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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 the late Roberta Flack by looking at the first of her three Hot 100-toppers: Her singularly exquisite and rapturous reading of the folk ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”
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“When you express your feelings about the first time you ever see a great love, you don’t rush the story,” the legendary Roberta Flack told Songwriter Universe in 2020 — a sentiment applicable to her breakthrough rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in multiple ways.
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One is that the song certainly took its time catching on commercially. Flack, who died on Monday (Feb. 24) at age 88, had shown prodigious musical talent as a vocalist and pianist from an early age, becoming one of the youngest Howard University students ever when she was accepted to the HBCU at age 15. By the late 1960s, she was already both a music teacher and a live performer of some renown, setting up residence as the in-house singer at the D.C. restaurant and jazz club Mr. Henry’s — where she was discovered by American jazz great Les McCann, who immediately hooked her up with Atlantic Records. An album was quickly recorded and released: 1969’s First Take, an eclectic and inspired debut whose centerpiece was its soulful rendering of the ’50s folk song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”
Initially, the song went nowhere. It was not even released as a single originally, with the label instead opting to release a split of her funky version of McCann’s jazz standard “Compared to What” and a more meditative cover of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s ballad “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” But that single also caught little mainstream attention, and the critically well-received First Take debuted at an underwhelming No. 195 on the Billboard 200 dated Jan. 31, 1970, held at that position for a second week, then dropped off the chart altogether. Flack’s next two albums, 1970’s Chapter Two and 1971’s Quiet Fire, would fare better, both reaching the top 40 — and by the latter’s release, Flack had also found Hot 100 success as a partner with Atlantic labelmate Donny Hathaway, with their duet on the Carole King-penned “You’ve Got a Friend” peaking at No. 29 on the chart in August ’71, just two weeks after James Taylor’s version topped the ranking.
But it was “The First Time” that would, belatedly, mark Flack’s true commercial breakthrough. In October 1971, the recording was featured — in full — during a love montage from the movie Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood’s proto-erotic thriller directorial debut. The film was only a modest hit, but its use of “First Time” made for arguably its most striking moment: Two-thirds of the way through the movie, which predominantly focuses on Eastwood’s radio DJ character David seducing and then being stalked by overzealous fan Evelyn (Jessica Walter), the movie takes a long break from the mounting tension to feature David rekindling his romance with on-and-off girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills). The sequence, of long walks on the beach and through the woods, of making love by the fire and in the grass and even of skinny dipping in the brook, could easily have been mawkish and eye-rolling — but soundtracked by the spellbinding “Face,” it instead served as the film’s emotional climax, and increased public demand for the song to the point where it was finally released as a single, three calendar years after first appearing on First Take.
The other way that Flack certainly didn’t rush the story of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” was in her version’s peculiar arrangement, and its decidedly nontraditional vocal interpretation. Dozens of “First Time”s had already been released by the time of Flack’s spin — dating back to when British songwriter Ewan MacColl first penned the song for Peggy Seeger (half-sister of Pete) to sing back in 1957 — but most of them ran somewhere in the two-to-three-minute range, moving briskly from one verse to the next. Flack slowed the song’s tempo to a candlelit crawl, let the bookending instrumental section stretch out at both ends, and sunk her teeth so deep into the vocal that she turned it from a love song into something more closely resembling a choral hymn.
By the time she was done with it, the album version ran nearly five-and-a-half minutes; producer Joel Dorn asked in vain for her to quicken and tighten it up, saying there was no way the song would become a hit in its current state. “Of course he was right,” Flack would later comment, “until Clint got it.” Still, when Eastwood first reached out to Flack to use her song, she assumed she would need to re-record a peppier version to make it more soundtrack-ready — this was still the era of Paul Newman and Katharine Ross frolicking on a bicycle to “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” Eastwood, a jazz aficionado and part-time musician himself, instead assured her that he wanted the song exactly as it was.
In truth, once you hear Roberta Flack’s take on “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” it’s close to impossible to imagine it any other way. Upon entering the song with the title phrase — nearly 40 seconds in, after the fire is lit by some gentle acoustic strumming and atmospheric cymbal brushing — Flack immediately makes the song her own. While most previous renditions had essentially combined “First Time” into a quick “firstime,” Flack takes great pains to enunciate each “t” — “The firsT… Time….” — and then lingers on each word of “…ever I saw your face…” about a half-beat longer than you’d expect, letting the phrase spill all over the measure, in a way that no doubt infuriated those who’d later transcribe it to sheet music.
