u/CC-Blue

Stevie sings the word “gone” a whopping 18 times in this song’s chorus with each one building on the intensity of the last. The keys get higher with each and he uses more melisma to express his simultaneous feelings of nostalgia, bitterness and joy. What a lyrical, musical and VOCAL masterclass.

For starters, Stevie and Janet are 3rd cousins, which is just iconic to me! Also, they’re both Tauruses with Stevie being born on May 13, 1950 (happy birthday Stevie!) and Janet on May 16, 1966. I’m not some astrology expert but there’s got to be a connection there, lol. Another similarity Stevie and Janet have is that they both have 10 #1 each, putting them in a two way for the 7th artists with the most Billboard Hot 100 #1’s.

Anyway, on to the meat and potatoes of this discussion. I was listening to Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Janet Jackson and something the host mentioned was how her 5 album run from 1986’s Control to 2001’s All For You is comparable to Stevie’s classic period from 1972’s Music of My Mind) to his 1976 magnum opus, Songs In The Key of Life.

Both artists’ first albums in these legendary runs (Control and Music of My Mind) started a renaissance period where they given more artistic control over their work. Each album built on the last one by delving deeper into who they were as people. They explored love in all its facets, loss and addressed social issues. Where Stevie’s spirituality deepened on each album, Janet’s explored her sexuality in bolder ways.

All 5 of Janet’s albums in this run went #1 and produced a #1 single (with RN1814 having 4 chart toppers). Stevie’s albums from Talking Book through Songs won him a whopping 12 Grammys (with 3 AOTY wins).

I love revisiting these parts of their catalogues because of the journey it takes you on. The music is rich, varied and displayed their versatility with such aplomb. To say they were locked in is an understatement, Stevie and Janet were operating at their highest frequencies here and very few artists in popular music have reached.

Hey everyone! I love a good deep dive podcast and I love Janet so what better way to celebrate her than a whole WEEK dedicated to her leading up to her 60th birthday on Saturday? Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars Podcast will be doing a deep dive on Janet’s imperial phase from 1986 to 2001 with an episode a day for each album released during this period. So, Control (1986), RN1814 (1989), janet. (1993), The Velvet Rope (1997) and All For You (2001).

I listened to the first episode with longtime Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop writer, Gail Mitchell and I loved how she spoke about Janet coming into her own during the Control era. The one for RN1814 is already out. They even changed the cover art to look like the album cover. I am happy Billboard is doing this because Janet is one of the queens of Billboard. Check the numbers 😉

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and I hope we can discuss this.

We know Mariah is every rapper’s delight but she’s also built up a strong repertoire of male singer duets. Trey Lorenz, her longtime friend and backup singer was the first man she duetted with on their #1 cover of The Jackson 5’a I’ll Be There. She would later provide background vocals for his 2006 song, Pisces. Of course, we know of her 16-week chart topper with Boyz II Men but her deep cuts, remixes and lesser known singles reveal a songstress whose elastic voice and on record persona can have chemistry with just about anyone.

So, what’s your favorite Mariah male R&B collab? Are you into the 90s Pop/Adult Contemporary power balladry of Endless Love with Luther Vandross, the lush and sensual R&B of The Beautiful Ones with Dru Hill or are her more Hip-Hop turns with The-Dream in the late 2000s more your speed?

He has a surprisingly strong roster of female R&B duet partners, with his latest collaboration on ‘Kehlani’ being one of the project’s standout tracks. Monica has the distinction of being his first-ever duet partner, appearing on ‘Let’s Straighten It Out’ from her 1995 debut album. Two years later, she returned the favor by appearing on ‘Slow Jam’ from My Way. Monica, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and Summer Walker have all collaborated with him twice. So, what are your favorite Usher duets with female R&B artists? Which collaborations had the strongest chemistry? And who do you think he should work with in the future? Swipe through to see the full list.

Note: I am aware of his appearance on the Who Is She 2 U Remix with Brandy. Unfortunately, that was never officially released so it’s not on my list of songs.

