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Rag’n’Bone Man‘s emotional video for his breakthrough 2016 hit “Human” has hit one billion views on YouTube. According to YT, the visual for the bare-bones blues pop song that has had a second, and third, life as the theme song for a variety of TV Shows, movies and video games has been averaging more than […]
On Valentine’s Day 2025 (Feb. 14), a music video clip featuring an impossibly long and undeniably sensual makeout session instantly dominated social media. The video featured two artists: five-time Grammy-nominee Kehlani and one of R&B’s most arresting new voices — kwn.
Hailing from Walthamstow, East London, kwn (pronounced kay-one) grew up in a musical household soundtracked by selections from her mother, two older sisters and former-DJ father. While her parents introduced her to “old-school garage and house,” her sisters’ love for early-‘00s R&B heartthrobs ended up having an outsized impact on her current sound. “When I shared a room with my middle sister, she would have Chris Brown posters all over the wall, and my eldest sister was in love with Justin Timberlake,” the artist born K. Wilson reflects with a slight chuckle. “We had loads of R&B going throughout the house. A lot of Pharrell and stuff like that. I think it’s definitely following me now.”
Around 13 years old, kwn made a decision between football and music that would completely change her life. Building on her background on drums and keys, she began learning her way around at-home studio setups with some help from her sisters and their friends. She calls “So High,” one of the first songs she ever wrote, “terrible and really bad,” but she’s open to the idea of potentially sampling it in a brand-new record. By 16, she enrolled in East London Arts & Music, where she enjoyed a thorough music education, covering everything from music theory to reading contracts. Her time at East London gave her space to find her sonic pocket – a moody amalgam of trap, soulful vocal stacks and splashes of dark electronic music that both captures and reimagines the post-Bryson Tiller R&B landscape – with early tracks like “Tell Me” (with Natrell).
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In 2019, she connected with manager Carlyn Calder, who founded artist management company Vibeout Limited that same year, joining a roster that included Jvck Jones and Grammy-nominated producer Scribz Riley. “Nothing goes without Carlyn’s permission. We’re on the phone probably 50 times a day,” remarks kwn. “She’s my best friend; it’s a really good relationship that allows us to level up together without any pressure or ego.”
After taking some time to regain her motivation following COVID-19 lockdown, kwn launched her debut single, “Wn Way or Another,” in 2022. The song introduced her debut EP, Episode Wn, which arrived later that year. Kwn’s momentum continued in 2023 with “No Cinderella” and “Eyes Wide Open,” but the following year proved to be the tipping point for her burgeoning career. In 2024, she guested on “Clothes Off,” a cut from Kehlani’s While We Wait 2 mixtape, and later opened the European leg of the “After Hours” singer’s Crash world tour at the top of 2025.
“Worst Behavior,” the song that soundtracks that heated music video, arrived last November, instantly becoming kwn’s most-streamed song on Spotify – only to be surpassed by the Kehlani-assisted remix that landed three months later. According to Luminate, kwn’s breakthrough hit has amassed over 16 million official on-demand U.S. streams through March 6.
Billboard spoke with March’s R&B Rookie of the Month about what she learned from touring with Kehlani, how the steamy “Worst Behaviour” music video came together, collaborating with ROTM alum Jordan Adetunji, and how she views the U.K. R&B scene.
When did you decide to use a stage name, and how did you land on kwn?
It kind of came out of a nickname; it used to be K with a #1. My manager tried to make me change my name completely, but I liked the way it sounded — it just didn’t look cool on paper. So, I mushed all my initials together, since my last name is Wilson. If people don’t know how to pronounce it [yet], it’s fine. They’ll catch on soon.
How would you describe the evolution of the “kwn” sound?
I don’t really think I could pinpoint a sound; I just do whatever feels good. I love creating, and I don’t think there’s a limit to what we can do. I love the thought of waking up in the morning knowing that what I’m gonna come out with at the end of the day doesn’t exist in the morning. Even if it’s not something that eventually gets released, it’s still a beautiful process.
Do you find yourself getting drawn to certain chords or textures?
Yes, definitely. R&B influences are a consistency throughout my music, but I try to push the boundaries to see what I can do differently with it.
What elements from traditional R&B do you try to keep in your style?
I love traditional R&B background vocals and vocal production. I study that quite a lot and have been for the past year or so. Every time I go into the studio, I’m like, “Let’s make something that doesn’t sound like anything anybody’s heard.” Even if that means sitting there for the next 12 hours and we bang out 15-20 ideas. And if we don’t make anything, we don’t make anything. That’s what it’s all about.
What’s your favorite part of the music-making process?
