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Asked to define her career so far — a career that has already seen the release of 10th anniversary editions of two pivotal albums, 2012’s Tramp and 2014’s Are We There — Sharon Van Etten says, “For me, it’s not about growing, it’s about sustaining, and I think there’s an art to that. I don’t want to do this next thing bigger or get to this next big level. It’s more about different challenges along the way.”
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With the Feb. 7 release of her seventh album, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, the singer-songwriter aces the challenge she set for herself while writing and recording the record: collaborating with other musicians in the process.
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Although Van Etten, 43, has worked with an array of artists that includes Angel Olsen, Courtney Barnett, Josh Homme and Ezra Furman, “I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery with how I feel about my own music and analyzing why it took me so long to trust other people with that safe space,” she tells Billboard on a Zoom call from her Los Angeles home. “I think a big part of that was when I first began writing songs, a lot of it was hiding [my music] from a boyfriend who I was scared of who didn’t like my music… I had to hide the fact that I played music or would play open mic, so it became a safe space for me. As I learned to let other people in — even just performing with me, that was a big step. This is another step of opening up and being vulnerable. I had a lot of people help me in the writing process to grow as a creative person and not be the sole owner of the performances.”
The name of the band she put together for the album and upcoming tour — Devra Hoff on bass and vocals, Jorge Balbi on drums and machines, and Teeny Lieberson on synth, piano, guitar and vocals — is a tongue-in-cheek reference to psychological research on the emotional bonds formed between individuals, especially infants and their mothers. Van Etten elaborates on the name later in this interview, but it’s not an arbitrary choice. She is the mother of a seven-year-old son and has intermittently worked towards a psychology degree with the intention of becoming a therapist.
Van Etten’s collaboration with The Attachment Theory, which was co-produced by Marta Salogni (Björk, Depeche Mode, Porridge Radio) and recorded at The Church Studios in London, advances farther into the electronic territory she explored on her last two albums. Chilled, angular ‘80s-style synth and sharp, punchy drums offset the warmth of Van Etten’s crystalline and lissome vocals, and when they meet at a song’s crescendo — as they do on “Live Forever” and “Afterlife”— it’s a real headrush.
The lyrics on this album take a few spins to absorb, in part because Van Etten doesn’t sand down the sharp corners of her subjects. One of indie music’s most sensitive empaths, she takes on the complexity of relationships (a recurring theme in her music), parenthood’s inevitable connection to the specter of mortality, and embracing what is arguably a new facet of diversity and inclusion in post-election America: the desire to coexist with those in our lives whose social and political perspectives are antithetical to ours.
How did The Attachment Theory come together?
The band has grown over the years in different ways. Devra Hoff started playing with me for warmup shows in 2018 for Remind Me Tomorrow. After Devra, Jorge Balbi joined the band. I met Jorge through Charley Damski. He was part of the writing process of this record and now plays with Lana Del Rey. I met Teeny Lieberson years ago through New York circles. She was in Here We Go Magic, she was in Teen. She has an amazing project under her own moniker, Lou Tides. It’s been shapeshifting over the years as I’ve been evolving from folk to rock to more alternative post-punk influences. The synthesizer drum-meets-machines-type marriage has been part of my listening over the years, and it’s been really fulfilling to play these songs in this way.
How did you settle on the name?
Everybody asks me, is that a psychological reference? Obviously, it’s a joke at that. I had a bandmate have a knee-jerk reaction against it, because of their actual relationship with their parents. So, we had this agreement that we’re not going to talk about attachment styles. But everyone ended up agreeing with me that we’re all from very different places and we have all these different experiences, but how incredible is it that we can come together and make something so beautiful. Also, when we’re on the road, we become a family. We have sibling connectivity tissue. They’re my chosen family. That’s something that people don’t always understand. When you go on tour, it’s fun, but it’s also really hard. But I have this family [of band members], and I know they have my back, and I have theirs. That’s a big part of why our band works, and why I trust them so deeply.
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You have increasingly used synthesizers in your music, but I was also wondering if recording at The Church, which Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart once owned and where they recorded Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) influenced the sound.
The songs were already written before we went to that studio, but they definitely led to us wanting to be, number one, in a room where we could be in a like space. Number two, I definitely wanted to record in London, and three, it’s one of Marta Salogni’s favorite studios. Number four, the history of the space concreted our decision to work there. In recording there, we definitely conjured the spirits. We all but had seances in there. You can feel the energy as soon as you approach the building.