We know AI R&B music exists already (I am looking at you, Xania Monet 😒). This discussion was inspired by Chris Brown’s recent rollout for his upcoming album, Brown. I was shocked to see people accuse him of using generative artificial intelligence music creation platform, Suno, for his new single, Fallin. People have complained about the use of autotune in his vocal production for years but this was the first time I listened to a single of his and felt like something about it sounded uncanny.

You know how Suno can generate songs to sound like any genre and time period? I kinda got that with his new song, which is crazy because Chris is often seen as this creative who can do anything. Also, Leon Thomas and Tank, legit producers and songwriters, are involved. I don’t want to believe they would use AI in their creations.

So my question is this: do you think there will come a time when R&B artists will start placing anti-AI disclaimers in their work? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have already made moves to restrict AI-generated performances and screenplays from being qualified to compete at the Oscars. Do you see the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (overseer of the Grammys) doing the same thing to preserve human creativity and artistic credibility?

• Usher Live (1999)

• Usher 8701 Live Evolution (2002)

• One Night One Star: Usher Live (2005)

• Truth Tour: Live from Atlanta (2005)

• OMG Tour: Live From London (2011)

• American Express Unstaged: Usher (2012)

• iTunes Music Festival (2012)

• The UR Experience Tour: Live from Edmonton (2014)

• Global Citizen Festival: Live from Ghana (2022)

• Dreamville Music Festival (2023)

• Usher: Rendezvous in Paris (2024)

Runway has been on REPEAT 😭 That sped up ‘Butterfly’ sample has me in a chokehold rn.

• Welcome Home Heroes (1991)
• This is My Life (1992)
• A Concert for a New South Africa: Johannesburg and Durban (1994)
• Classic Whitney (1997)

Whether you want something passionate and soulful, high-octane, sensual, musically rich or intimate, there's nothing like seeing some of the genre's most legendary artists at the very top of their game as true masters of the art of singing, dancing and performing. What are some of your favorite concert specials in R&B/Soul?

Released after his first two albums failed to generate any major hits and him joining New Edition to commercial success, Johnny’s second eponymous album also arrived at the absolute zenith of the New Jack Swing movement. Produced primarily by Babyface, LA Reid and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, ‘Johnny’ is stacked with state-of-the-art hooky uptempo tracks and sensual ballads.

What REALLY drives this album home is Gill’s incredible vocal performances on each song. Let’s talk about Johnny’s voice for a moment. He’s one of R&B’s last great Baritones. His voice is gruff, tender and brimming with carnal energy. He sounded so engaged and fully committed to delivering each time—punctuating the emotional moments of the songs with growls, runs and some of the most exciting ad libbing I have ever heard from a male singer on record. Seriously, he sang like rent was DUE on this album! My favorites are ‘Never Know Love’ and ‘Just Another Lonely Night’ because they show just adept Johnny was at delivering both high energy and slower burning material.

The year 1990 was all about SINGERS taking on New Jack Swing with Mariah Carey, En Vogue, Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross delivering stellar vocal moments on record. Johnny was a part of that and we should discuss him more.

Part 2. Freddie Mercury was #1 🗿

Part 1

Full List

Part 2

Full List

ETA: I only included the R&B/Pop/Soul/Gospel singers on the list. It had artists from multiple genres including Alt, Rock, Hip-Hop on it etc.

I saw very little being made of rising R&B star, Jai'Len Josey's stellar debut, Serial Romantic (executive produced by Tricky Stewart!), released last Friday, so I thought I'd make a post on it. Y'all be complaining that 2020s R&B doesn't get any love so I expoect people to read this and check out her music because it's so good!

I would describe this album as polished, lush, sensual and the way Jai'Len's rich voice weaves through each track is so delicious. The album is rife with catchy hooks and intoxicating beats (Freak has a House feel). It cycles through the stages of a relationship from the honeymoon phase (Heart & Strings), committment (Housewife), heartbreak (Love Ain't Shit), acceptance (Truce) and self love (I Believe).

I just ran it back twice and I love it. Please support Black women making R&B!