Summer Walker
Walker performing in 2019
Walker performing in 2019
Background information
Birth nameSummer Marjani Walker[1]
Also known asMs Walk
Born (1996-04-11) April 11, 1996
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
EducationNorth Springs High School[2]
GenresR&B[3]
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, rapper
DiscographySummer Walker discography
Years active2017–present
Labels
Children3
Websitewww.summerwalker.com

Summer Marjani Walker (born April 11, 1996[1]) is an American R&B rapper, singer-songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. In November 2017,[4] she signed a recording contract with the local record label Love Renaissance, an imprint of Interscope Records. The following year, she released her debut commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer and received her first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its single "Girls Need Love," which spawned a remixed version featuring Canadian rapper Drake.[5] In October 2019, Walker released her debut studio album Over It, which was met with critical and commercial success.[6][7][8] It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart—breaking the record for the biggest streaming debut-week for a female R&B artist at the time[9]—and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[10]

In November 2021, she released her second studio album Still Over It, which debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. The album broke the record for most album streams in a single day by a female artist on Apple Music,[11] and broke her previous record for largest streaming debut-week for a female R&B artist; while she also tied with Taylor Swift as the only female artist to have 18 concurrent songs on the Billboard Hot 100.[12]

Her accolades include a Billboard Music Award, a IHeartRadio Music Awards two Soul Train Music Awards, and two Grammy Award nominations.[13] In 2022 Billboard Women in Music recognized Walker with the Chart Breaker Award for her achievement on Billboard charts.[14] By 2024, Walker sold over 32 million certified units from the RIAA between albums and songs.[15]

Early life

Walker was born in Atlanta, Georgia.[16] From 2016 to 2018, she had a small cleaning business, and was also a stripper in Atlanta before she taught herself how to play the guitar by watching tutorials on YouTube. Soon after, she began performing covers, posting various videos of herself to the platform.[17]

Musical career

2018–2019: Career beginnings and Last Day of Summer

Walker was discovered by a woman, who has the same name as her and works as the studio manager of an Atlanta-based label called Love Renaissance.[17] In 2017, she signed with this label and Interscope Records. On October 19, 2018, Walker released her debut commercial mixtape, titled Last Day of Summer, supported by the lead single, "Girls Need Love".[18] Walker's album contained her thoughts on love, doubt, and womanhood.[19]

Towards the end of 2018, Walker toured with 6lack on the From East Atlanta With Love Tour.[20] Following the success of her mixtape, Apple Music named Walker as its newest Up Next artist in 2019, and she became the number 8 R&B artist worldwide across the platform.[21] On January 25, 2019, Walker released her first EP titled Clear, consisting of four tracks of acoustic recordings.[22] On February 27, she released the remix to her song, "Girls Need Love", with Drake.[23]

2019–2020: Breakthrough and Over It

On August 23, 2019, Walker released a track, called "Playing Games" as the first official single for her debut studio album, titled Over It.[24] The song, which contains an interpolation of Destiny's Child's number-one hit "Say My Name", was produced by London on da Track. On September 12, Walker revealed that Over It would be released on October 4 via LVRN and Interscope Records.[25] Along with her album announcement, she shared the official artwork. Over It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 134,000 units in its first week. Its debut week marked the largest streaming week for an R&B album by a female artist, in terms of on-demand audio streams.[26]

The album topped the R&B Albums chart for 14 nonconsecutive weeks, and as of July 2020, has yet to chart below number 7.[27] Walker supported Over It with her accompanying The First and Last Tour, which kicked off on October 20.[28] Due to her social anxiety, Walker canceled the remaining 20 out of 29 dates on the tour committing to 9 of them.[29] On November 17, Walker won her first Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist, she later received backlash from fans for her short speech and was accused of faking her social anxiety.[30]

In early 2020, Walker collaborated with an American rapper 21 Savage on a song, titled "Secret". Walker also appeared on a remix for Justin Bieber's song Yummy. In April 2020, she was featured on Khalid's remix of "Eleven". On June 29, Walker announced the release of an EP, titled Life on Earth to be released on July 10. The announcement came a day after she performed "Session 32" and "Come Thru" with Usher at the 2020's BET Awards, where Walker was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.[31] Life on Earth debuted atop the Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart, becoming Walker's second number one. It also debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 becoming Walker's second top 10 project on the chart.[32]

Two tracks from the EP charted on the Billboard Hot 100, "Let It Go", and "My Affection" featuring PartyNextDoor, at numbers 84 and 86, respectively.[33] "Come Thru" featuring Usher was certified platinum on August 20 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A few days later, on August 25, her song "Body" was certified gold, "Playing Games" was certified two-time platinum, and "Girls Need Love" was certified three-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), respectively.[34]

On September 14, Walker was a musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "Body" from her debut album Over It. The performance received praise from music-critics and fans alike, with Rolling Stone describing the performance as "beatific". On October 14, Walker won the Billboard Music Award for the Best Female R&B Artist at the 2020 ceremony, beating out Beyoncé and Lizzo. It became Walker's first Billboard Music Award win from three nominations respectively. Walker was also nominated for Top R&B Artist and Top R&B Album for Over It.

