped to No. 2 by The O’Jays’ exuberant “Love Train.”
But “Killing Me Softly” wasn’t done yet. It returned to the top spot for a fifth and final week before being dislodged for a second time by Vicki Lawrence’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” Flack’s five-week run at No. 1 was the longest by any single in 1973.
Flack was a perfectionist, which came into play here in at least two ways. Flack rehearsed the song with her band in the Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, but she wasn’t satisfied with the background vocals on the various mixes. An executive at Flack’s label, Atlantic Records, assured her it would be a hit song no matter which mix was released. She refused to be rushed, recalling later that she “wanted to be satisfied with that record more than anything else.”
Also, Flack didn’t release an album with “Killing Me Softly” until Aug. 1, 1973, more than six months after the single’s release. That delay must have been agonizing for Atlantic executives. The album, with the shortened title Killing Me Softly, reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in September 1973. It would almost certainly have been a No. 1 album if it had been released while the single was being played every hour on the hour on every pop, soul and adult contemporary radio station in the land.
Flack followed “Killing Me Softly With His Song” with a slow and somber Janis Ian ballad, “Jesse.” It stalled at No. 30 on the Hot 100.
At the Grammy Awards on March 2, 1974, Flack became the first artist to win record of the year two years running, after taking home the award in 1973 for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” When Diana Ross announced her as the 1974 winner, a dazed Flack put her hand over her mouth. When she spoke, she simply said, “I’d like to thank the world.” (Since 1974, just two other artists have won back-to-back Grammys for record of the year: U2 triumphed in 2001-02 with “Beautiful Day” and “Walk On,” while Billie Eilish scored in 2020-21 with “Bad Guy” and “Everything I Wanted.”)
Flack won a second Grammy for “Killing Me Softly” – best pop vocal performance, female. (She probably should have won a third, best arrangement accompanying vocalists, but she wasn’t even nominated for that one.) The recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Killing Me Softly was also nominated for album of the year (losing to Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions). It marked the first time in Grammy history that Black lead artists won album of the year and record of the year in the same year. Gimbel and Fox won song of the year for writing the song.
Flack re-recorded the song with Peabo Bryson on their 1980 double live album Live & More (its title borrowed from Donna Summer’s 1978 collection).
Many other artists have recorded the song over the years, including Johnny Mathis, on his 1973 album Killing Me Softly With Her Song; Al B. Sure!, on his 1988 album In Effect Mode; and Luther Vandross, on his hit 1994 collection Songs.
Fugees recorded an updated, but still faithful and deeply respectful version of “Killing Me Softly” (they shortened the title) on their second album, The Score, in 1996. Group member Pras made the suggestion to cover the song, which showcased Lauryn Hill on lead vocals.
The song reached No. 1 on both the Pop Airplay and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts and No. 2 on Radio Songs. It likely would have been one of the year’s biggest Hot 100 hits were it not for rules at the time disqualifying songs not given an official single release. The track won a Grammy for best R&B vocal performance by a duo/group and an MTV Video Music Award for best R&B video. Flack and Fugees teamed to perform the song on the MTV Movie Awards on June 8, 1996.
Flack’s original track was remixed in 1996 by Jonathan Peters, with Flack adding some new vocal flourishes; this version topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart in September 1996.
Flack returned to the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for a third and final time in 1974 with the silky “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” But let’s save that story for the next Forever No. 1 installment.
With Trinidad and Tobago’s 2025 Carnival set to kick off this weekend (March 1), Machel Montano has gifted his island — and the whole world — a new album full of soca bangers and international collaborations.
On Tuesday (Feb. 25), the King of Soca dropped One Degree Hotter, his first full-length offering since 2021’s Wedding Album. Titled in reference to both his sizzling soca catalog and newly earned Master’s degree in Carnival Studies from the University of Trinidad & Tobago, One Degree Hotter boasts an impressive roster of collaborators, including Grammy-winning R&B star Ne-Yo (“Truth & Balance”), Nigerian Afrobeats megastar Davido (“Fling It Up”), Trinidadian vocalists Drupatee & Lady Lava (“Pepper Vine”), Vincentian soca superstar Skinny Fabulous (“Fallen Fetters”) and fellow Trini soca giant Bunji Garlin (“Home Is Where the Heart Is”).