Why did you want to record in London?
The demos really spoke to us as being all these U.K.-based influences, like Procure, Joy Division, Kate Bush. Yes, there are other influences in there — like Nine Inch Nails, and I can hear Pylon. That era to me is deeply rooted in the U.K., and I’ve never worked overseas. I’ve never had a destination record. It’s always been the New York area, L.A. area. And I wanted to push myself to try new things. I try to do something different every time I make a record.
Where was your head at when you were writing these lyrics?
The writing process started when I was still on the road with We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong. That was our first tour back after COVID. Also, life things were happening. I was thinking about aging parents, being an older parent and feeling distance from my family, while also having conversations with my band. For the first time, I found myself writing lyrics that weren’t just about my personal life but about conversations that we were having as a group. I tend to write very much alone. I usually already have the structure and ideas for instrumentation, and then I share them with other people. In this process, since we were writing together, it wasn’t just about structure. It was about subject matter, and one of the articles I read while we were writing was this article about the process of reverse aging and the technology there.
There was this study done in the U.K on mice. By injecting them with this serum it replicated cells and helped regenerate cells. I think they proved that after the age of 50 you can reverse aging with this technology. But if you take it beforehand it could have the reverse effect. And so, the movie Death Becomes Her came right into my mind. I was having this conversation with Devra, and we started talking about, “If you could live forever, would you? And what kind of world would that be?” After that conversation, we wrote “Live Forever” in one sitting.
Based on personal experience, when you become a parent, mortality looms large in your head. My son is an adult now, and doing fine, but I worry about what happens when I’m gone — and even before that, how do I not become a burden to him when old age kicks in?
It’s a reality. I learned a new term recently, called the Sandwich Generation. Since people are having kids later in life, they’re in the position of being working parents while taking care of their own parents. You’re kind of caught in the middle. We’re asking these bigger questions in our lives, not just of ourselves but where our responsibilities lie.
Speaking of parenthood, in “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like), you sing, “My hands are shaking as a mother trying to raise her son right.” Can you talk a little bit about the meaning of that song?
Devra Hoff is the bandmate that I talk to about lyrics. She helped me write the song “Something Ain’t Right” I remember her saying, “Be careful with these lyrics because people are going to think you hate on the South.” I’m like, “I don’t hate on the South!” She’s like, “I know you but you’re going to have to speak to this idea because people are going to ask.
And here we are.
I have in-laws from the South. I lived in Tennessee. It was a major turning point in my life, and it changed me for good and bad. I’m a Jersey Girl moving to Tennessee, and I learned very quickly what the South was. As I tell my son all the time, it’s a different kind of diversity when you have to be around people that don’t have the same ideals as you. You don’t avoid it. You try to surround yourself with people of all different ideologies and hopefully have discourse. I think about my upbringing. I think about where I’ve lived over the course of my life, and the different people that I’ve met. It’s learning how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. That’s really what “Southern Life” is. It’s the other side.
I’m also struck by the lyrics to “Trouble.”: “I don’t want to lose your love against your will/ Blow you kisses and take a pill/ To kill.”
It’s semi-connected to “Southern Life.” Without defining it too much, the narrative is that same feeling of when you go back home, you’re visiting family and there are things you just can’t talk about — things that in my past define the experiences I’ve had in my life that I’m not able to talk about with people that know me better than anyone. It’s like this burning hole.
You’ve put your finger on something elusive that I think a lot of people feel. I was born in Ohio and moved to New York City when I was young. I know exactly that feeling when I go back to visit.
I feel like that with other friends, where there’s always this place where you can’t go with them. And it hurts. You don’t share it, out of respect for the other person sometimes. It’s some kind of love, but it comes with pain and discomfort.
I’ve noticed that you are connecting more often to your fans in a direct way through emails, posts and playlists. What’s your perspective on the way social media has changed promoting your music?
I listen to the people that I work with. I trust all my circles — label, management, publicists. We’ve been working together for 12 years or something, and I feel like we’re all trying to learn and change and adapt. A lot of it is about authenticity and speaking to people like a real person. Being a parent and working, I also feel like who has the time to constantly engage in this way. I want to do it authentically but then if you share too much it’s also security stuff. You don’t always want people to know where you are and exactly when you’re there. I have to learn how to walk this line of being authentic and protective.
