WHAT IT IS: The 22-year-old from Detroit has transformed into one of 2018’s biggest breakout R&B stars. Queen began singing in church at age three and writing her own songs in third grade. “At first I mostly wrote love songs about boys,” she recalls. “I was really boy-crazy – but after a while, I started writing from my own life. I wrote about not having money and struggling through that, and about growing up without a dad.” Her focus shifted when she and her former husband found fame online with their popular YouTube channel. And when their marriage fell apart last year, Queen returned to her lifelong passion and self-released “Medicine”—a song detailing her side of the story. The New York Times proclaimed “Medicine” as “one of this year’s defining R&B songs.” She’s been named an Artist on the Rise and Artist on the Verge by YouTube and iHeartRadio, respectively. She also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart.
ALBUM: Queen Naija
RELEASE DATE: 7/27
SINGLE: “Medicine”
LIVE: The Birth of Queen Naija Tour
INTERNET: 30m+ Spotify single streams; 191m total U.S. streams of “Medicine”; approaching 20m Pandora spins; 60m+ official video views, 3.3m YouTube subscribers; 4.7m Instagram followers
RADIO: Impacted Urban 5/14, now Top 10 Urban, 210m audience to date, 85+ adds; impacted Rhythm 7/31, now Top 20 Rhythm, 65m+ audience to date, 60+ adds
PRESS: New York Times, Elle, Fader, Essence, Vulture, MTV, Billboard, Noisey, Vibe, more
BOOKING: Caroline Yim/CAA
MANAGEMENT: Lee Villegas/Spicy Management