One Degree Hotter also includes a special “road mix” of “Pardy,” Montano’s latest smash, and a top contender for the highly coveted Road March title at Carnival this year. Should he pull off another victory, Montano will tie the legendary Lord Kitchener for the most Road March wins of all time (11).
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Montano’s new project arrives just two months into what’s already been a banner year for the soca icon. Last month (Jan. 13), he brought played the very first soca set in NPR Tiny Desk history, delivering spirited renditions of classics like “Famalay,” “One More Time,” “Fast Wine” and “Like Ah Boss.”
Over the weekend (Feb. 22), Montano found himself in a bit of hot water with Nicki Minaj and her Barbz. During a performance of “Good Spirit,” Montano exclaimed, “Nicki Minaj, stop fighting meh down,” which some took as an accusation that the Trinidadian-American rapper was working against Montano by linking up with Trinidad Killa for their new “Eskimo” collaboration. Minaj promptly responded via her Instagram page, threatening to “cuss [Montano] very stink.” Montano then shared a formal apology via social media, saying, “It was a misunderstanding – a mistake on my part – and I’m a big man and I will say that. Nicki, you know I respect you and you know I love you and I did not try to jump out there and attack you and I didn’t want any of your fans or you to feel that you have ever done anything to fight me down. You did the opposite. You always lift me up.”
All is well between the two artists now, with Montano even proposing a collaboration between himself, Minaj and Trinidad Killa. In 2023, Montano and Minaj joined forces for “Shake the Place”; last year, Minaj brought him out as a special guest at one of the New York shows of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour.
Machel Montano has earned three top 10 Reggae Albums: 2015’s Monk Monte (No. 2), 2016’s Monk Evolution (No. 5) and 2019’s G.O.A.T. (No. 1).
Stream One Degree Hotter below.
After his year-long feud with Kendrick Lamar shook the music world, everyone was waiting on what it would look and sound like when Drake made his proper return to music — not with just a feature appearance or a data dump, but with a full new project. And now we (mostly) have our answer: the rapper released $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, an LP-length teamup with OVO labelmate and longtime collaborator PartyNextDoor, on Valentine’s Day.
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The largely R&B-flavored set — though its two best-performing (and Billboard Hot 100 top 10-debuting) tracks so far, “Gimme a Hug” (No. 6) and “Nokia” (No. 10), are more hip-hop and pop, respectively — debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, with 246,000 units moved in its first frame. That’s a career-best number for PND, though below Drake’s last couple projects, including 2022’s Her Loss with 21 Savage.
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How should Drake feel about his comeback numbers? And what does all of it mean for PartyNextDoor? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
1. PartyNextDoor & Drake debut at No. 1 this week with 246,000 first-week units for their joint $ome $exy $ongs 4 U set. Is that number higher, lower or about where you would have expected before the project’s release?
Kyle Denis: It’s a bit lower than I expected. Granted this isn’t a solo rap-forward Drake project, so I wasn’t expecting astronomically high numbers, but I definitely expected them to pretty easily clear 250,000 units. Party was one of two artists to send a 2024 R&B album to the Billboard 200’s top 10 last year – and he didn’t have the Super Bowl in his back pocket; Drake has proven time and time again that he can score an eye-popping opening week. This final tally isn’t a disaster by any means, but it does leave a bit more to be desired considering how long we’ve known this was coming and the fact that it’s Drizzy’s first post-beef project.
Carl Lamarre: It’s slightly less than what I expected. I thought they would have hoovered between 275,000 and 300,000. Either way, a win is a win, and this was a colossal one for the OVO Gang because of the milestones achieved during this stretch. Drake earned his record-tying 14th No. 1 album, placing him in a rarified position with Jay-Z and Taylor Swift, while PND clinched his first-ever chart-topper. It is a gratifying feat, one they should be proud of.