Flack’s voice at first is mighty but restrained. By the end of the second line, however — “I thought the sun roooose in yoouuuurrrr eyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeees” — she’s in full flight, with a soaring, piercing delivery that fully catches the epiphany of the moment. But by the third line, “And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave,” she’s already pulling back a little in the smiling afterglow — and by the final line, “To the dark and endless skies… my love…” it’s back to an intimate near-hush. It’s a whole emotional journey and narrative arc in the course of of one compact verse — well, compact in the number of words, though Flack’s vocal contortions stretch the four lines (with one repetition) out to a minute-21 run time.
And so “The First Time” goes for its five-plus minutes. It’s not hard to understand Dorn’s instinctive commercial hesitation with the recording: Not only is it molasses-slow and Led Zeppelin-long, but the structuring of “First Time” is absurdly unconventional for a pop song. It’s just three nearly identical verses and no chorus, with minimal band backing, and only two total mentions of the full title phrase — one at the beginning and one at the end. There’s no particular hook or refrain to speak of, either vocally or instrumentally, and no attention-grabbing shifts in dynamics, no swelling orchestral climax or show-stopping closing vocal runs. Anchored by anything less than one of the great vocal performances in all of 20th century popular music, “First Time” should have been a complete nonstarter on the charts.
But, well, guess what. Flack renders “First Time” with a painter’s detail and a preacher’s passion, a vocal of absolutely disarming clarity and unnervingly visceral feeling. Her vocal elevates the song far beyond even its folk roots to something far more traditional, a canticle, a spiritual. (Flack has referred to the song as “second only to ‘Amazing Grace’” in its perfection.) The song reflects the ecstasy and fulfillment of romantic and sexual union no problem, but also feels like it has its sights set on capturing something even deeper, more elemental — despite the song’s obvious references to physical love (“the first time ever I kissed your mouth,” “the first time ever I lay with you”), Flack said she connected with the song due to its universality, feeling it could just as easily be about “the love of a mother for a child, for example.” Her later-revealed claim that her performance on the record was most directly inspired by her love for her recently deceased pet cat feels so unexpected that it almost has to be true.
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It’s not surprising that Flack’s “First Time” would absolutely knock viewers sideways when showcased — again, in its 5:22 entirety, almost like a mid-movie music video — during such a sentimental stretch of Play Misty for Me. Consumers and radio programmers snapped up the single (with a minute lopped off its runtime, mostly taken from its ends) upon its early 1972 release; the song debuted at No. 77 on the Hot 100 dated March 4, and topped the charts just six weeks later, knocking off America’s three-week No. 1 “A Horse With No Name.” It topped the listing for six weeks total — making for both a rapid rise and a long reign by early-’70s standards — before giving way to another slow song: The Chi-Lites’ “Oh Girl.”
The song would ultimately top the year-end Hot 100 for 1972, and establish Flack as a commercial powerhouse for the era; First Take even re-entered the Billboard 200 shortly after and topped the listing itself for five weeks. It ended up being perfect prelude for the April ’72 release of Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, her first full LP alongside Hathaway, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the top five hit “Where Is the Love?,” soon a signature song for the duo. Flack’s triumphant 1972 was later commemorated at the 1973 Grammys, where “First Time” took home both record and song of the year, and “Love” also captured best vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus.
Flack would go on to have many more hits — including two further No. 1s across the next two years — and escape what could have been a rather intimidating shadow cast by her breakout smash with impressive ease. But as far as her legacy goes as both a vocalist and a musical interpreter, she may have never topped “The First Time,” simply one of the most transcendent and timeless bondings of singer with song in all of popular music. “I wish more songs I had chosen had moved me the way that one did,” she told The Telegraph in 2015. “I’ve loved every song I’ve recorded, but that one was pretty special.”
Kendrick Lamar and SZA made waves with their latest team-up, “Luther” off Lamar’s newest album, GNX.
“Luther” made its way up to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, marking Lamar’s sixth leader and SZA’s third. The single’s title is an ode to late R&B legend Luther Vandross, who is sampled on the track.
“Luther” replaced Lamar’s Drake diss track “Not Like Us” atop the Hot 100, just week after the latter returned to to the top spot, thanks to the performance during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. “Luther” was also a part of the halftime set, with SZA appearing as a surprise guest.
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Below, find the full lyrics of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther.”