On November 23, she released a repackaged version of the Over It album, titled Over It (Complete Edition). The repackaged version of the album features all 18 songs from the standard version of the album plus additional instrumentals, a capella versions, live renditions and more. On December 10, Walker's debut song, "Session 32" was certified gold and her collaboration featuring Jhené Aiko, titled "I'll Kill You" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), respectively. On the Billboard 200 year-end chart of 2020, Over It was the second best performing R&B album of the year behind The Weeknd's After Hours and was the seventeenth best performing album overall.[35]

2021-present: Still Over It

On November 5, 2021, Walker released her second album Still Over It which has since broken the record for biggest R&B debut on the US albums chart since Beyoncé's album Lemonade. The album surpassed 166,000 units within the first week of release. On November 29, Walker and Ari Lennox performed the song "Unloyal" together at the 2021 Soul Train Music Awards.

The "No Love" extended remix featuring Cardi B was announced on March 21, 2022. On March 25, it was released along with a music video.[36] In May, Walker was featured on Kendrick Lamar's track "Purple Hearts" from the 2022 album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, for which Walker earned her first Grammy Award nomination.[37]

On September 28, 2022, Ciara released the single "Better Thangs", featuring Walker.[38] The official music video, directed by Mia Barnes, premiered online on September 30.[39]

Personal life

While teaching herself guitar through YouTube tutorials, Walker worked as a stripper in an Atlanta strip club. In an interview with The Face she stated that the experience was "helping her grow out of her shell" and that it was "a fun experience".[40]

Walker has well over 24 tattoos as of 2019,[41] including face tattoos.[17]

In November 2020, Walker announced that she was expecting her first child, with then-boyfriend London on da Track.[42] Her daughter was born on March 22, 2021. Months later, the pair ended their relationship.[43][44] On June 25, 2022, Walker announced on Instagram Live that she was expecting her second child with then-boyfriend rapper Larry A.K.A. Lvrd Pharaoh.[45] She gave birth to twin boys on December 29, 2022.[46] She dated BMF co-star and rapper Demetrius Flenory Jr from April to July 2023.

Walker expressed solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. She wrote: "I can no longer stand by and watch as thousands of children and innocent civilians are targeted under the mask and propaganda of combating terrorism."[47]

Artistry

Walker has said that she draws inspiration from Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and Erykah Badu.[48] She noted Mary J. Blige as an inspiration for the vulnerability and authenticity she displays in her own music, saying "back when Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans were making R&B, they had real pain and real stories. That's why it was so good." Walker has also cited Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo as inspirations for her to experiment and explore new sounds within the R&B and neo soul genres.[49]

Discography

Studio albums
Mixtapes and EPs

Tours

Headlining

  • The First and Last Tour (2019)[50]
  • The Summer Walker Series (2022)[51]

Awards and nominations

Award Year[lower-alpha 1] Nominee(s) Category Result Ref.
American Music Awards 2020 Herself Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist Nominated [52]
"Playing Games" Favorite Soul/R&B Song Nominated
Over It Favorite Soul/R&B Album Nominated
2022 Herself Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist Nominated [53]
Still Over It Favorite R&B Album Nominated
BET Awards 2020 Herself Best New Artist Nominated [54]
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist Nominated
2021 Nominated [55]
2022 Nominated [56]
"Unloyal" BET Her Award Nominated
Billboard Music Awards 2020 Herself Top R&B Artist Nominated [57]
Top R&B Female Artist Won
Over It Top R&B Album Nominated
2022 Herself Top R&B Artist Nominated [58]
Top R&B Female Artist Nominated
Still Over It Top R&B Album Nominated
Billboard Women in Music 2022 Herself Chart Breaker Award Won [59]
Grammy Awards 2023 Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers Album of the Year (as featured artist and songwriter) Nominated
2024 Clear 2: Soft Life Best R&B Album Pending
iHeartRadio Music Awards 2020[60] Herself Best New R&B Artist Won [61]
R&B Artist of the Year Nominated
"Girls Need Love" (with Drake) R&B Song of the Year Nominated
2021[62] Herself R&B Artist of the Year Nominated [63]
"Playing Games" R&B Song of the Year Nominated
MOBO Awards 2020 Herself Best International Act Nominated
2022 Nominated [64]
MTV Video Music Awards 2020[65][66] Herself Push Best New Artist Longlisted [67][68]
"Eleven" (with Khalid) Best R&B Nominated
NAACP Image Awards 2023 "No Love" (with Cardi B and SZA) Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional) Nominated [69]
Soul Train Music Awards 2019 Herself Best New Artist Won [70]
R&B/Soul Female Artist Nominated
"Girls Need Love (Remix)" Song of the Year Nominated
2020 Herself Best R&B/Soul Female Artist Nominated [71]
"Come Thru" (with Usher) Song of the Year Nominated
Best Collaboration Nominated
"Playing Games" The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award Nominated
Over It Album of the Year Won
2023 Herself Best R&B/Soul Female Artist Nominated
"To Summer, From Cole (Audio Hug)" (with J Cole) Best Collaboration Nominated
"Good Good" (with Usher & 21 Savage) Won
Song of the Year Nominated
Video of the Year Nominated
The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award Nominated
Best Dance Performance Nominated
"Better Thangs" (with Ciara) Nominated
Clear 2: Soft Life EP Album of the Year Nominated