Jason Lipshutz: A little bit higher, especially considering that $$$4U is not a new Drake album but a full-length R&B collaboration, with an artist who is well-known but has never topped the Billboard 200 himself. The closest analog to this project is 2022’s Her Loss alongside 21 Savage, which debuted with 404,000 equivalent album units — but that was a hip-hop album, with a more established star, and did not follow months of diss tracks aimed at Drake’s way. All things considered, this new album bowing with nearly a quarter-million first-week units is highly impressive.
Michael Saponara: It’s probably about where I thought. I projected around 250,000 to 300,000 so it came in around what I expected without having any sort of lead single. It’s a solid number.
Andrew Unterberger: Probably a little higher. Honestly if I was Drake, I’d be prepared to celebrate any chart-topping debut week in the six digits, so for his final number to start with a “2” I think is a pretty strong performance. It’s not 2015 Drake numbers, of course, but it’s just not 2015 Drake anymore.
2. Drake obviously has more at stake with this album, as his first following his endlessly publicized Kendrick Lamar debut, than his collaborator. On a scale from 1-10, how happy do you think he should be with the set’s first-week performance?
Kyle Denis: 7. These first-week numbers prove that, despite what the most overzealous observers say, Drake’s career is far from dead. He comfortably cleared the six-figure mark, charted every song on the Hot 100 and landed two solo top 10 debuts. He also gave his protégé his first No. 1 album and tied the record for most Billboard 200 chart-toppers among soloists (14). Those are undoubtedly wins, and pretty indisputable ones at that.
Now, when these numbers are contextualized within Drake’s career and recent commercial performance, the cracks start to show a bit. $$$4U boasts the lowest opening-week of Drizzy’s career outside of a pandemic-era collection of loosies, a dance album, a pre-pandemic collection of previously leaked tracks and So Far Gone (his last independent release). What’s more? There’s a 100,000+ unit gap between $$$4U and What a Time to Be Alive, the Drake project with the next-highest opening week total. There’s also the fact that Drake – who we used to be able to count on to clog the Hot 100’s top 10 after an album release – could only muster up two top 10 debuts on that chart from this set, both of which were blocked by a whopping four different Kendrick Lamar songs.
Carl Lamarre: Echoing my thoughts from answer 1, about a 5. Sure, he notched his 14th No. 1 album, but his performance was somewhat pedestrian aside from “Gimme a Hug” and “Nokia.” It’s bemusing and, frankly, kind of crazy that we didn’t get more of PND on this album, especially since we were promised a joint effort. Six solo Drake records made this project a bit bloated, and it doesn’t help that PARTY’s lone solo record, “Deeper,” trounces most of them. Either way, Drake is one album away from toppling his GOAT, Jay-Z, for the most No. 1 albums ever for a rapper.
Jason Lipshutz: An 8. Even as a side quest rather than a traditional solo album, $$$4U had a lot riding on it for Drake, as his first commercial bid following months of Kendrick Lamar, and seemingly the entire Internet, dunking on him. Yes, Drake would still be a star, but how big of a star would he be considered if this project was DOA from a charts perspective? Luckily for him, the album still notched a No. 1 debut with a sizable equivalent album units number, and launched every track onto the Hot 100, included a pair of songs in the top 10. Even if $$$4U doesn’t reach the commercial highs of his heyday, it represents another win, and a huge sigh of relief.
Michael Saponara: I think about a 6.5. 246,000 units is nothing to sneeze at, but for Drake, that’s just another day at the office. It’s a noticeable but expected dip from the about 400,000 first-week units For All The Dogs and Her Loss did earlier in the decade. Playing the numbers game, fans’ eyes turned to the battle with Kendrick Lamar’s GNX posting a 317,000-unit first week last year, so if Drake could’ve raced past that, I think $$$4U’s sales would’ve been looked upon with more reverence.
Andrew Unterberger: A 7 feels right. It’d probably be an eight or higher if Kendrick wasn’t still in the midst of his latest victory lap, but given that he still has four of the top five songs in the country right now while Drake couldn’t get higher than No. 6 on the Hot 100 in his debut week definitely taints the triumph a little. But generally speaking, this is about as good a first week for this album as Drake reasonably could’ve hoped for in 2025.
3. The big initial breakout this from the set are “Gimme a Hug” and “Nokia,” which debut at No. 6 and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Does either of them seem like a likely breakout hit from the project — or do you have your eye on something else from the set?
