Tank isn’t trying to keep up with all the new and young R&B stars, but his Spotify numbers are doing that work for him.
The “Maybe I Deserve” singer’s latest album, 2017’s Savage, featured the single, “When We” and for a tune that would typically be played on Urban Adult Contemporary radio, the song led to Tank’s most impressive streaming numbers.
“They couldn’t believe — and I couldn’t believe — my streaming numbers,” Tank tells Vulture in a Tuesday, March 6 article. “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?’”
The 42-year-old has the slinky, slow groove of “When We” to thank for leading him to nab a gold single. It’s the first song in his career to sell 500,000 units, an anomaly in a music-listening era where younger artists are favored.
The success of the song, which already has a total of 100 million streams across Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music, could signal a shift in opportunities for older R&B acts
“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 said. “We didn’t want to give up. We wanted to keep changing the perception of where R&B can live.”
Tank added that he wants his achievement to rub off on other 40-plus acts in the genre and inspire them not to go out to pasture just yet.
“As long as you still have a story, a fire burning in you, you can rock — I’m living proof,” he said.
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