If this world were mine
Hey, Roman numeral seven, bae, drop it like it’s hotIf this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiplyIf this world was mine, I’d take your enemies in front of GodIntroduce ’em to that light, hit them strictly with that fireFah-fah, fah-fah-fah, fah-fah, fahHey, Roman numeral seven, bae, drop it like it’s hotIf this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiplyIf this world was mine, I’d take your enemies in front of GodIntroduce ’em to that light, hit them strictly with that fireIt’s a vibe, do your dance, let ’em watchShe a fan, he a flop, they just wanna kumbaya, nah
In this world, concrete flowers growHeartache, she only doin’ what she knowWeekends, get it poppin’ on the lowBetter days comin’ for sure (if this world were)If it was up to meI wouldn’t give these nobodies no sympathyI’d take away the pain, I’d give you everythingI just wanna see you win, wanna see (if this world were mine)
It go in (when you), out (ride it), do it real slow (slide)Baby, you a star, strike, pose (right)When I’m (when you), with you (with me), everything goes (slow)Come and (put that), put that (on my), on my (titi), soul (soul)‘Rari (red), crown (stack), wrist (stay), froze (really)Drip (tell me), pound (if you), on the way home (love me)
In this world, concrete flowers growHeartache, she only doin’ what she knowWeekends, get it poppin’ on the lowBetter days comin’ for sure (if this world were)If it was up to meI wouldn’t give these nobodies no sympathyI’d take away the pain, I’d give you everythingI just wanna see you win, wanna see (if this world were mine)
I can’t lie, I trust you, I love you, I won’t waste your timeI turn it off just so I can turn you onI’ma make you say it loudI’m not even trippin’, I won’t stress you outI might even settle down for you, I’ma show you I’m a proI’ma take my take my time and turn it offJust so I can turn you on, babyWeekends, get it poppin’ on the lowBetter days comin’ for sure
I know you’ll comeI know you’re comin’ for(Anything)(If this world were mine)
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFindWRITERSSam Dew, Atia Boggs, Kendrick Lamar, Marvin Gaye, Solana RowePUBLISHERSLyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Roberta Flack, the chart-topping, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose string of hits bridged sophisticated pop and vintage soul, died Monday (Feb. 24) at age 88. A product of piano-based classical training and the gospel stylings of the AME Church, Flack signed with Atlantic Records in 1968 after years as an educator and club performer around Washington, D.C.
In January 1970, Flack’s debut album, First Take, arrived on Billboard’s charts, including a No. 195 start on the Billboard 200. Among its eight tracks was a cover of a popular folk song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which emerged as a mainstream hit after Clint Eastwood borrowed it for his film directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, in late 1971. The track became Flack’s fourth career hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1972, and by mid-April, became the singer’s first No. 1. Six weeks at the summit fueled “Face” to the year-end No. 1 Hot 100 honor, and it won Grammy Awards for record and song of the year in 1973. First Take, too, enjoyed spoils, pushing to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a five-week reign.
The following year repeated many of the same triumphs, with another No. 1 Hot 100 single, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and the record of the year Grammy Award. Flack nearly landed both victories for a third consecutive year, as her third and final Hot 100 leader, 1974’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” was also nominated for record of the year.
In all, Flack achieved 18 Hot 100 hits in her career, including six duets with her most frequent collaborator, Donny Hathaway, with classics “The Closer I Get to You” (No. 2) and “Where Is The Love” (No. 5) finding the strongest success. Her last appearance came in 1991, with the Maxi Priest collaboration “Set the Night to Music,” which peaked at No. 6.
Her material touched a new generation, too, through the Fugees’ rendition of “Killing Me Softly” from their seminal album, The Score. The hip-hop trio’s version soared to No. 2 on the Radio Songs chart from chart-topping results across multiple formats, including Pop Airplay and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and won a Grammy Award for best R&B vocal performance by a duo/group.
To review the legend’s impact across popular music, here’s the official recap of Roberta Flack’s biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Roberta Flack’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 from its Aug. 4, 1958, start through Feb. 22, 2025. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.
“If Ever I See You Again”
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The Toronto stars have made numerous hits over the years, but which one stands above them all?
02/24/2025
After an explosive start to the year between the Grammys, Super Bowl, SNL 50 and NBA All-Star Weekend, the worlds of hip-hop and R&B have finally given us some time to catch our breath.
On Saturday evening (Feb. 22), the NAACP hosted the 56th Image Awards, where Emmy-winning host, actress and singer Keke Palmer, was crowned entertainer of the year. In the music categories, Beyoncé took home outstanding female artist and outstanding album for her Billboard 200-topping Cowboy Carter. Chris Brown emerged as the most-awarded recording artist of the night with three victories, including outstanding male artist and outstanding soul/R&B song for “Residuals.” Continuing the overlap between 2025 Grammy winners and this year’s Image Awards triumphs, Doechii took home outstanding new artist and Kendrick Lamar scored two wins for “Not Like Us.” Notably, the Cynthia Erivo-led Wicked soundtrack won outstanding soundtrack/compilation album, while Tamela Mann snagged both gospel/Christian trophies.