I also don’t want to bombard people. After attempting to be a publicist back in the day, I don’t want to be that fly in your ear. I want to have something to say and not just to pop up in your stories or whatever. I also want to share things that I’m interested in and to shine a light on things I think are special. But it’s time consuming, and sometimes I want to say, “F–k it all. I’m going to make music, there will be an album, I will tour it, and I exist.”
I don’t know if it’s my age or just the feeling of losing time as I get older. How much time is spent in the sharing process is daunting. I know how the industry works enough to be like, I’m not Beyoncé; I can’t just put out a record and be like, “I’ll see you.” And not only do I need to make a living for family, but also my band and everyone I work with. There’s a team of 40-50 people depending on me to back it up.
You’re doing three shows in the States at the beginning of February, then heading to Europe?
Yes. I’m doing my first three warmup shows in Westerly, Rhode Island, Woodstock [N.Y.] and my first headline Jersey show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. There will be so many Van Ettens there. I’m just warning you. I’m looking forward to connecting with fans again, and I get to play with my friend, [Jessica Larrabee] She Keeps Bees, who I came up with in the early New York Days. Then we’ll go to Europe because since the record was made in the U.K., I wanted to quickly go there and honor them. The U.K. and Europe run is only like two weeks. Then we come back and do a full U.S. tour.
Will there be jamming?
[Laughs.] There will definitely be jamming, and as we get more comfortable with these songs in a live setting, and I’ll have a shred or two.
Your collaboration with Ezra Furman on Sinéad O’Connor’s “Feel So Different” for the Transa album is quite beautiful. How did that come about?
It was wild because at the time, I had just been sent this manuscript for Allyson McCabe’s book, Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters. When I was reading it, Sinéad was still alive, and I gave a quote for the back of the book, which was from the perspective of how the industry basically abandoned her. Anyway, I’ve been a fan of her work and covered “Black Boys on Mopeds” when I was on tour for Remind Me Tomorrow.
Then the Red Hot Organization reached out to me to do a collaboration with somebody, for Transa. They were partnering artists with people in the LGBTQ community, and Ezra and I have been in the same circles for a long time. Though we have high-fived on the internet over the years, we’ve never met in person. I felt like her punk rock ethos and vulnerability, and being a parent, would be creatively a perfect match. She was open, and I sent her that song immediately because I felt like in the climate of the world today it was almost like a plea. While we were recording it back and forth long distance, we found out Sinéad had died. So, I felt like this was not just for the LGBTQ community and a plea to the world. It was also a prayer for Sinéad.
You’re at a point in your career where you’re celebrating the significant anniversaries of landmark albums for you. How do you feel about that, and that up-and-coming artists like Nülifer Yanya are now citing you as an inspiration?
I mean, some days I don’t feel that old, and I don’t feel like I’ve done enough yet to really reflect. I know that in general it’s going to get harder and harder for me to do music in the way that I wish I could, but I also feel like I’m not near the end of creating and hopefully I’m not even halfway through my career.
Someone had asked me recently about writing a memoir, and I’m like, “I’m not that old — I don’t have an arc yet.” For me I’m on the slow ramp. I’m like, “How much longer can I do this and how can I challenge myself?” If younger artists are inspired by whatever it is I do, then that’s amazing. I’m inspired by so many people that have been doing it way longer than me.
Kaytranada is ushering everyone outside this summer with his new album Timeless, which dropped Friday (June 7) via RCA Records. The 17-track LP includes the previously released singles “Lover/Friend” (featuring Rochelle Jordan, who’s featured on another song called “Spit It Out”) and the Channel Tres-assisted “Drip Sweat” as well as other star-studded collaborations with his brother […]
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Superstardom might seem innate for someone like Ayra Starr. The Beninese-Nigerian singer-songwriter, born Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, possessed a certain level of self-assurance most teenagers lack on her 2021 debut album 19 & Dangerous, where her sweet, deep vocals documented her Gen-Z coming-of-age story.
“[It] was literally a flex when I named my first album 19 & Dangerous. It was very key for me to be a teenage superstar. It was very key to represent a teenage African girl. I wanted to become the Black Hannah Montana from Lagos, Nigeria,” she tells Billboard over Zoom with a laugh. “Naming my first album 19 & Dangerous was me registering for people, ‘This music you’re about to hear was done by a 19-year-old, by the way.’ I’m dangerous as a 19-year-old.”
