Before R&B-savvy crooner Tommy Richman vaulted into the mainstream conversation, he recorded music in his mom's basement. A staunch supporter of her son's career, she often sang him her favorite songs – but surprisingly, his breakthrough hit barely cracked the chart. “'Million Dollar Baby', does everyone like that?” Richman playfully teases during our Zoom chat in late May, mirroring his mom's reaction. “She likes much older songs and [other] stuff from the album, too.” But while his parents may not be enamored of the '80s-funk-inspired track, the rest of the country has been enthralled, giving it a solid top-5 Billboard Hot 100 hit.
Richman, 24, a native of Woodbridge, Va., grew up listening to 50 Cent and Lil Wayne. Although the small town near the nation's capital did not have an active music scene, he gained some of his musical sensibilities from his drum teacher father. And despite the fact that many residents work in government jobs, his musical aspirations trumped the idea of a traditional 9-to-5 career. He released the somber single “Pleasantville” on YouTube as a freshman in college. He then spammed various YouTube pages that linked to it and urged listeners to “be brutally honest with the last song I posted.”
The positive feedback he received online encouraged Richman to pursue music as a full-time career, and in 2022, he met Darren Xu, COO of Brent Faiyaz's imprint ISO Supremacy, and now his manager. Before long, Xu sensed that Richman was ready to take the next step and connected him with Faiyaz. Last August, the two artists also went on a business venture, with Richman signing a record deal with ISO Supremacy in collaboration with PULSE Music Group. He also joined Faiyaz on his F*ck the World, It's a Wasteland tour that summer and in October they collaborated on Faiyaz' Larger than life The album featured “Upset” featuring FELIX!, which peaked at No. 12 Advertising signHot R&B Songs Chart.
“[My team] he values me as a person,” says Richman. “A lot of people see you as an object: 'We have to stick around this guy because he makes good songs.' This sh-t wouldn't really have happened like this if we didn't get along as people.'
She adds that “Drake arrived really early when I was going out [2023 single] “Last Nite.” And as the A-list buzzwords began to pile up, Richman's confidence grew. He released two grooving singles in 2024 before his breakthrough, first with “Soulcrusher” and then “Selfish”. On April 13, Richman uploaded a teaser of another track — what would eventually become “Million Dollar Baby” — to social media, which was shot in a grainy VHS style and featured the artist and his friends dancing to the beats in the studio. It went viral, garnering over 12.5 million views on TikTok alone, as his falsetto on the infectious chorus quickly struck a chord with fans: “'Cause I wanna make it so bad/I'm a million dollars baby, don't make me,” he sings.
“It was the combination of the sound of the VHS camera, the vibe of the people in the studio, how short the clip was, and how in-your-face the sound was,” says Richman. “The sound is Really loud. I compare the audio to my other TikToks and one quote is in your face. I think that's why it caught on.”
He followed it up with a few more music videos, and according to PULSE Music Group marketing manager Sara Ahmed, they made the decision to drop the song just four days before its final release on April 26. Richman introduced the master recording at 1:00 am. on April 23. “I made him a rollout [plan to] incorporated into the hype of the song,” he says. “We didn't have much time [create] a campaign.”
Still, “Million Dollar Baby” made a seismic debut, netting 38 million official US streams in its first full week of tracking (April 26-May 2), according to Luminate. It debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and at the top Advertising signStreaming Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and Hot R&B Songs — an especially notable achievement considering the track was released in the middle of the fierce hip-hop battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Lamar's “Euphoria” arrived as “Million Dollar Baby” gained momentum. The same weekend as its release, Drake's “Family Matters” and Lamar's “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us” dropped, highlighting the culture-defining controversy. But even as heavyweights threatened to hamper his first-week numbers, Richman remained uninvolved.
“It was a blessing, low-key,” says Richman. “I was reading a lot of comments like, 'I'm sorry, this is the worst time to release your song.' It was kind of funny. A lot of people looked at us like we were cleaning the palate.”
“There's nothing like it out there,” adds Ahmed. “I think people are looking for something new, exciting and different, and Tommy is that. This great song combined with Tommy's sharp strategy and determination really brought the song – and we've barely scratched the surface.”
Gustavo Soriano
In five weeks on the Hot 100, “Million Dollar Baby” has held steady in the top 10, and according to Richman, the song's music video will arrive before the summer. As for a potential remix, fans shouldn't get their hopes up. “There's no remix, man,” he says. “Some people [have reached out]. It's nice, but for the integrity of the track, let's just keep it alone.”
As Richman basks in his newfound success, he's already dropped his debut album, Coyote. Although it doesn't have a release date, Richman believes his project will showcase his craft beyond being a one-hit wonder.
“That's a great record, but that doesn't define me,” he says. “I use it as 'We're here. We have arrived.' Not like “we made it!” This is the beginning of a journey.”
A version of this story will appear in the June 8, 2024 issue Advertising sign.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/tommy-richman-million-dollar-baby-tiktok-chartbreaker-june-2024-interview-1235700136/