The thing I find tedious is also the thing I love the most, and that’s doing background vocals. It takes so long, but I love it. The end product is always so amazing when you hear it. I’m always recording myself; I just prefer it.
Who were some of the producers or engineers that you find yourself drawn to?
Joel Compass is amazing – we work really well together. Scribz Riley is amazing. I’ve been working a lot with FaxOnly, too.
How did “Worst Behaviour” come together?
I was at home in my bedroom, and my mom was out that night. She never usually goes out, so I was like, “Alright, I’m gonna bump the music as loud as I can.” I made the song on Instagram Live in maybe 10 minutes. It was quick. I can’t remember what the inspiration was. I had the space and time to create, so I did. After I made the beat, I started coming up with melody ideas, and then I had the first verse and the chorus done.
I’m still on Instagram Live at this point, like, “Where’s my mum?” Somebody in the comments was like, “Oh, your mum commented that she’s already home!” I was like, “Huh?” I went into her room, and she was fast asleep. I said, “Oh my goodness. I’ve been blasting the music this whole time, and she’s been sleeping!” [Laughs.]
I wrote the second verse with Sasha Keable and finished it. Obviously, I worked hard on it, but it doesn’t feel like it was one of those ones where I had to take my time with it and revisit it a few times. It was super organic.
When did you start to realize that this was growing into a hit?
When I made it, I was like, “Oh, I think I got something here.” I always kind of know when I’m working on a song, whether it’s gonna be something that I keep. If I wake up the next morning and wanna listen to it straight away, it’s probably a good one.
Has your mom finally heard the full version of the song?
Oh yeah, she loves my music! She’s my biggest fan. I love my mum.
Did you always envision a remix?
No, I didn’t. Me and Kehlani have been friends for a minute now, so once I put out “Worst Behaviour,” she told me I should do a remix because it was kinda going off. I was like, “Why don’t you jump on the remix?” — I had to! — and then she jumped on it. She sent me the verse back within a day, she’s super fast.
What were some of the biggest takeaways you got from opening for Kehlani’s tour?
The biggest takeaway was that I can actually do this. Obviously, I know how to make music in my bedroom and do take after take until it’s perfect. But standing up there onstage and doing it without stopping… it’s a bit daunting. After the Crash [World] Tour, I now know I am ready to do this as a full-time career. I’m doing that already, but it taught me what kind of levels I can reach.
To perform at the O2 in my hometown – just my second hometown show after popping out for Destin Conrad at Koko, which was amazing – at this stage in my career is cool. I’ve only been putting out music for the last two or three years.
“Clothes Off” or “Worst Behaviour” remix?
I love both, but “Clothes Off.” It’s something about the sonics of it.
You know we need to talk about the “Worst Behaviour” video.
I knew you was gonna ask me about that. [Laughs.] We shot the video the day after the London show, which was crazy. Both me and Kehlani were sick; it was a tough one to get through, but we did it. We already had the idea of me being in front of the car, and one-take videos are a running theme for me, so we went from there. My director, Chris Chance, wanted it to be sexy and feel like you’re stuck in this moment with the eye contact and the Shibari model. We wanted you to be distracted, but not too distracted.
And then the kiss, man. We decided to shake the Internet a bit and get this song really popping off – and that’s what we did.
Where did the one-take video aesthetic come from?
I watched a lot of cool videos that were going around on TikTok, and they were like 10-second, one-shot things that were super cinematic and in slow motion. I also watched [the 2021 British drama] Boiling Point, which is a whole one-shot film. I think it’s a cool way to tell a story, and it worked straight away. I’m super involved in the editing process; it’s more me and my manager sitting down and coming up with an idea, then taking it to Chris, and he’ll elevate it. It’s a proper collaboration.
We did it for “Lord, I’ve Tried,” and that worked amazingly, so we did it for “Eyes Wide Open” and now “Worst Behaviour.” The hardest part about the “Worst Behaviour” video was the Shibari model because you can’t control how she spun on the rope.
You linked with Jordan Adetunji for his song “Too Many Women.” How did you two cross paths?
He was teasing it on TikTok, and then he hit me like, “Yo, we gotta get one.” I told him the song he was teasing was fire, and a few months later, he sent over an open verse. I did it for him, and that was that. Another bedroom banger that I did in my room. I think he did his parts in L.A.
How would you characterize the U.K. R&B scene?
There’s a lot of good talent coming out of the U.K. If I’m being totally honest, we should do more things to uplift U.K. R&B as a whole, rather than individually. There’s a lot of talent that I think is overlooked, but we’ll soon get our time.