As the NAACP led a weekend of celebration, the hip-hop/R&B community also had to hold space for moments of mourning. Impressions singer Jerry Butler passed last Thursday (Feb. 20); The Notorious B.I.G.’s mother, Voletta Wallace, transitioned the following day (Feb. 21); and on Monday (Feb. 24), a spokesperson for soul icon Roberta Flack confirmed the Hot 100-topping, Grammy-winning artist died that morning.
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With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Rico Nasty’s comeback to Nardo Wick and 21 Savage’s latest link-up. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Freshest Find: Ayoni, “2”
Built around jazzy piano chords, a pounding bass line and a sultry electric guitar, Ayoni’s latest track is a smoldering warning to those who dare test her gangster. “Simultaneously/ You were seeing her and loving me/ And now you’re here/ Lying at my front door,” she croons at the song’s onset, employing a haunting, almost sinister timbre that amplifies the cinematic nature of the track’s narrative. As the story progresses, Ayoni reserves the chorus for a moment of direct address: “I left the same time as you/ You thought you knew what I’d do/ But two could play too/ I could play you.” The scorned woman trope has gifted us with timeless R&B records going back to the Motown days, and Ayoni has found herself with a worthy addition to that canon. — KYLE DENIS
Jastin Martin, “28 Degrees In Houston”
Rising R&B star and Houston native Jastin Martin is back with her first track of 2025: “28 Degrees In Houston” is a heartfelt expression of longing, vulnerability and emotional dependency, particularly in moments of cold-weather solitude. Her smooth vocals and raw lyricism inject her explorations of relationship-minded emotions — missing someone, needing their presence, and reminiscing about past shared emotions, etc. — with gravity sourced from real-life experiences, ultimately making for a relatable joint that emphasizes the “B” in R&B. — CHRISTOPHER CLAXTON
AzChike, “Whatx2”
Years of grinding have paid off for AzChike, who parlayed his ScHoolboy Q guest appearance and a “Peekaboo” alley-oop from Kendrick Lamar into a recent label deal with Warner Records. Chike continues to build on his momentum with his major label debut single “Whatx2.” The AzCult frontman rides the West Coast bounce in laid-back fashion, and while others are getting hip to the wave, he’s long been a believer in the movement. “She said, ‘You one of them ones,’ I’m like, ‘I’m already knowing,’” he boasts. — MICHAEL SAPONARA
Joy Postell, “Show Me”
Baltimore’s Joy Postell and producer Mighty Mark have a jam on their hands with R&B cut “Show Me.” The song has a ’90s vibe, which goes perfectly with the dating commercial VHS tapes the singer has been posting on her YouTube channel to promote it. First, there’s Vanessa, the Cancer baddie; then there’s Stacy, who’s 100 percent muscle; and finally, there’s Linda, the entrepreneur. If you’re into this song, then you’ll dig “Play Nice (Mighty Mark Remix)” from last year. — ANGEL DIAZ
Durand Bernarr feat. T-Pain, “THAT!”
Back with a new album — and his first full-length project since he earned his very first Grammy nod earlier this month — Durand Bernarr continues his unpredictable, and rewarding, artistic evolution. Featuring collaborations with GAWD and T-Pain, Bloom continues Bernarr’s commitments to exploring the breadth of what progressive R&B can sound and feel like. “That” is a tender duet built around ethereal strings, finger-picked guitar and a distinctly ’00s melody that feels plucked from a Kirk Franklin & the Family arrangement. T-Pain’s trademark Auto-Tune adds some crackling verve to the generally laid-back soundscape, but it’s the way his tone marries with Bernarr’s that makes for a silky-smooth sound whether they’re harmonizing or singing in unison. — K.D.
Busta Rhymes, Akon & Vybz Kartel, “Crazy”
A Busta Rhymes-Akon-Vybz Kartel track was not on my 2025 bingo card! Since The Worl’ Boss made his return to the public, he’s been on a mission to drop the best music possible. Kartel even teased upcoming collaborations with Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and Drake in the near future. When it comes to “Crazy,” the trio goes wild, nearly losing their minds but also celebrating how great life is. The track reflects on freedom and ultimately delivers a bold message — they can’t be stopped. — C.C.
Chxrry22, “Just Like Me”
Chxrry22 is coming through with the female empowerment bops. “Just Like Me” keeps the First Lady of XO’s momentum rolling, following a cameo on The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow album. Riding a bass line mixed with the keyboard-laden bounce of Pharrell’s “Frontin,” Chxrry has no issue boosting her man’s ego, but just know she’s one step ahead of the game. Ultimately, the Toronto singer comes around to realizing she likes them “Just Like Me.” The 23-year-old is primed to deliver her anticipated debut album this year. — M.S.