Since then, the self-proclaimed “sabi girl” has been steadily increasing her star(r) power. She embarked on her first headlining tour, 21: The World Tour, with 40 stops in North America, Africa, Australia and Europe last year. Her 2022 smash “Rush” earned Starr her first-ever Grammy nomination this year, for best African music performance in the category’s inaugural year, and was included on former President Barack Obama’s favorite songs of 2022 playlist. She was also featured on BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2024 list.
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Now, she’s starting a new chapter of her life with her sophomore album The Year I Turned 21, out Friday (May 31) via Mavin Records and Republic Records. The 15-track LP plays out like her “autobiography,” she describes, weaving in themes of love, loss, getting money and gaining wisdom over her seamless blend of Afrobeats, amapiano, R&B, hip-hop and pop. She’s in her bag as much as she is in her feels, trusting God’s goodness while getting her bread in the resilient anthem “Commas” and reflecting on her hard work paying off in the acoustic ballad “1942” (For a song named after the long-necked Don Julio tequila bottle, and by an artist who turned 21 last summer, it’s not the turn-up banger you might expect).
Her childhood love for Shakira is evident on the sensual-night-out number “Control,” when Starr sings, “I’m lit tonight/ You know my lips don’t lie.” And after collaborating with Destiny’s Child‘s Kelly Rowland on the remix of “Bloody Samaritan,” Starr imagined “the return of Destiny’s Child,” she says, when she recruited Anitta and Coco Jones for the log drum-powered female anthem “Woman Commando.” As an artist who grew up in three different cities (Cotonou, Lagos and Abuja) and speaks four different languages (Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin, English and French), she continues expanding the borders of her music with her “Santa” bonus track with Rvssian and Rauw Alejandro, which earned Starr her first Latin chart hit when it reached No. 8 on Hot Latin Songs and No. 5 on Latin Streaming Songs earlier this month.
Even though she’ll be turning 22 in two weeks, Starr already has plans to end her 21st year on a strong note — starting next week, she’ll be joining the North American leg of Chris Brown’s 11:11 Tour as one of his opening guests, alongside Muni Long. And she’s up for three awards at next month’s BET Awards: best new artist, best international act and BET Her for “Commas.” But there’s still one more thing Starr wants to accomplish, since she’s finally 21.
“I really want to go to Vegas, though — because the last time I was in Vegas, they didn’t let me in anywhere, because I was 19,” she jokes.
Billboard spoke with Starr about her sophomore album The Year I Turned 21, 21 Savage’s impassioned cover of “Commas,” the heartfelt familial recording process of the LP’s closer “The Kids Are Alright,” and meeting her “idol” Rihanna.
Which local and international artists did you grow up listening to? What styles of music did you like listening to?
Rihanna, definitely. Beyoncé, Shakira, Nicki Minaj, Drake. I was listening to a lot of 2face, D’banj, Wande Coal – those are like the pioneers of Afrobeats for me. Aṣa, Simi. I was a Disney girl, so I had all of the Disney songs downloaded on my phone, like Hannah Montana.
And who are you currently listening to?
I’m listening to myself, obviously. Victoria Monét. mk.gee. His music gives me goosebumps, it’s just so beautiful. The new album is amazing. SZA. Beyoncé’s new album, too.
You’ve had such an incredible career trajectory. As a young African woman, who did you look up to as a success story that you could follow?
I feel like Rihanna was the closest thing to that, because I didn’t have a lot of representation. And I wanted to be that for my generation. I remember being like, “I want to be a teenage superstar.” As a teenage superstar, I can have young girls looking up to me.
You talk a lot about being a “sabi girl” in your music and on social media. Where did the term “sabi girl” come from? And what are the core characteristics of one?
“Sabi girl” is something you call somebody that just feels like an intelligent or smart person. When you say sabi, the word sabi means “to know” — like, to be smart, street smart and book smart. You can say, “Oh, that girl is sabi. That boy is sabi.” That means he knows what he’s doing, he gets it. The characteristics of a “sabi girl”: confidence; smart; on it; kind, has to be kind to everybody because a “sabi girl” is humble, even though she’s confident; and just bad – face card, body, outfit.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your career so far? And what’s been the most challenging part?