Kyle Denis: If it’s not “Nokia,” it’s not likely to be anything else barring a random unforeseen TikTok trend. Between the namechecks, the beat switch, the “Babygworllll” ad-lib and its overall pop appeal, “Nokia” should be Drake’s ticket to a legitimate post-beef solo hit.
Carl Lamarre: From a rapping standpoint, I enjoyed “Gimme a Hug” a lot. It had hints of “Family Matters” regarding his flow and delivery. Drake’s lyrical execution was top-notch, and the production was of A-1 quality. Despite the high praise there, “Nokia” is looking like a runaway hit. The internet is salivating over this record, and it has virality potential, as it’s already causing a tizzy on social media. While the production is reminiscent of Honestly Nevermind, the energy and rap cadence have some “Nice for What” elements in there, too. Also, is it just me, or does “Nokia” — especially the record’s second half — remind anyone of Kanye’s “Stronger?”
Jason Lipshutz: “Nokia” is the one. More than its luxurious beat and that ad-jingle hook that snakes through its first half, the song features Drake sounding playful, which has become an increasingly rare occurrence in his catalog. Some of us grew up on Actually Fun Drake Songs, and having a new one — buried in the back half of $$$4U, but discovered by enough listeners to become a quickly growing hit — is a gift worth cherishing.
Michael Saponara: Both should be hits, in my opinion, and show Drake’s range as an artist. On the other hand, my two favorite songs on the album being a pop song and a rap song doesn’t exactly bode well for a 21-track R&B album that arrived on Valentine’s Day. it appears the label is going with “Gimme A Hug” as the spicy record was serviced to radio, but I think “Nokia” seems to be the track people are championing. It was nice to hear Drake having fun again.
Andrew Unterberger: “Nokia,” “Nokia,” “Nokia,” “Nokia,” “Nokia,” “Nokia.” The previous standard bearer for 2020s Drake pop songs actually as fun and exciting as his best 2010s singles had been For All the Dogs‘ “Rich Baby Daddy,” but this one trumps even that SZA- and Sexyy Red-featuring hit. I’ve had about four different hooks from it stuck in my head on loop over the past week and a half — a couple from Drake, and a couple from U.K. producer / hook provider Elkan (where the hell has this guy been?) It seems primed to be Drake’s biggest breakout pop hit in a long time, and even if it doesn’t have the juice to go the distance, it’s so important that he reminded us that this is something he still has in his toolkit, even without a big-name assist.
4. While the set the best-debuting of PartyNextDoor’s career, he’s not on either of the biggest-debuting tracks, and he often seems like an afterthought in discussion of it. What, if anything, do you think the album’s debut performance means for his own career?
Kyle Denis: Party will come out of this with a No. 1 album, and that’s something no one can take away from him. It’s also something that wasn’t necessarily a guarantee before $$$4U arrived, so I won’t discount that win. I don’t know if this means anything for his career outside of that though, especially considering $$$4U doesn’t hit nearly the same highs as his own P4. Given that $$$4U was immediately positioned as Drake’s primary vehicle to regain his cultural and commercial footing post-beef, the album never really had a chance to exist as a sincere moment of collaboration. At absolute best, this album should get more eyes and ears on Party’s music ahead of whatever else he has planned for 2025.
Carl Lamarre: It’s crazy to think PARTY’s first No. 1 came in this fashion. Throughout his career, he’s proven to be a precocious songwriter, capable of stringing together hit records in a flash. Whether it was Rihanna’s “Work” or DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts,” nobody ever questioned PND’s pen game, but for whatever reason, it never translated into equivalent solo success commercially. Still, the tide is turning, and for the better: Seeing him finally land his first top 10 on the Billboard 200 with PND4 last year to now securing his first No. 1 is very promising. With him embarking on his headlining tour and hitting the festival circuit last year, he is embracing his stardom way more than in years past. This could be the start of something more and bigger for the R&B lothario. The future looks bright.