Rico Nasty, “Teethsucker (Yea3x)”
Rico Nasty has always felt a bit ahead of the times, and this could be the moment the mainstream finally syncs up with her. Introducing both her new Fueled by Ramen era and forthcoming Lethal LP — her first project since 2022’s Las Ruinas — “Teethsucker (Yea3x)” is more of the rambunctious rock-rap we’ve come to love from the DMV MC. After expressing her desire to “pop out like a titty,” Rico spits, “Not with the bull, we not bool/ I keep a tool at your medul, just hit the pool/ He got the best f–kin face, I think I’ma use him for a mule,” effortlessly maneuvering a raucous soundscape courtesy of Rayman on the Beat & Imad Royal. — K.D.
J. Cole, “cLOUDs”
“Just wanted to share,” Cole wrote via his Inevitable blog. “Made this a few days ago, then I added a second verse and was like, ‘Man I got a blog now, I can put whatever I want up there.’ I didn’t have a title 20 minutes ago when I decided to really put this up. But now I got one…” Thanks to his blog, we now have “cLOUDs”— a deep, introspective reflection on aging, change and the state of the world, layered with sharp lyricism and intricate wordplay. The song navigates life’s uncertainties, standing firm in values, and resisting the artificial influences of modern society. It’s a powerful mix of self-awareness and social critique, making it a deeply thought-provoking listen. — C.C.
Nardo Wick feat. 21 Savage, “HBK”
Nardo Wick and 21 Savage spar for the first time since colliding on Wick’s “Who Want Smoke?” breakout hit. Savage steals the show on “HBK” with another menacing feature to continue his potent run of guest appearances. The duo channels WWE superstar Shawn Michaels’ Heartbreak Kid persona, while 21 paints the picture of traveling to rival territory to hook up with a woman but knows he’s still gotta watch his back. “She stay by the opps, so when we f–k, I grip my gun,” he raps. Is there a better ad-lib in hip-hop right now than the Atlanta rhymer’s “p—y?” — M.S.
Roberta Flack, the beloved, Grammy-winning 1970s R&B singer best known for such hits as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly” died on Monday (Feb. 24) at 88. At press time a statement from Flack’s spokesperson revealed that she died peacefully, with no official cause of death available.
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“We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025,” read the statement. “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
A classically trained pianist from an early age, Flack received a music scholarship at 15 to attend Howard University and was soon discovered singing at Washington, D.C. nightclub Mr. Henry’s by jazz great Les McCann, which led to her signing with Atlantic Records. She scored her first break in 1971 when Clint Eastwood used her version of the moon-y ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in his directorial debut, Play Misty For Me.
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A master of the “quiet storm” style, Flack’s effortless, soothing vocals soon became a staple of R&B and pop radio, leading to a two-decade run of chart hits.
Flack was born Roberta Cleopatra Flack in Black Mountain, N.C. on Feb. 10, 1937 and raised in Arlington, Va. where her mother, Irene, played organ at the Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Church. She learned to play piano on a funky junkyard instrument her father — a jazz pianist himself — found and restored for her, on which she practiced Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, as well as Mozart’s Requiem.
After getting her public debut playing piano as an adolescent in the Lomax church, Flack studied piano at Howard, then moved on to a music educator program after being told that the racial barriers at that time for a Black classical concert pianist were too high for her to achieve her dream. Following her father’s death in 1959, Flack returned to North Carolina and took a job teaching music at a public school, later moving back to D.C., where she taught at several middle and high schools for a decade.
Flack released her debut LP, First Take, in 1969 which included her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which also helped the album reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart; the song would win the Grammy for record of the year in 1972. She hit No. 1 again in 1973 with “Killing Me Softly,” from the album of the same name, with the song winning the 1974 Grammy for record of the year. It was later famously covered by the Fugees in 1996 on their second album, The Score.
Flack’s unprecedented back-to-back Grammy wins for record of the year feat wasn’t achieved again until U2 scored the same two-fer with “Beautiful Day” (2001) and “Walk On” (2002). Flack regularly recorded with fellow soul great Donny Hathaway, scoring duet hits on the Hot 100 with the singer on a covers of “You’ve Got a Friend” (1971, No. 29) and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1971, No. 71), as well as “Where Is the Love” (1972, No. 5), “The Closer I Get To You” (1978, No. 2) and “You Are My Heaven” (1980, No. 47), among others.