Do I see myself as a part of U.K. R&B? I rep London heavy, but I’m also just here. My name is Kay, and I’m just doing my thing, going around this world, trying to live my life.
Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of producers you’d like to lock in with for a whole project?
Pharrell, Timbaland, Finneas and Anderson .Paak.
How are you handling how quickly things are moving?
I’m so overwhelmed right now. Somebody asked me the other day, if there was a theme track to your life right now, what would it be? I said it would be like 50 songs all at once — that’s how my brain feels. There’s a lot going on, but I’m so grateful. It’s a good problem to have, but a lot to adapt to. I’m just trying to remain grounded and keep myself focused.
What else do you have planned for 2025?
My project is dropping this year. I’ve been working on it for the last nine months to a year. I’m super proud of it. I’ve produced quite a few on there too, which is super exciting for me as a personal goal. I hope to do more shows as well. I want to travel more and make more music in different countries.
What does rest look like for you in this kind of moment?
Yeah, I do be resting; don’t worry about it. [Laughs.] I always wanna keep the love and passion I had for music from the start. The studio is my safe space. I love spending time with my family; that’s probably the most important thing for me. I got a niece and nephew whom I love spending time with, and they’re a big part of my life.
Jelly Roll has many tattoos, but one of them is particularly meaningful in how it relates to his life.
While speaking to People Thursday (March 13), the country star opened up about one piece of ink on his arm depicting a broken chain. “It is just about breaking chains in life — anything that is bounding us, any bondage that we have, any addiction, anything we think God can’t get us through,” he explained to the publication. “We can break those chains.”
“I think second chances are earned,” Jelly added. “I think sometimes you can earn them in opportunity — there are opportunities to earn — but I believe that second chances are earned.”
He also revealed that he only got the chain tat after he and collaborators Taylor Phillips and Jackson Dean wrote a song together called “I Can’t Break These Chains.” “We loved the song so much we got the tattoo of the breaking chains that day,” Jelly said. “And we still never put that song out! We should put that song out.”
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The “Son of a Sinner” singer has been open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. His past also includes being in and out of jail about 40 times. Jelly has said that he knew he wanted to change his life after one particular stay behind bars when he was 23, during which he learned that he had become a father to now 16-year-old daughter Bailee.
In a recent interview on the Smartless podcast, the musician opened up about turning his life around for his child. “I had to go to court,” he said on the show. “I had to get supervised visits through the courtroom … I just had to keep going to the court every six months and going, ‘Look, I’m continuing to prove I’m changing.’ Music, being famous, wasn’t even a thought then. I just wanted to be a good dad.”
The meaningful chain tattoo is just one of countless pieces of artwork on Jelly’s body, which is nearly covered in ink. Some of his most distinguishable body art is on his face, including multiple crosses on his cheeks and near his eyes.
In March 2024, Jelly shared that he regrets “almost all” of the tattoos he’s gotten, and said that he’s done multiple coverups over his least favorites. “I regret 98 percent of these tattoos, 97 percent,” he said at the time. “Like core philosophies I rooted my life in when I was 17 and now that I’m 40, I’m like, ‘What the f–k was I thinking?’”
Bad Bunny’s sports agency, Rimas Sports, and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) reached an agreement this month (March 6) to settle a lawsuit over penalties tied to improper inducements, according to Associated Press. The parties filed a stipulation with U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden in Manhattan, confirming that they had resolved the […]
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Dawn Robinson, a singer who first found fame with En Vogue before venturing off on her own, shared details of her current living conditions in a now-viral video. In the clip, Dawn Richardson shares that for the past three years, she’s been living inside her car.
As spotted on VIBE, Dawn Robinson took to her official YouTube channel and broke down the circumstances that led to her living on the road and embracing the growing “car life” trend that other entertainers such as 3D Na’Tee and others.
Robinson, appearing in great spirits, opened up with a motivational quote and then launched into her story about living in her vehicle.
“Guys, I have been living in my car for almost three years,” Robinson began, adding a sigh of relief and said, “I said it, oh my God, it’s out.”
Robinson continued with, “If you guys were with me in 2020, I did like a 105,000 interviews and in the interim, I was living with my parents in [Las] Vegas. That was wonderful until it wasn’t. I love my mom, but she became very angry,y and a lot of her anger, she was taking out on me.”
She also shared that a former manager gave her an empty promise of housing her in Los Angeles but left her stranded in a hotel for months, hence why she leaned into car life and did extensive research.
The former Lucy Pearl singer goes on to say that she isn’t looking for any sympathy but instead is hoping to show, through vulnerability and openness, that one can live on one’s terms. Not once in the video did Dawn Robinson look out of sorts, and her eternally youthful looks and bubbly personality were infectious. She even shared in the video that the late Marvin Gaye embraced car living.