Jason Lipshutz: Sure, the focus is on Drake when it comes to $$$4U, as it was always going to be. That doesn’t mean PartyNextDoor shouldn’t enjoy standing side-by-side with one of the biggest artists of the century on a full-length, or notching the first No. 1 album of his career. While OVO diehards have long embraced PND, the R&B star undoubtedly expanded his audience with this project, which features his typically strong crooning without any of the cultural baggage that his cohort has to deal with. It’s a low-risk, high-reward position, and Party should savor it.
Michael Saponara: Yeah, this definitely felt like a Drake album with PartyNextDoor serving as a supporting actor. I still think it’s a great achievement for PND to be part of a No. 1 album and get to enjoy the success of this moment while delivering on a joint project with one of his mentors and someone fans have been dying for him to work with more often. This should only build off the momentum PND had with P4 last year, but let’s hope he doesn’t go into hiding for a very long stretch so he can continue to parlay his wins.
Andrew Unterberger: More people know PND’s name than did a month ago, and he gets some nice chart wins and streaming numbers out of it. Aside from that stuff, I doubt this album ends up meaning much for his career at all.
5. Drake would obviously love at this point to put the entire Kendrick Lamar feud of the past year behind him and resume his status as one of the top dogs in both hip-hop and pop. Do you think when all is said and done with this album, he will be closer to that goal, further away from it, or at about the same distance?
Kyle Denis: Unless “Nokia” turns into a multi-week No. 1 smash, probably about the same distance. $$$4U likely won’t produce even a fraction of the smashes that GNX has, which it needs to do since the album hasn’t exactly been exalted by either critics or fans. And we still haven’t gotten a solo rap project from Drake yet – that will be the real test anyway.
Carl Lamarre: Hate to be the numbers guy — but musically, this album did nothing to further his career from that standpoint. The gaudy stat and win here is No. 15. Chasing immortality. That should be on Drake’s mind. I’m not saying continue to make lackluster music: “Gimme a Hug,” “Nokia,” “Spiderman Superman,” “When He’s Gone” and “Die Trying” show that the Drake we very much loved and adored the last 15 summers still exists. But if I’m him, I’m thinking bigger, because numbers aren’t fickle. Fans will change, but his place in history won’t — not after landing No. 15 sometime this year with this upcoming solo album.
Jason Lipshutz: About the same distance. While $$$4U should be regarded as a commercial success, it’s also not going to convince any hip-hop fans who sided with Kendrick Lamar that Drake responded with a strong counterpunch; similarly, it’s not a bomb, or backwards step, that diminishes Drake’s current standing within the mainstream. Maybe he goes for the gusto on his next proper album, but for now, I’d guess that $$$4U will amount to Drake holding serve.
Michael Saponara: About the same distance. I thought an R&B album with Party was a good move to distance himself from the battle while utilizing a different weapon in his repertoire. It only would’ve put him further away if the project completely flopped, which it didn’t, and moved him closer to that goal if it had one or two no-doubt smash hits that have him looking down at Kendrick on the charts instead of looking up like he has for much of the last year, and that doesn’t appear to be the case for now either. I ultimately think Drake should be judged much harsher in this discussion when it comes to the rollout of his next solo rap album.
Andrew Unterberger: A little closer, I think. The vultures would’ve been circling if this project had flopped outright, and while we can argue what level of success this was by his standards, a first week in the 200,000s for a hip-hop/R&B album is no flop in 2025. So at the very least, Drake has established he’s not dead and buried as a hitmaker as previously speculated — particularly because it seems like “Nokia” does have some amount of life outside of the project. Now, it’s just a question of what he does next.
Chris Jasper — the award-winning Isley Brothers songwriter, producer and keyboardist — has died. He was 73 years old.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s family broke the news with a notice on Facebook posted Monday (Feb. 24), one day after Jasper’s death. “He will be deeply missed and his legacy will live on as an inspiration for generations,” it reads.
The message also noted that Jasper had been battling cancer following a diagnosis in December.
Born Dec. 30, 1951, and educated at the Juilliard School of Music, the Cincinnati native helped transform the Isley Brothers from vocal trio to full-fledged band when he joined the original lineup — comprised of brothers O’Kelly Jr., Rudolph and Ronald Isley — in 1973 alongside Ernie and Marvin Isley. During his decade with the group, they scored numerous entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including top 10 hits “That Lady (Part 1)” and “Fight the Power Part 1,” both of which Jasper helped write.