The most rewarding part of my career so far is just being able to live my dream. This is something I wished for, this is not something that just came from nowhere. This has been my dream since I was a child. Being able to fulfill my dreams is the most rewarding thing ever, being able to improve myself and make money while doing it, girrrlllll. That’s definitely the most rewarding part.
The most challenging is trusting the process and being patient with oneself and also not always thinking about what other people think. Because when you [get] started, every artist is always [preoccupied with] what they think — it’s always about them and what they want to do. Then when they get into the spotlight, it’s like, “OK, what do people think?” I’d rather not do that. I’m already on the right path. But it has been challenging to just focus my energy on my own beliefs and my own ideologies.
Since your album is titled The Year I Turned 21, what are the biggest blessings and biggest lessons you’ve experienced at this age?
The biggest blessing is learning how to love myself — because you get a lot of love, but you never actually know what it is until you experience not loving yourself. I’m very sure of myself and I’m very confident in myself. It’s not just a flimsy confidence that can be moved by the way I look, or if I get bloated, I’ll start to feel bad. No, no, no, no. Working with people that I’ve always dreamed of working with and people that I grew up listening to has always been a blessing.
I feel like the blessings are the opposite of the lessons. The lesson was I had to learn to be patient with myself at some point, and now I’ve learned it, so I’m blessed. I had to learn how to work with other people and how to collaborate without thinking it’s a competition.
I love the breakdown of your life that you give in “21”: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10/ I was at the house/ Tryna figure out who the f–k I am/ 11, 12 went too fast/ 3 to 16, too fast/ 7, 8 was a big year/ 19 got a big bag/ Counting hundreds playing 20 somethings/ Counting on myself now/ Crying by myself now/ I’m 21/ At my grown ass age.” Thinking about those teenage years that were “too fast,” what made them feel that way? Especially since 19 was such a massive year for you, how did ages 11-18 lead up to you having your big moment?
So 11-16, I felt like it was way too fast because I don’t really remember as much as I should. Most of my experiences then were not the best. Living with my mom, we didn’t really have much and I didn’t grow up the most comfortable. I used to daydream and imagine this life now. I can’t remember a lot of stuff from then, because I used to just think of having a better life.
“13-16, too fast.” I was [that age] in high school, and I just hated it so much because I was in a very religious school and I couldn’t be able to express myself. I’m Christian, but there are a certain type of religious schools that are like, “Oh, women are not allowed to wear trousers. Women should not sit in front of church. Women should not have extensions in their hair.” The best way to cope with it was not being aware. That’s why I feel like it was just too fast — because it was easier for me to be a zombie through those years.
How did you make a sonically diverse album that still feels cohesive?
It feels very cohesive because of my voice. My voice is my sound — so whatever genre I find myself in, as long as my voice is there, you’re gonna hear the Afrobeats. You’re gonna hear me in my Nigerian accent singing, and the richness of my voice and my range. I get bored really quickly, so I always like to do different sounds and try different things.
You have collaborations with Asake, Anitta and Coco Jones, Giveon, Seyi Vibez and your brother Milar. Why were those the artists you wanted to work with? Did you intentionally want to keep mixing up African and American guest artists, or did that come naturally?
With the features, except for “Woman Commando,” I just let stuff happen. With “Last Heartbreak Song,” I was like, “Oh, who would sound good on this? Let’s send it to Giveon.” Giveon was the first feature that came. Once I heard his verse, I just saw the whole album. I remember I cried in the car on my way to the airport. His voice sounded so good, he understood what I was trying to do. I was like, “OK, I’m just going to trust my intuition with who I want on each song.” I sent to Asake, I sent to Seyi Vibez.
With “Woman Commando,” I always knew I wanted two strong women. I wanted it to be like the return of Destiny’s Child. I wanted it to feel like a global anthem [with] women from different parts of the world. I was talking to my A&R like, “Let’s try and get a Spanish- or Portuguese[-speaking] person. And I want an R&B singer.” I’ve been listening to Coco Jones since Let It Shine. I’m a Disney girl, I told you! I remember the first day Let It Shine was going to air on Disney – I remember what I was wearing [and] every single thing about that day. And to have Coco Jones on my album is the craziest thing ever.
Anitta’s a no-brainer. [My choreographer and I] work out to her music [and] twerk to her music, so I was like, “Can we ask her for a verse?” She’s the sweetest human being ever.