She scored a total of 18 Hot 100 hits, and landed four albums in the top three on the Billboard 200 album charts, as well as more than two dozen charting hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Flack’s chart prominence began to fade by the mid-1980s, but she kept recording, releasing her most recent album in 2012 with the Beatles cover album Let It Be Roberta. Over the course of her career, Flack was nominated for 14 Grammys and won three.
Check out some of Flack’s most beloved hits below.
Rihanna is opening up about her family life and the next chapter of her music career.
In the cover story for Harper’s BAZAAR‘s March 2025 issue, published on Saturday (Feb. 22), the 37-year-old singer and entrepreneur shared her thoughts on a variety of personal topics, including the highly anticipated R9 album, raising her children with partner A$AP Rocky, her growing business empire, and more.
During the in-depth conversation, the Fenty mogul discussed the creative direction of her long-awaited new music and debunked rumors that it would be a reggae album.
“Way off! There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited,” Rihanna explains. “Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour.’ After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”
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She added, “When I’m in the studio, I know that my time away from my kids is to blossom something that hasn’t been watered in eight years. I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years. But it didn’t hit me. I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do. ‘This kind of album, not that album.’ I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it’s not going to be commercial or radio, digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I’ve finally cracked it, girl!’”
Rihanna has not released an album since 2016’s Anti, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Since then, she’s released a handful of remixes and contributed to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack with “Born Again” and “Lift Me Up.” The latter earned her a Grammy nomination for best song written for visual media, as well as an Oscar nomination for best original song.
“I listen to Anti from top to bottom with no shame,” Rihanna told the publication. “I used to always have shame. I actually don’t like listening to my music, but Anti — I can listen to the album. It’s not me singing it, if I’m just listening to it. That’s the one album that I can have an out-of-body experience where it’s not like … You know when you hear your voice in a voicemail, and it’s like, ‘Ugh.’”
The “Work” hitmaker also reflected on her role as a mother, raising her two young sons — RZA and Riot — with A$AP Rocky. The Harlem rapper, 36, was recently found not guilty on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in Los Angeles.
“Every decision I make revolves around them, but everything that I do that I love robs me from them,” Ri says. “So I have a weird resentment with the things that I love. You almost feel like something is always suffering for you to show up somewhere. And even when you show up there, it’s not 100% because there’s something else on the wheel. It’s actually given me a lot more self-guilt.”
She also spoke lovingly about A$AP’s role as a father. “His pureness. His charm. I’m annoyed because my sons sometimes just live for him more than they live for me,” RiRi said. “And I’m like, ‘Did you know who cooked you? Do you know who pushed you out?’ And they love him, but when I see it, oh, it’s the best.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Rihanna emphasized the significance of her business empire, which includes Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. “I care because my name is on it,” she said. “I don’t want my name to represent anything I don’t fully stand behind.”
SZA isn’t the only artist topping charts with an “SOS” release.
Victoria Monét’s “SOS (Sex on Sight),” featuring Usher, wins the crown on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart, leaping 4-1 to lead the list dated March 1. The pair’s sultry duet gives Monét her second leader on Adult R&B Airplay, while Usher collects his 10th champ and ties for the most among male artists in the chart’s 31-year history.
“SOS,” released on Lovett/RCA Records, tops Adult R&B Airplay as the most played song on U.S. panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Feb. 14-20, according to Luminate. The single improved 14% in plays for the week compared with the previous frame.
Monét previously topped Adult R&B Airplay with her breakout hit, “On My Mama,” for three weeks in March 2024.
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In addition to entering the double-digit No. 1s club on Adult R&B Airplay, Usher ties Charlie Wilson for the most leaders by a male artist since the chart launched in September 1993. Here’s a look at the overall leaderboard:
14, Alicia Keys
11, Toni Braxton
10, Mary J. Blige
10, Usher
10, Charlie Wilson
9, Maxwell
9, Tank
8, H.E.R.
8, Kem
8, Bruno Mars
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To review Usher’s milestone moment, here are the superstar’s 10 No. 1 titles on the Adult R&B Airplay chart:
“Here I Stand,” seven weeks at No. 1, beginning Dec. 6, 2008
“Papers,” three, Jan. 2, 2010
“There Goes My Baby,” one, July 31, 2010
“Climax,” one, July 7, 2012
“Don’t Waste My Time,” featuring Ella Mai; two, June 13, 2020
“Bad Habits,” one, Dec. 5, 2020
“Glu,” two, June 24, 2023
“Good Good,” with Summer Walker & 21 Savage; six, Nov. 18, 2023
“Risk It All,” with H.E.R., two; April 27, 2024
“SOS (Sex on Sight),” Victoria Monét featuring Usher; one (to date), Feb. 28, 2025
“SOS” is on the deluxe edition of Monét’s debut album, Jaguar II, which was reissued in October 2024. The original version, released in August 2023, won two Grammy Awards in 2024: best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical.