Check out the video in full below, and kudos to Dawn Robinson.
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Photo: Getty
Streaming remained the dominant force in the recorded music in 2024, but its impact dropped slightly.
For the first time, streaming’s share of total recorded music revenue did not increase from the previous year, according to MIDiA Research’s latest annual tally. In 2024, streaming accounted for 61.3% of total revenue, down from 62.4% in 2023.
Streaming revenue also had a slower rate of increase than in prior years, growing 6.2% compared to 10.3% in 2023 and 8.3% in 2022. And streaming drove less industry growth than in years past. In 2024, streaming accounted for 58.5% of annual revenue growth, down from 64.6% in 2023.
Platforms such as Spotify accounted for $22.2 billion of revenue last year and accounted for the lion’s share of the $36.2 billion of global revenue. That, too, marked a slowdown, as the 6.5% increase in total revenue was down from 9.7% in 2023 and 6.7% in 2022.
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As MIDiA Research succinctly put it: “The much anticipated streaming revenue deceleration—despite recent price increases—has now arrived.”
Price increase in 2023 by Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music helped fuel that year’s near-double-digit streaming gain. Spotify raised prices in the U.S. in 2024, too, and gave subscribers the option to opt into a less expensive, audiobook-free tier, although a Morgan Stanley survey found that just 17% of individual premium subscribers had done so last year.
Faced with the realities of market growth, the growth-minded record industry is looking to streaming services to continue raising prices and offer super-premium tiers at elevated prices for subsets of subscribers. In March, Universal Music Group chief digital officer Michael Nash stated the company is in talks with multiple streaming platforms about super-premium tiers. “We think this is going to be an important development for segmentation of the market,” he said.
The decline in streaming’s influence aren’t likely to be seen in other organizations’ annual figures because MIDiA Research’s global revenue estimates includes expanded rights such as merchandise, licensing and touring (as well as production music). In 2024, global expanded rights revenue reached $4.1 billion, up from $3.5 billion and $3.0 billion in 2023 and 2022, respectively. As a share of total revenue, expanded rights rose to 11.3% in 2024 from 10.0% in 2023 and 9.7% in 2022. If expanded rights are removed from the total figures, streaming’s share of revenue falls just barely to 69.2% in 2024 from 69.3% in 2023.
Elsewhere in the global industry, segments other than Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group gained market share in 2024.
UMG again had the largest market share with revenue of $10.5 billion, but the company’s percentage share of the global market fell one percentage point. Sony Music Group grew its market share to 21.7% and was the fastest-growing major label for the second consecutive year.
Artist direct revenue—which covers independent artists that use do-it-yourself distributors such as TuneCore, CD Baby and DistroKid—were $2.0 billion, and the 4.7% growth rate bested the 4.5% growth of 2023. The growth of the number of independent artists using these distributors grew three and a half times as fast as revenue.
Non-major labels increased their market share for the third straight year, improving to 29.7% in 2024 from 29.2% in 2023. Those non-majors had revenue of $10.7 billion, up 8.2% from the prior year. Non-majors’ streaming revenue increased 8.4% to $5.4 billion. Expanded rights income—companies such as HYBE and SM Entertainment in South Korea represent multiple aspects of their artists’ careers—grew to $1.6 billion, and 66% of that revenue came from four Asian record labels. Non-majors’ physical sales fell 6.4%, however.
A longtime dream of R&B/soul legend Otis Redding has finally come true. The Otis Redding Foundation is announcing the opening next week of the Otis Redding Center for the Arts (ORCA). Located in Redding’s hometown of Macon, Ga., ORCA will kick off its opening festivities with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 18 that will include the Redding family, Macon Mayor Lester Miller and the city’s Chamber of Commerce, among other invited guests. The center’s public grand opening will take place on March 22.
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Following her husband’s untimely death in 1967, Zelma Redding — also president/founder of the Otis Redding Foundation — has remained committed to fulfilling their vision of giving back to the community by enriching young people through the arts. “This is a dream that my husband and I shared,” she said in a statement. “And being able to turn that dream into a reality with the help of my children, grandchildren and all of those who support us, means more to me than words can express.”
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The Otis Redding Center for the Arts is a state-of-the-art, 15,000 square-foot facility housing seven creative labs, five private lesson rooms, an amphitheater and the O3 Recording Studio. The latter is named after the Reddings’ son, Otis Redding III, who died in April 2023. The famed Otis Redding statue, previously located in Gateway Park, now stands outside of ORCA at the corner of Cotton Avenue and Cherry Street. Also nearby is the Otis Redding Museum at 339 Cotton Avenue.