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The Isley Brothers also charted a dozen albums on the Billboard 200 during Jasper’s tenure, including 1975’s No. 1 LP The Heat Is On. 1973’s 3+3, 1976’s Harvest for the World, 1977’s Go for Your Guns, 1978’s Showdown and 1980’s Go All the Way also all reached the top 10.
After the group disbanded in 1984, the pianist formed Isley-Jasper-Isley with Ernie and Marvin, and recorded hits such as 1985’s “Caravan of Love.” He would later go on to pursue a solo music career, becoming known for tracks such as “Superbad” and “The First Time.” He released his final album, It Started With a Kiss, in 2023.
Jasper’s contributions to R&B and popular music were recognized with numerous major accolades over the years, including with his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with the rest of his Isley Brothers bandmates in 1992. In 2014, the Grammys honored the group with a Lifetime Achievement Award, eight years after which the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted the members into its 2022 class.
The icon is survived by his wife, New York attorney and author Margie Jasper, as well as his three sons Michael, Nicholas and Christopher.
FLO is getting ready to go on tour in America for the first time, and the girl group spills how they’re preparing for their tour, working on Access All Areas, collaborating with GloRilla and Missy Elliott, touring with Kehlani and more! Will you be going to FLO’s tour? Let us know in the comments! Kyle […]
In less than a month, BRIT Award-winning U.K. R&B girl group FLO will embark on its latest headlining tour in support of the group’s Billboard-charting debut studio album Access All Areas — and the trio stopped by Billboard News to talk about how they’ve been preparing.
“We’re getting going on the vocals, which are sounding [good],” teased Stella Quaresma. “The songs are super fun to sing. We’re working with Amari [Marshall], who’s brought something [new] out of us. She’s just sucked out what we need. We haven’t started [choreography] yet, so that’s gonna be when we see it come to life properly.”
Marshall served as co-dance captain on Beyoncé‘s record-breaking Renaissance World Tour, marking her return to Queen Bey’s kingdom after appearing in the dancer lineup for the icon’s 2018 Coachella headlining performance. More recently, Marshall has performed in Rihanna‘s Super Bowl Halftime Show set and Beyoncé’s Netflix-assisted NFL Christmas Day Cowboy Carter halftime show.
In addition to taking notes from Marshall, the ladies of FLO also drew inspiration from their supporting stint on Kehlani‘s recent Crash World Tour. The trio played to packed arenas nearly every night of the tour’s North American leg, which ran from Sept. 4 to Dec. 8, 2024. Launched in support of Kehlani’s two 2024 releases — Crash and While We Wait 2 — the tour also gave way to two collaborations between the acts. Late last year, FLO guested on a remix of Kehlani’s “8,” and the Oakland star returned the favor by reimagining the group’s “IWH2BMX.”
“After supporting Kehlani on her tour and watching her perform every night and reinvent the show, we all felt super inspired,” gushed Jorja Douglas. “It was amazing! It looked so natural [and] effortless, and that’s really what we want to tap into for this tour. Obviously, she rehearsed, but it [didn’t] look like she rehearsed! It just looked like everyone all of a sudden just knew how to do the same thing all at once!”
The Access All Areas Tour will visit the U.K. and Europe in March, before heading across the pond for 27 shows throughout the U.S. and Canada. Launching on March 5 and concluding on May 22, the trio’s trek will feature three opening acts; Lola Moxom will play the U.K./European leg, while Chxrry22 and Jae Stephens will grace the North American leg.
On the chart dated Nov. 30, 2024, Access All Areas debuted at No. 163 on the Billboard 200, becoming the group’s first project to appear on the ranking. The album — which also hit No. 3 in the U.K. — featured collaborations with Memphis rap star GloRilla and award-winning Wicked actress and singer Cynthia Erivo.
“We’re all the way from London and you never know how well your music is going to be seen and taken in other markets,” says Renée Downer. “To come to New York and have two shows that are at 6,000-capacity venues is something we don’t take lightly.”
Watch FLO’s full interview with Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis above.