NPR said there hasn’t been a male R&B superstar since Usher. Is this true?

[EndDomination]

Ty Dolla sign!? Gtfoh

Why are we blowing down on Ty Dolla Sign?

He's not a slouch - not a superstar - but not a slouch in the area.

Or Nah, Paranoid, Sucker for Pain, Blase, Work From Home, OTW, and Swalla are hits

 

[ThrobbingHood]

Jason Derulo had his time in the sun as well as Ne-Yo. NPR clearly doesn't listen to R&B.

Definitely don’t consider Derulo r&b, but I also don’t know his music past singles so maybe he was making r&b on album cuts

His music sounded like something PAWGers would play when they are riding around with their pink toes

Yeah, Derulo was the most watered down R&B where you couldn’t even call his music that. It was more electro-pop/euro trash.

He was the singing version of Flo-Rida: a singles artist with no core fanbase. They just rode the wave of whatever was popping and never established their own sound. A producer reliant artist.

But I can’t lie. This version of this song is something:


That Bitter Sweet Symphony sample.

 

[Astroslik]

Weeknd? But he may be considered pop

 

[Kornball The Conqueror]

Weeknd doesn't make rnb

its dam near 90% of his discography

 

[Bigblackted4]

None of them are huge when it comes to billboard bro.

Bruno and Weeknd are pop so they dont count.

24k Gold album is an R&B album and Weeknd makes as much R&B as Chris Brown

 

[Sad Bunny]

24k Gold album is an R&B album and Weeknd makes as much R&B as Chris Brown

That album came years after his debut. His first and second album were straight pop. He’s viewed as pop.

Weeknd blew up off pop and hasn’t looked back. Lol.

 

[kwazzy100]

The Weeknd

Dude is doing world tours, HBO show, a Live Concert film, and an anticipated album coming soon. Besides dancing, he is that man.

 

[kwazzy100]

Weeknd is pop music.

Usher didn't make pop music?? Really?

 

[3rdWorld]

Chris Brown music is so gutter, offensive and studio gangsterish he's more a rapper than traditional RnB artist like Usher.

 

[FlyGuy]

Yall really not understanding what a superstar means

 

[Shadow King]

Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Ty Dolla $ign was singing everybody’s hooks for a good few years, etc.

One of these is not like the others...

Im with everyone else saying it was Chris Brown. Sadly the DV and follow up anger issues stunted his potential. He can regain popularity but that stuff will always follow him and give him a ceiling he cant break out of

Eh...the decade post-Rihanna was more than people could ask for...

 

[Crayola Coyote]

Chris brown doesn’t exist huh? These white media outlets love to disrespect breezy

 

[Splakavellie504]

Church.

A lot of the great singers from back in the day had a Gospel background and their voices were well developed. They had soul and it's not something you can teach. They could sing and they could "sang."

Nowadays you need to look good shirtless, have decent dance moves and have "the look" with decent enough vocals.

Back in the day...the Voice was #1 and then the studios figured out how to improve the rest of you. Now, you gotta have everything else and just be passable as a singer.

Had to bold that for the emphasis. Black community in the past always ranked r&b artists based on vocal skills and not who sell the most or dance the best. He's a great talent but he aint got the voice for me to consider him as a true pure R&B star. You put late teen CB in the 90s with other teens such as Tevin Campbell, Tony Thompson, Tyrese, Dino, Sisqo (they were teens)...he's getting washed vocally. Dont even put grown CB against K-Ci and JoJo, Boyz 2 Men, Stokley, Lil G, Johnny Gill, Gerald, Joe, R Kelly, Babyface, Jon B, Maxwell, D'Angelo, B Mcknight etc. He's nowhere near that level. I aint even mentioning the goats from the 60s,70s, and 80s.

 

[Stick Up Kid]

Run It, Kiss Kiss, With You, Look at Me Now, Yeah 3x, No Guidance, Deuces, No Air, Forever, Party, etc.

Those are black urban hits

 

[Crayola Coyote]

Can someone explain what makes Weeknd pop but not Chris Brown?

Cause it ain’t adding up.

It’s adding up, they discrediting Chris brown that what it is. Media wants to paint him as a woman beater cause of that 09 incident with rhianna. They won’t let it go like OJ and Michael Vick’s past