How has the musical relationship between you and your brother evolved over the years?
We’ve always been a team. The phase we’re in right now is aligning ourselves to our things separately. He’s doing his own stuff, I’m doing my own stuff. But we still make music together. I trust his ear more than I trust mine. Every time I make something, I just send it to him — like, “What do you think?” And he’s like, “This sounds good.” And I’m like, “Are you sure? Because I don’t think so. I’m kind of nervous.” And he’ll just tell me what to do to make it better. He’s the most talented person I’ve ever met in my entire life. Since we were young, he’s been the musical one. My mom got us a guitar, and he could play chords, write songs on it already. One month on the piano, he was playing it perfectly. He’s literally a genius.
When we were writing “1942,” I told him what I was trying to do, ‘cause I had just gotten back from my trip from Barbados. I was in the pool with a bottle of 1942 and I felt so good. I was like, “Oh, this moment makes it all worth it. This moment right here makes all the hard work, all the stress, worth it. This is what we work for, this little moment of satisfaction and happiness.” The song is about that.
Is your mom the one speaking at the beginning of “The Kids Are Alright,” and then you and your siblings throughout the track? It sounds like you’re all leaving a voicemail for your late father.
I told everybody to send a voicemail to the group chat — like, if they could talk to my dad right now, what would they want to tell him? Just give an update of your life. We’re sending voice notes, and everybody was snitching on each other! It was so funny and cute. It really was a huge bonding moment for us.
Two weeks before I recorded the song, I was on a three-day break from work. I wanted to rest, so I went to London. And I was overthinking a lot — because I was feeling guilty for taking a break, because I’m a workaholic. And my mom randomly sent me a voice note, as if she knew. She was like, “I want you to enjoy yourself. I want you to have a good time. Go out with your friends, enjoy yourself, be happy.” I was like, “Wow, wow, thank you!” It meant so much to me, so I put it in the song.
You linked with Rihanna at her Fenty x Puma event in London last month. What was going through your head when you finally met her?
I don’t know what was going through my head. She was talking, and I was just looking at her lips and her nose. You can see my face, I was like [makes shocked expression with open mouth], “Wow! Rihanna!” But I was really calm, because she made me feel very calm and comfortable. No joke, in the back of my mind when I make music, I’m like, “There’s no way Rihanna doesn’t like this song.” When I made “Bloody Samaritan,” I kind of made that song for Rihanna. I was like, “Rihanna is gonna love this song.”
Even some of the songs on my album, like “Birds Sing of Money,” that was a song I wanted to send to her as a demo, but I never got a reply on time. I told her, “I have so many songs for you, but they are mine now! I’m not getting rid of them, they’re on my album!” [Laughs.] She was laughing.
We got to hang out after the event. Just spending time with my idol, the person that inspired me to do all of this, was the most amazing thing. She gave me so many pointers and advice. I love my voice, but I know I have a very deep voice like, “Is that a man?! Is that a boy?!” Rihanna was like, “You have the type of voice that can take over the males and take over the girls. You are here to take over both sides of the industry.” And I was like, “You think so?” She’s like, “Yes! Yes!” I was like, “Thank you so much!” She was like, “That’s your superpower.” I was like, “I never thought of it like that. Thank you.” She just put everything into perspective for me.
We need the collab ASAP.
Very soon. Very, very soon.
I saw a video on Twitter from her most recent Fenty event in LA where she said you taught her the difference between Afrobeats and amapiano. How did you break it down for her?
She knows! I just pointed out some things. But she knows a lot about African culture, I was so shocked. She knows tribes — she knew how to pronounce my government name, Oyinkansola. I didn’t have to teach her. I was like, “Rihanna, I can steal you in my bag right now and take you away?”
You have another superstar in your corner, 21 Savage, following his Instagram Live video performance of “Commas”? The mic was on!
If we ever want to work together, it’s gonna be possible by God’s grace. I’ve been a big 21 Savage fan. And when I saw that video, I was laughing! It’s so funny. He’s singing the song like he wrote it! He’s singing the song like I wrote it for him. I love that so much!
Which song from The Year I Turned 21 are you most excited to perform live when you open for Chris Brown’s 11:11 Tour?