Elsewhere, “SOS” pushes 25-21 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 improved to 4.6 million audience impressions, an 18% climb from the prior tracking week.
All charts dated March 1 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Jerry Butler, the beloved Chicago soul singer, producer and, later, politician who began his career in the late 1950 singing alongside childhood friend Curtis Mayfield in the Impressions, has died at 85. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Butler died on Thursday night (Feb. 20) of undisclosed causes after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
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Motown legend Smokey Robinson told the Sun-Times that Butler was “one of the great voices of our time,” lauding the singer who the Miracles vocalist had admired since he was a young man listening to the Impressions’ 1958 Billboard Hot 100 No. 11 hit “For Your Precious Love.”
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Working alongside singer/guitarist Mayfield — whom he’d met as a teenager singing in a church choir — Butler began his career in the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers group before joining the Roosters, who in short order became known as The Impressions. The group struck gold off the bat with the Butler co-written “For Your Precious Love,” a slow-burning, yearning song inspired by a poem Butler wrote in high school — credited to Jerry Butler & the Impressions — that melded the friends’ church-based gospel roots with a stirring soul sound.
The single, released by Vee-Jay Records and ranked in 2003 as the No. 335 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, would be one of only two Butler recorded with the group, followed up by that same year’s No. 29 Billboard R&B chart hit “Come Back My Love.” Tensions in the group over Butler’s first-billing status led to the singer going out on his own, though his first solo hit was a reunion with Mayfield on the 1960 Vee-Jay co-write “He Will Break Your Heart.” That song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
While Mayfield soon became a star in his own right thanks to his funky soul soundtrack to the 1972 blaxploitation film Superfly and such civil rights anthems as “People Get Ready,” Butler embarked on run of hits in the 1960s and 70s that included 38 career Hot 100 entries — including three top 10s — as well as 53 songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
In 1961, Butler’s impressive vocal range and always fresh attire earned him the career-long nickname “The Iceman” from WDAS Philadelphia DJ George Woods, bestowed on the singer after he kept his cool and continued to sing after the PA system burned out on him at a Philly show.
He scored another top 10 hit in 1964 with the hopelessly-in-love ballad “Let It Be Me,” a collaboration with singer Betty Everett on the Everly Brothers-written song that appeared on their joint Delicious Together album and peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100. Butler’s third top 10 song came in 1969 with the inspirational soul stirrer “Only the Strong Survive,” one of the singer’s collaborations with the hit songwriting team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The song appeared on his The Ice Man Cometh album and served as his highest-ever charting single after reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100, as well as spending two weeks at the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (then called the Billboard Black Singles Chart).
One of his most enduring hits, the song would later be covered by, among others, Elvis, Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen, who also made it the title of his 2022 R&B/soul covers solo album.
Gamble and Huff released a joint statement honoring their friend on Friday, saying, “We deeply and sincerely mourn the loss of our dear and longtime friend the great Jerry Butler, aka ‘The Iceman,’ for his cool, smooth vocals and demeanor,” they wrote. “Our friendship with Jerry goes back for more than 60 years both as an iconic artist and music collaborator with hit songs such as ‘Only the Strong Survive,’ ‘Western Union Man,’ ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ and many more. We will really miss Jerry. He was a one of a kind music legend!”
Butler, whose vocals often climbed from a deep baritone to a crystal falsetto, would land Hot 100 hits in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, last charting on the singles tally in 1977 with “I Wanna Do It To You,” which peaked at No. 51.
His 53 career entries on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart included 18 top 10s and four No. 1s, including “He Will Break Your Heart,” “Let It Be Me,” 1968’s “Hey, Western Union Man” and “Only the Strong Survive.” He last appeared on that chart in 1982 with the No. 83 hit “No Love Without Changes.” The singer also co-write a 1965 hit for then climbing soul singer Otis Redding, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” one of Redding’s most beloved songs, which has been covered over the years by everyone from the Rolling Stones to Aretha Franklin, Ike & Tina Turner and country singer Barbara Mandrell.
In addition, Butler had 15 career entires on the Billboard 200 album chart, with The Ice Man Cometh representing his peak at No. 29, followed by 1969’s Ice On Ice (No. 41) and 1977’s Thelma & Jerry with Thelma Houston topping out at No. 53.