Notes

  1. ↑ The listed year refers to the date of the ceremony, not necessarily the year in which the corresponding season or episode aired.

References

  1. 1 2 "Summer Walker Profile". HotNewHipHop. February 27, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Untold Truth of Summer Walker". Nickiswift.com. December 19, 2020.
  3. ↑ Leight, Elias (November 4, 2021). "Summer Walker Is a Star. But she Signed a 'Brutal' Record Deal to Get There". RollingStone. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Summer Walker's a Star. She Signed a Brutal Record Deal to Get There". Rolling Stone. November 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Zoe (October 19, 2018). "Take A Walk With Summer Walker On The 'Last Day Of Summer'". Vibe. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. ↑ @billboardcharts (October 14, 2019). ".@IAMSUMMERWALKER has eight songs on..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ "Top 100 Songs: October 19, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  8. ↑ Wicker, Jewel (October 1, 2019). "Chartbreaker: Summer Walker Readies Star-Studded New Album After Drake Co-Sign". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Summer Walker's 'Over It' Earns Biggest Streaming Week Ever for an R&B Album by a Woman". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media, LLC.
  10. ↑ White, Roman (May 9, 2020). "Summer Walker's 'Over It' Officially Goes Platinum".
  11. ↑ Records, Interscope. "Summer Walker Shatters Apple Music Record For Most Album Streams In A Day By A Female-Identifying Artist Ever". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  12. ↑ Zellner, Xander (November 16, 2021). "Summer Walker Ties Taylor Swift for This Billboard Hot 100 Record". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Summer Walker | Artist". Grammy Award. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ Rouhani, Neena (February 25, 2022). "Summer Walker Wants to See the World — Even If She Isn't Crazy About Touring". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Archive: Summer Walker". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  16. ↑ Starling, Lakin (December 10, 2021). "SUMMER WALKER IS DOING IT HER WAY". Spin.
  17. 1 2 3 "Summer Walker went from housekeeper to R&B it girl — and she's still a mystery". Los Angeles Times. October 21, 2019.
  18. ↑ P., Milca (October 20, 2018). "Summer Walker Officially Arrives With "Last Day Of Summer" Project". HotNewHipHop.
  19. ↑ "5 Times We Fell In Love With Summer Walker on Her 'Last Day of Summer' Debut". Ones to Watch. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  20. ↑ "6LACK Announces World Tour Featuring Tierra Whack, Boogie & More". HotNewHipHop. August 14, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Summer Walker Named the First Apple Music Up Next Artist of 2019". Broadway World. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  22. ↑ P., Milca (January 26, 2019). "Summer Walker Shares Soulful "CLEAR" EP". HotNewHipHop.
  23. ↑ Blistein, Jon (February 27, 2019). "Hear Drake Drop First New Verse of 2019 on Summer Walker's 'Girls Need Love' Remix". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Summer Walker Releases New Song 'Playing Games'". ratedrnb.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Summer Walker Announces Release Date for Debut Album". ratedrnb.com. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  26. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (October 13, 2019). "SuperM Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart With 'The 1st Mini Album'". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  27. ↑ Trevor, Anderson (July 17, 2020). "Summer Walker's 'Life on Earth' Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Summer Walker Plots 'The First and Last Tour'". ratedrnb.com. August 19, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Summer Walker cancels US gigs: 'I get tired, I get sad and it's just a lot'". BBC. November 13, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Summer Walker Addresses Critics Who Don't Believe She Has Social Anxiety". Essence. November 4, 2020.
  31. ↑ Ingvaldsen, Torsten (June 29, 2020). "Summer Walker Announces New 'Life on Earth' EP". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  32. ↑ Trevor, Anderson (July 17, 2020). "Summer Walker's 'Life on Earth' Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Summer Walker Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA.
  35. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End". Billboard.
  36. ↑ Grein, Paul (November 19, 2021). "Summer Walker to Perform at 2021 Soul Train Awards". Billboard. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  37. ↑ Lee, Taila (November 15, 2022). "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". The Recording Academy. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  38. ↑ Mier, Tomas (September 28, 2022). "Ciara Taps Summer Walker for 'Better Thangs,' a 'Feel-Good R&B Anthem'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  39. ↑ "New Video: Ciara – 'Better Thangs' (ft. Summer Walker)". The Grapejuice. September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Summer Walker: 5 Things To Know About The Pregnant Singer Calling BF London On Da Track 'A Bum'". November 28, 2020.