I can’t wait to perform “Goodbye (Warm Up).” I already have the choreography and everything. I can’t wait to be on stage. I can’t wait to perform “21” and “Birds Sing of Money,” “Last Heartbreak Song,” everything ahh! I feel like I’ve performed my last album for two years now — so it’s like, “Finally, new music!”
What goals do you have for your career moving forward?
I want to take over the entire universe. Insert evil laugh. [Laughs said evil laugh.] I want to be the best performer I possibly can be. I want to collaborate with more people. I want to reach all different parts of the world with my music. I want to have strong fanbases from all over the world. And just kill it.
Gunna has released his fifth studio album One of Wun on Friday (May 10) via YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. The 20-track project includes collaborations with Offset (“Prada Dem”), Normani (“$$$”), Leon Bridges (“Clear My Rain”) and Roddy Ricch (“Let It Breathe”). Previously released single “Prada Dem” reached No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 […]
The wait is over — Bryson Tiller released his self-titled album on Friday (April 5) via RCA Records. “My main goal with this album is for the masses to hear everything I’m capable of doing,” Tiller told Billboard in a recent interview. “So they give me a chance and stick around as fans. My main […]
Bryson Tiller is back. The Grammy-nominated artist announced on Tiller Tuesday (March 19) that he’ll be releasing his self-titled fourth album on April 5 via RCA Records.
Bryson Tiller comes four years after his last studio album Anniversary, which was released on the fifth anniversary of his critically acclaimed debut album Trapsoul. Anniversary reached No. 4 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
To commemorate today’s announcement, Tiller revealed the sci-fi-esque album artwork and dropped the LP’s first official single, “Calypso.”
Trending on Billboard
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“Calypso” arrives one month after his last single “Whatever She Wants,” which he originally released in November as part of his SoundCloud-exclusive Slum Tiller mixtape series that he dropped on “Tiller Tuesdays.” The “Don’t” hitmaker officially dropped it on DSPs in February due to all the traction it gained, and “Whatever She Wants” has since proven to be a commercial hit: The song has reached a new No. 19 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 and a new No. 8 peak on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week (dated March 24). “Whatever She Wants” also earned Tiller his first top 10 on Hot Rap Songs chart when it debuted at No. 8 earlier this month (it has since reached No. 5).
In tandem with today’s album announcement, Tiller revealed he’s going back on the road for a 31-date North American tour. Produced by Live Nation, The Bryson Tiller Tour will begin on May 11 at Portland’s Alaska Airlines’ Theater of the Clouds and go through major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Atlanta and more before wrapping at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup, Wash.
Tickets will be available starting with various pre-sales on Wednesday, March 20. Additional pre-sales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale starting on Friday, March 22 at 10 a.m. local time on ticketmaster.com.
Pre-order Bryson Tiller here, and see The Bryson Tiller Tour dates below.
May 11 – Portland, OR @ Alaska Airlines’ Theater of the Clouds
May 12 – Vancouver, BC @ UBC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
May 14 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
May 15 – Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Live Sacramento
May 16 – San Diego, CA @ Gallagher Square at Petco Park
May 17 – Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater
May 20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
May 22 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom*
May 24 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
May 26 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
May 28 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
May 30 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Jun 1 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Jun 3 – New York, NY @ The Theater at MSG
Jun 6 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
Jun 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage at the Mann
Jun 9 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
Jun 11 – Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
Jun 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
Jun 15 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Jun 16 – Tampa, FL @ Yuengling Center
Jun 18 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
Jun 19 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Jun 22 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Jun 23 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
Jun 25 – Indianapolis, IN @ Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
Jun 26 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Jun 28 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
Jul 5 – Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Summerfest*
Jul 11 – Calgary, AB @ Calgary Stampede*
Sep 21 – Puyallup, WA @ Washington State Fair*
*not a Live Nation date
Skepta is ringing in the new year with by announcing his first album in five years, Knife and Fork, on Monday (Jan. 1). The first single, “Gas Me Up (Diligent),” will arrive on Jan. 26. “It’s been years since I dropped my last album and I want to thank you for all the love during […]
Chris Brown just dropped his aptly named 11th studio album 11:11 on Friday, Nov. 10 via Chris Brown Entertainment and RCA Records. As the title suggests, the hip-hop star was originally set to release the album on Saturday (11/11, get it?) — but on Instagram, he announced in a short clip that “I’mma give [the […]