ORCA will begin serving young people in Central Georgia, between the ages 5-18, who are interested in music and the arts. Its curriculum will encompass various aspects of the creative and business sides of the music industry, including content creation, performing, touring, entertainment law, engineering and graphic design. ORCA has already established partnerships with the Bibb County School District and Roberts Academy at Mercer University as well as other schools and organizations in the community. Later this year, the center will start offering programming for toddlers and senior citizens. This summer, ORCA will also host two of the Otis Redding Foundation’s signature programs: the Otis Music Camp (June 2-20) and Camp Dream (July 14-25). For more details about the center and its programs, visit the website.
ORCA’s origin stems from Otis Redding’s entrepreneurial and philanthropic pursuits during his esteemed career. In addition to providing scholarships to students through the Otis Redding Scholarship Fund, Redding financed local educational initiatives and hosted a summer camp for underserved youth on his 300-acre ranch in Macon. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October. Currently in pre-production is the biopic Otis & Zelma, starring John Boyega and Danielle Deadwyler.
“Education and giving back to the community were very important to my father,” commented Karla Redding-Andrews, vp/executive director of the Otis Redding Foundation. “So we are honored and excited to be able to add another piece to his legacy and continue serving our community through the center.”
For everyone who was begging to hear more new music from Lil Nas X over the last year, consider your wish well and truly granted as he drops his fourth single of the week. On Thursday (March 13), Lil Nas unveiled his latest track titled “Right There!” Over a simple club beat and some brassy […]
Folk legend Joan Baez was having a ball sitting on the couch with an eclectic group of fellow guests on the season debut of John Mulaney’s new Netflix series Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney. But the “Joe Hill” singer whose songs of protest and social justice were a staple of the 1960s folk scene also had some serious things on her mind as well.
In a prelude to a story about “funny person” Martin Luther King Jr., Baez said she needed to “set the context” for what is going on in our country at the moment. “You said I could say anything I want out here,” Baez said to the host. “We’re all here to be silly and have fun, and as long as we recognize the fact that our democracy is going up in flames… we’re being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires.”
Baez did not specifically note who said billionaires are, but it appeared she was talking about Donald Trump and DOGE boss Elon Musk, who have been deeply slashing the federal government workforce over the past two months in their attempt to cut government spending in a manner that has raised alarms about the impact on the environment, American’s health and safety of the LGBTQ+ community.
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After Mulaney joked about the thought of Baez driving a Tesla, the singer noted that she actually used to own one of Musk’s all-electric cars after her assistant suggested she try one, but that she now has serious buyer’s remorse.
“I hated that thing,” Baez, 84, said. “But I thought I was supposed to like it. So I drove off in it. Within 45 minutes I had smashed it into an oak tree on my property… I was thinking, ‘That’s a sign.’” While Baez said the crash was not on purpose, the joke came amid a national, and international, backlash against Musk’s chainsaw-like slashing of federal programs that has seen Tesla vehicles and showrooms vandalized.
“I hated it,” Baez added of the car without specifying when she owned it. “It was too big… I sold it and got one-half the amount of money I paid for.”
Baez — who was portrayed by Monica Barbaro in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown – appeared on the re-boot of the show alongside actor Michael Keaton, SNL alumni Fred Armisen and Tracy Morgan, popular personal finance columnist Jessica Roy and Christopher Lloyd, and, of course, Mulaney’s sidekick and announcer, comedian/actor Richard Kind.
She also talked about hanging out with civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, saying she heard him tell “dirty jokes” when the cameras weren’t around. “I thought, ‘I am going to get the inside story on how these guys do these marches,’” Baez said, lamenting that instead “They all start telling dirty jokes… from the airport to his favorite little restaurant.” Asked if she remembered any of the bawdy jokes, Baez said, “I do, and I can’t tell them here.”
In addition, Baez proved her ageless nature by gamely dancing along to musical guests Cypress Hill as they performed their 1993 stone cold classic, “Hits From the Bong.”
Mulaney’s series began life as the Emmy-winning, six-episode Everybody’s in L.A. last May during the Netflix is a Joke festival, with a playful live format that focused on a series of very LA.-specific subjects, including coyotes, palm trees, helicopters and the paranormal. It will now air as a series of 12 live weekly shows.
It’s been a long lead-up to Lady Gaga‘s new album Mayhem. Aside from the collaborative Love for Sale LP with Tony Bennett and the Joker: Folie a Deux-accompanying Harlequin set — both of which mostly consisted of covers of pop standards — Mayhem is Gaga’s first official album in nearly half a decade, since the […]