  41. ↑ @applemusic (January 28, 2019). "Some tattoo talk with @IAMSUMMERWALKER. Watch her #UpNext film now, only on Apple Music. http://apple.co/summerwalker" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  42. ↑ "Summer Walker Is Pregnant With Her First Child". Essence. November 20, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Summer Walker & London on da Track share first photos of their daughter's face". Capital XTRA. July 15, 2021.
  44. ↑ "Summer Walker & London On Da Track Held Separate Parties To Celebrate Their Daughter's First Birthday". The Shade Room. March 23, 2022.
  45. ↑ Aniftos, Rania (June 27, 2022). "Summer Walker Announces She's Pregnant With Baby No. 2". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  46. ↑ "Report: Summer Walker Announced She Gave Birth to Twins!". December 31, 2022.
  47. ↑ "Celebrities call for ceasefire, decry civilian deaths: Hollywood reacts to Israel-Hamas war". USA Today. October 16, 2023.
  48. ↑ "5 Times We Fell In Love With Summer Walker on Her 'Last Day of Summer' Debut / Ones To Watch". Ones To Watch. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  49. ↑ Williams, Kyann-Sian (November 19, 2021). "Summer Walker: "I'm a vulnerable, open person. I'm really emotional and shit"". NME. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  50. ↑ "Summer Walker Announces 35-City Tour & Drops Sultry "Playing Games" Single". HYPEBEAST. August 23, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  51. ↑ "Summer Walker announces 2022 tour dates". The Fader. March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  52. ↑ "Nominations Announced for the 2020 AMAs". American Music Awards. October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  53. ↑ Perez, Lexy (October 13, 2022). "2022 American Music Awards: Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift Among Top Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  54. ↑ "BET Awards 2020: See who won at the BET Awards". CNN. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  55. ↑ "Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby lead BET Awards nominations". EW.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  56. ↑ Carras, Christi (June 1, 2022). "Lil Nas X calls out 2022 BET Awards snub: 'An outstanding zero nominations again'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  57. ↑ Aniftos, Rania (September 22, 2020). "Post Malone Leads 2020 Billboard Music Awards Nominations With 16: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  58. ↑ Grein, Paul (April 8, 2022). "The Weeknd & Doja Cat Lead 2022 Billboard Music Awards Finalists: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  59. ↑ "Billboard Women In Music awards 2022: Summer Walker accepts the Chart Breaker Award". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  60. ↑ Fields, Taylor (January 8, 2020). "2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees Revealed: See the Full List". iHeartRadio. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  61. ↑ Fields, Taylor (January 8, 2020). "2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees Revealed: See the Full List". iHeartRadio. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  62. ↑ Fields, Taylor (May 27, 2021). "2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards: See The Full List Of Winners". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  63. ↑ Fields, Taylor (May 27, 2021). "2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards: See The Full List Of Winners". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  64. ↑ Krol, Charlotte (December 1, 2022). "MOBO Awards 2022: Little Simz, Knucks, Central Cee, PinkPantheress and Jamal Edwards among winners". NME. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  65. ↑ Drake, Carolyn (July 23, 2020). "Doja Cat, Pop Smoke, And More Are Nominated For VMAs' Best New Artist". Uproxx. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  66. ↑ Ginsberg, Gab (July 30, 2020). "Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Lead 2020 MTV VMA Nominations: See Full List". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  67. ↑ Drake, Carolyn (July 23, 2020). "Doja Cat, Pop Smoke, And More Are Nominated For VMAs' Best New Artist". Uproxx. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  68. ↑ Ginsberg, Gab (July 30, 2020). "Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Lead 2020 MTV VMA Nominations: See Full List". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  69. ↑ Jackson, Angelique (January 12, 2023). "'Abbott Elementary,' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' and 'The Woman King' Dominate NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  70. ↑ "2019 Soul Train Awards". BET. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  71. ↑ "H.E.R. & Chris Brown Lead 2020 Soul Train Awards Nominations: Here's the Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
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