Summer Walker

Summer Marjani Walker (born April 11, 1996)[2] is an American singer-songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. She is signed to Love Renaissance and Interscope Records.

Summer Walker
Walker in November 2019
Background information
Birth nameSummer Marjani Walker[1]
Born (1996-04-11) April 11, 1996
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2018–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitesummerwalkermusic.com

Her commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer was released on October 19, 2018 through Interscope Records. The mixtape spawned the single "Girls Need Love" which became her first top 40 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following a remix featuring Drake, peaking at number 37 respectively. [3] In January 2019, Walker released her debut EP, CLEAR, which she later followed up with her debut album.

Her debut studio album, Over It was released on October 4, 2019 and received universal acclaim from critics.[4] The album debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[5] The album also spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 single "Playing Games".[6][7]

In 2019, Walker made history when her debut album earned the biggest streaming debut-week ever for a female R&B artist.[8] She was also the recipient for Best New Artist at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards.

Early life

Walker was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a British father and an American mother, who eventually divorced.[9] From 2016 to 2018, Walker had a small cleaning business, while she was simultaneously stripping in Atlanta. She taught herself how to play the guitar by watching tutorials on YouTube and posted various videos on the platform performing covers.[10]

Musical career

2018: 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 Love Renaissance.[10] On October 19, 2018, Walker released her debut commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer, supported by her lead single "Girls Need Love".[11] Her album contained her thoughts on love, doubt, and womanhood.[12] In late 2018, she went on tour with 6lack on the From East Atlanta With Love Tour.[13] Following the success of her album, Apple Music named Walker as its newest Up Next artist in 2019, and became the number 8 R&B artist worldwide across Apple Music.[14] On January 25, 2019, she released her first EP titled Clear, consisting of four tracks of acoustic recordings.[15] On February 27, 2019, she released the remix to her song "Girls Need Love" with Drake.[16]

2019-2020: Breakthrough and Over It

On August 23, 2019, Walker released "Playing Games" as the first single for her debut studio album, Over It.[17] 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, 2019, Walker revealed that Over It would release on October 4 via LVRN/Interscope Records.[18] 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.[19] The album also topped the R&B Albums chart for 14 nonconsecutive weeks and as of July 2020, has yet to chart below number seven.[20] She supported Over It with her accompanying The First and Last Tour, which kicked off on October 20.[21] Due to her social anxiety, Walker canceled the remaining 20 out of 29 dates on the tour committing to 9 of them.[22] On November 17, 2019, 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.[23] During early 2020, Walker collaborated with rapper 21 Savage on a song titled "Secret". She also appeared on a remix for Justin Bieber's song Yummy. In April, she featured on Khalid's remix of "Eleven".

On June 29, 2020, Walker announced the release of an EP, Life on Earth, released on July 10. The announcement came a day after she performed "Session 32" and "Come Thru" with Usher at the 2020 BET Awards, where she was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.[24] Life on Earth debuted atop the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, becoming Walker's second number one. It also debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 becoming her second top 10 project on the chart. [25] Two tracks from the EP charted on the Hot 100, "Let It Go", and "My Affection", featuring PartyNextDoor, at numbers 84 and 86, respectively.[26] "Come Thru" featuring Usher was certified platinum on August 20th 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 2x Platinum and "Girls Need Love" was certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA respectively.[27]

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, Summer won the Billboard Music Award for Best Female R&B Artist at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards beating out Beyoncé and Lizzo. It became her first Billboard Music Award win from three nominations respectively. She was also nominated for Top R&B Artist and Top R&B Album for Over It. On November 23rd, 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, her 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 2nd best performing R&B album of the year behind The Weeknd's After Hours and was the 17th best performing album overall.[28]

Personal life

While teaching herself guitar through YouTube tutorials, Summer worked as a stripper in a 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 quote "a fun experience". Summer has talked about her various previous jobs in a lengthy 'thank you post' to her fans in which she stated: “Beyond Blessed. My whole life changed in a year & a half, like literally year ago I was scrubbing toilets and stripping. I’m now damn near financially free with a paid off house & car without a care in the world, and it’s all cause of y’all so thank you,” posted on her Instagram in Jan. 2020.[29]

She is also known to actively voice her personal opinions on issues throughout both of her Instagram pages.

In 2020 Walker announced that she is expecting her first child, with on-off boyfriend London on da Track by posing her baby bump on her social media platforms.[30] Walker and London started their on-off again relationship after he worked on the production of her debut album, Over It, of which he is also the executive producer.

Artistry

Walker has said that she draws inspiration from Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and Erykah Badu.[31] Her sound has been described as slow groove R&B.

