Last year, an unknown artist named Tommy Richman surprised as a guest on Brent Faiyaz's Larger than life, appears in “Upset” alongside FELIX! (The song peaked at No. 12 on Hot R&B Songs last November.) But now, Richman, who is signed to Faiyaz's ISO label Supremacy, is making a much bigger impression with a hit of his own.
On April 26, Richman released the bouncy “Million Dollar Baby,” which showcases his falsetto and genre-blurring sensibilities. The song debuted with 38 million official streams in the US in its first week of release (April 26 – May 2), according to Luminate. “Million Dollar Baby” also scored Richman his first entry on the Hot 100, debuting at No. 2 — behind only Taylor Swift and Post Malone's “Fortnight.” The song debuts at the top of the Steaming Songs chart, making Richman the first artist since Olivia Rodrigo's “Drivers License” in 2021 to debut a solo debut on the chart.
As mentioned earlier by Advertising sign, the song's grand entrance resulted in a boost for Richman's discography. Excluding “Baby,” Richman's catalog posted nearly 2.1 million audio streams on demand in the US (April 26-29), a 106% gain from the previous four days. And now, in its second week, the song not only remains at No. 2 on the Hot 100, but climbs to No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200 and reaches No. 1 on the TikTok Top 50 as it continues to gain steam.
The artist born in Woodbridge, Va. he was the first to sign to ISO Supremacy (in association with PULSE Records). In addition to featuring on Faiyaz's latest album, Richman also opened for the label boss on his F*ck the World tour, It's a Wasteland To 2023. And now, Darren SueCOO of ISO Supremacy, earns his title Advertising sign's Executive of the Week.
Despite the fact that much of this success seems to come out of nowhere, Xu can only look back knowingly, always having faith that Richman would reach this moment. As “Baby” continues to grow — thanks in large part to TikTok, where the song has garnered 218,300 clips — his team is focused on the future. As Xu says: “It will be full throttle, no brakes.”
Since they started the Hot 100 in 1958, only five other songs have debuted on the top two charts without prior chart history. Why does “Million Dollar Baby” connect so strongly?
I feel like “Million Dollar Baby” is a true testament to the climate of social media today. It really shows that if you make good music, it will reach the right audience. Tommy creates new sounds and the music will speak for itself.
Tommy was the first artist signed to Brent Faiyaz's ISO Supremacy — what did Tommy and the team want to gain by signing Brent?
There was a mutual respect and collaborative energy between the two from day one, so the connection made sense. We knew we were all going to win big.
What is the key to managing a rising star today?
Don't let people rush or pressure you into steps you don't need, and prioritize the artist's taste and vision.
How do you plan to continue the momentum — for the song and Tommy more broadly?
You'll just have to stay tuned and watch what we do next. All I can say is that it will all be throttle with no brakes.
