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Songbyrd Presents
R.LUM.R with Dounia
Tuesday November 14, 2017
D: 7:00 // S: 8:00 PM
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R.Lum.R achieved a neat trick with his single “Frustrated.” The track lurches and heaves like an old power ballad, but it’s gussied up with enough modern knickknacks – buzzing synths, pitch-shifted vocals – to stand next to the rock or electronic music you encounter on the airwaves today. The song has been embraced by R&B listeners on Spotify, amassing more than 15 million streams.
“It was one of those songs we came across and a lot of us loved it,” explains Mjeema Pickett, Global Head of R&B for Spotify. “His voice is amazing; everybody was passionate about it. So we decided to test it out in various playlists: Soul Coffee, Chilled R&B, Alternative R&B. It performed incredibly, as well as [songs from] some of the more well-known artists. We can see the skip rates, and his was one of the least-skipped songs in the playlist.”
“Frustrated” is now beginning to make the transition to terrestrial radio, putting the Nashville-based singer/songwriter on a path carved out recently by acts like Bryson Tiller (“Don’t”) and Khalid (“Location”), who streamed their way into the hearts of radio programmers. On August 11th, R.Lum.R will release his debut EP, Afterimage. Rolling Stone caught up with to talk about his transition from classical guitarist to buzzing R&B star on the rise.