Butler was born in Sunflower, MS on Dec. 8, 1939 and moved to Chicago at age three, where he grew up in the since-demolished Cabrini-Green housing projects. With is biggest music years behind him by the early 1980s, Butler — who had earlier set up his own short-lived record label, Memphis Records and production company — pivoted to running a Chicago beer distributorship. He entered politics a few years later after being inspired by the city’s first Black Mayor, Harold Washington. Former Black Panther and longtime Chicago alderman Bobby Rush encouraged Butler to run for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1985, where the singer served three four-year terms before his retirement from public office in 2018.
The singer kept performing live into the early 2000s and hosted oldies R&B specials (Doo Wop 50, Rock Rhythm and Doo Wop) for PBS, as well as serving as the chairman of the board for the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the Impressions.
Over the years, his songs were sampled by a number of hip-hop acts, including Method Man on his 1994 Tical single “Bring the Pain” (which used bits of 1974’s “I’m Your Mechanical Man”), as well as Missy Elliott’s song of the same name from 2002. Snoop Dogg tapped Butler’s 1972 song “I Need You” for his 2006 Blue Carpet Treatment song “Think About It.”
Butler published his autobiography, Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor, in 2000.
Check out some of Butler’s classics below.
“You Are Everything.” “Betcha by Golly, Wow.” “I’m Stone in Love With You.” And, of course, “You Make Me Feel Brand New.” Those are just a few of the harmonizing gems that helped seal The Stylistics’ reputation as one of R&B/pop’s legendary acts. Now the group is celebrating its 57th anniversary with its first new album in almost two decades, Falling in Love With My Girl.
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Released Friday (Feb. 21) through the label Greatest Music of All Time LLC, the 21-track album prefaced its arrival a week earlier with the soulful lead single “Yes, I Will” featuring Shania Twain. But the country superstar isn’t the only music luminary who collaborated on The Stylistics’ return with producer Tom Cridland and executive producer Debbie Cridland. Comprising that list of notables are the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood, Kiss’ Gene Simmons, The Elton John Band (including Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone), Chicago’s Bill Champlin, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, Toto’s Steve Lukather, Tower of Power, Ray Parker Jr., Jay Graydon, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, The Real Thing, Nathan East and Carly Paoli.
“Here we are, blessed and fortunate to still sell out concerts and now able to go back in the studio and do new music,” says The Stylistics’ Herb Murrell. “Especially after such a long period of time. It feels good to know that somebody out there still thinks about us having a market for new music.”
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It was when Murrell and fellow group members Airrion Love and Jason Sharp performed some shows in the U.K. a few years back that they first met Tom Cridland, who was their opening act. Then this past year, Tom did an entire tour with the group — which also performed at the Cridlands’ wedding reception. And out of that camaraderie, the seeds were sown for a new album.
THE STYLISTICS
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“We have an established sound,” says Murrell. “So when working with anyone, you want to make sure that they don’t try to change your sound. The songs that Tom was bringing to the table had that Stylistics flavor with a new approach to it. That was the most important thing, which he understood while staying within what we’re known for: love songs.”
Case in point is the heartfelt “Yes, I Will.” Initially invited to sing on another song, Twain suggested “Yes,” which she had co-written with Nathan East with a contribution from Tom Cridland. Of the song, which also features musicians Ray Parker Jr. and Steve Lukather, Twain said in an earlier press announcement, “I’m so happy this song has found a home on The Stylistics album. It’s a special song that came together on one special day at my home where I was hanging out with some friends and musicians. I’m just really excited to share it with the whole world.”
“Once we heard it, we knew it was a great song,” Murrell tells Billboard. “Then the next thing you know, Tom is coming back to us saying this person and that person wants to be involved with the project.”
Most of the album tracks were written by Tom Cridland together with Anthony King of Blackpool and King’s wife, Fiona Shaw. Two tracks were written by The Stylistics’ Love: “Sad Tomorrows” and “I Get a Feeling.”
Love and Murrell are the original members of The Stylistics, which began as a quintet in Philadelphia in 1968. The group was signed to Avco Records when its run of indelible ‘70s hits — in collaboration with legendary songwriters Thom Bell and Linda Creed — began, including “I’m Stone in Love With You,” “Break Up to Make Up” and “People Make the World Go Round.” In 1980 The Stylistics segued to Philadelphia International Records, where they scored another hit with “Hurry Up This Way Again.” All told, the group boasts five gold singles and three gold albums, while their songs have been covered or sampled by the likes of Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, Prince, Simply Red, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Nas and Usher
A trio since the departure of member Russell Thompkins Jr. in 2000, The Stylistics welcomed Sharp in 2011. Of the group’s enduring appeal, Murrell says, “When you walk out on that stage, your audience will let you know whether you’re still relevant or not. But we’ve been blessed because multiple generations of people are still coming to see The Stylistics and hear this music. And that keeps us going.”