Discography
Main article: Summer Walker discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

EP’s
  • Clear (2019)
  • Life On Earth (2020)

Tours

Headlining
  • The First and Last Tour (2019)[32]

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2020[33] Herself Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist Nominated
"Playing Games" Favorite Soul/R&B Song Nominated
Over It Favorite Soul/R&B Album Nominated

BET Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2020[34] Herself Best New Artist Nominated
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist Nominated

Billboard Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2020[35] Herself Top R&B Artist Nominated
Top R&B Female Artist Won
Over It Top R&B Album Nominated

iHeartRadio Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2020[36] Herself Best New R&B Artist Won
R&B Artist of the Year Nominated
"Girls Need Love" (with Drake) R&B Song of the Year Nominated

MTV Video Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2020[37][38] Herself Push Best New Artist Longlisted
"Eleven" (with Khalid) Best R&B Nominated

Soul Train Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2019[39] Herself Best New Artist Won
R&B/Soul Female Artist Nominated
"Girls Need Love (Remix)" Song of the Year Nominated
2020[40] "Come Thru" (with Usher) Nominated
Best Collaboration Nominated
Over It Album of the Year Won
Herself Best R&B/Soul Female Artist Nominated
"Playing Games" The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award Nominated

References
  1. "Summer Walker Profile". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  2. "Summer Walker - BP Lyrics | Musixmatch". www-musixmatch-com.cdn.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  3. Johnson, Zoe. "Take A Walk With Summer Walker On The 'Last Day Of Summer'". Vibe. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  4. Wicker, Jewel (October 1, 2019). "Chartbreaker: Summer Walker Readies Star-Studded New Album After Drake Co-Sign". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  5. https://thesource.com/2020/05/09/summer-walkers-over-it-officially-goes-platinum/
  6. https://twitter.com/billboardcharts/status/1183838124453126144
  7. "Top 100 Songs: October 19, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  8. "Summer Walker's 'Over It' Earns Biggest Streaming Week Ever for an R&B Album by a Woman". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media, LLC.
  9. "Girls Need Love, Too: 4 Interesting Facts About "Session 32" Beauty Summer Walker". 93.9 WKYS radio.
  10. Kennedy, Gerrick D. (2019-10-21). "Summer Walker went from housekeeper to R&B it girl — and she's still a mystery". Los Angeles Times.
  11. P., Milca. "Summer Walker Officially Arrives With "Last Day Of Summer" Project". HotNewHipHop.
  12. "5 Times We Fell In Love With Summer Walker on Her 'Last Day of Summer' Debut". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  13. "6LACK Announces World Tour Featuring Tierra Whack, Boogie & More". HotNewHipHop. 14 August 2018.
  14. "Summer Walker Named the First Apple Music Up Next Artist of 2019". Broadway World. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  15. P., Milca. "Summer Walker Shares Soulful "CLEAR" EP". HotNewHipHop.
  16. Blistein, Jon. "Hear Drake Drop First New Verse of 2019 on Summer Walker's 'Girls Need Love' Remix". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  17. "Summer Walker Releases New Song 'Playing Games'". ratedrnb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  18. "Summer Walker Announces Release Date for Debut Album". ratedrnb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. "Summer Walker Plots 'The First and Last Tour'". ratedrnb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  22. "Summer Walker cancels US gigs: 'I get tired, I get sad and it's just a lot'". BBC.
  23. "Summer Walker Addresses Critics Who Don't Believe She Has Social Anxiety". Essence.
  24. Ingvaldsen, Torsten (June 29, 2020). "Summer Walker Announces New 'Life on Earth' EP". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  25. 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.
  26. "Summer Walker Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  27. https://www.riaa.com/gold-%20platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=summer+walker#search_section
  28. https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/top-billboard-200-albums
  29. https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/who-is-summer-walker-singer-3359398/
  30. "Summer Walker Is Pregnant With Her First Child". Essence. November 20, 2020.
  31. "5 Times We Fell In Love With Summer Walker on Her 'Last Day of Summer' Debut / Ones To Watch". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  32. "Summer Walker Announces 35-City Tour & Drops Sultry "Playing Games" Single". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  33. "Nominations Announced for the 2020 AMAs". American Music Awards. October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  34. "BET Awards 2020: See who won at the BET Awards". CNN. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  35. Aniftos, Rania (September 22, 2020). "Post Malone Leads 2020 Billboard Music Awards Nominations With 16: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  36. Fields, Taylor (January 8, 2020). "2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees Revealed: See the Full List". iHeartRadio. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  37. Drake, Carolyn (23 July 2020). "Doja Cat, Pop Smoke, And More Are Nominated For VMAs' Best New Artist". Uproxx. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  38. Ginsberg, Gab (July 30, 2020). "Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Lead 2020 MTV VMA Nominations: See Full List". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  39. "2019 Soul Train Awards". BET. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  40. "H.E.R. & Chris Brown Lead 2020 Soul Train Awards Nominations: Here's the Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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