![]() (That’s true across genres - older listeners are slow to adopt new technology.) So veteran R&B singers must depend on Adult R&B radio, touring, writing songs for other artists and singing hooks for rappers.ĭespite this frosty climate, Tank has hammered away for nearly two decades. ![]() Younger singers can circumvent this cruel game by streaming, but few older artists get traction on streaming services. ![]() However, pop radio’s willingness to play R&B fell off in the late 2000s and remains low, and “urban” radio is dominated by rappers, so avenues of exposure are limited. Sales tend to ensure longevity in most genres of commercial music, except perhaps indie rock, but to achieve Pendergrass-level numbers now, with album buying down across the board, R&B acts can’t rely on selling music solely to the core R&B audience they must gain support from outside that ecosystem. Pendergrass did even better, achieving four gold albums and four platinum albums without a nod from the Top 40. Beverly’s funk outfit Maze achieved nine gold albums without launching a Top 40 single. Tank works in the tradition of Beverly or Teddy Pendergrass, talented singers who - through no fault of their own - never crossed over to a pop audience but enjoyed successful careers anyway. That perception has altered radically since Tank released his debut album in 2001. We wanted to keep changing the perception of where R&B can live.” “You become a 42-year-old R&B singer and everybody says, ‘You’re old, start doing as many shows as you can with Frankie Beverly and call it a wrap,’” Tank says. Tank’s late career breakthrough signals a potential path into the streaming era for R&B acts of his generation. Blige, Maxwell, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson - has earned a gold plaque: John Legend with “Love Me Now.” But he also had significant support from pop radio Tank’s “When We” did not. In the last three years, just one other Adult R&B singer over 35 - a formidable group that includes Mary J. It’s especially rare for an R&B singer, since Tank and his peers are primarily heard on the radio format known as Adult R&B or Urban Adult Contemporary, which is usually ignored by the majority of mainstream gatekeepers on the airwaves and at other media outlets. Tank is now 42 and full of cheerful quips like, “Tuesdays and Thursdays I’m the handsomest guy in town, still working on the other days of the week.” He celebrated a new milestone in February by earning his first-ever gold-certified single (500,000 units) with “When We.” In the streaming era, which elevates young acts at the expense of everyone else, a gold certification for a 42-year-old is a remarkable accomplishment. “They were like, ‘It’s crazy, because your ratio of listens to downloads is phenomenal: When a person hears your record, they snatch it and put it on a playlist.’ I’m like, ‘You know I’m over 40, right?’” “They couldn’t believe - and I couldn’t believe - my streaming numbers,” Tank says. In 2017, the singer Tank went into Spotify’s headquarters to meet with Mjeema Pickett, the streaming service’s global programming head for R&B. and Canelo Alvarez title fight on September 14, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Singer Tank performs the national anthem before the Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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