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\n \t\t\t\t\t\u2018More Is More\u2019: Teyana Taylor On Her Blockbuster Year On (And Off)\u00a0Screen\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n
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\n\tBrought up in her beloved Atlanta, this year\u2019s Women in Music Rising Star has been singing all her life. After moving to the Big Apple to study biology (hence her stage name) at St.\u00a0John\u2019s University, Mariah dropped out her sophomore year to embark on a music career at the encouragement of friends who had heard some of her original songs. She released To Die For<\/em>, her debut EP, on SoundCloud in 2018, and buzz around the project caught the attention of Tory Lanez, landing her a deal with RCA Records in conjunction with his One Umbrella label, where she started building her lovelorn catalog with 2019\u2019s Master <\/em>and 2021\u2019s Ry Ry World<\/em>. By 2022, she left those deals for a six-month stint as an independent artist, before landing at Epic Records, where she remains today.<\/p>\n\n\tOn those early projects, Mariah fine-tuned her confessional songwriting style and sharpened her ear for her now-signature \u201980s Prince-inspired soundscapes \u2014 and on 2023\u2019s To Be Eaten Alive<\/em>, her first album on Epic, she made serious commercial advances. The set became her first project to reach the Billboard\u00a0200, and in early 2024, Mariah also made her first two Hot\u00a0100 appearances as a featured artist.<\/p>\n\n\tAs Mariah\u2019s star rose, so did internet scrutiny of everything from her live shows to her tumultuous relationship with headline-grabbing Atlanta MC Young Thug, with online commentators frequently making Mariah the butt of ther jokes. \u201cI don\u2019t even laugh at that,\u201d she says bluntly. \u201cI don\u2019t laugh at none of that s\u2013t. I think that ridicule is really unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBut Mariah didn\u2019t allow the chatter, particularly around her high-profile relationship, to cloud her year. As Thug navigated his rocky homecoming following his RICO case victory \u2014 including a collection of messy leaked jail conversations between him and his boo \u2014 Mariah stayed true to the \u201cwar on love,\u201d toy soldier aesthetic of Hearts Sold Separately<\/em>, hitting the road for her biggest headlining tour yet, playing iconic venues like Nashville\u2019s Ryman Auditorium and New York\u2019s Radio City Music Hall.<\/p>\n\n\tWhen we speak, as she nears her trek\u2019s April\u00a010 conclusion at Atlanta\u2019s Coca-Cola Roxy, Mariah is already formulating her next project \u2014 and it likely won\u2019t be what fans expect. \u201cI\u2019m trying new things and doing new things, but the heartbroken narrative is kind of jaded for me,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s my whole MO and my claim to fame, but that\u2019s not how I feel every day of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tDoes the title Rising Star resonate with you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tWhen some people hear \u201crising star,\u201d they may go, \u201cI heard of her several years ago, how is she even included?\u201d But those are the kinds of people who would prefer to continue letting you go excluded. I\u2019m appreciative of the consideration.<\/p>\n
\n\tYou are the third consecutive R&B singer and the fourth consecutive Black woman to be named Rising Star. What does that mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tI never expected to do these things, so to be honored for my art makes me think it wasn\u2019t so random. Maybe this is something I\u2019m supposed to be doing and continue doing. This gives me motivation to continue pursuing longevity in my career.<\/p>\n
\n\tWas there a particular show on this tour that proved that you\u2019ve reached a new level?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tThat South Africa show [on Jan.\u00a03 at Pretoria\u2019s SunBet Arena] was probably bigger than any show I\u2019ve ever done, and they were screaming and crying at the top of their lungs. English is not necessarily everybody\u2019s first language in South Africa, so it was honestly unbelievable. It left a huge impact on me; I can\u2019t forget it. I want to go back.<\/p>\n
\n\tHave you found time on tour to write?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tI try to create space for it. I\u2019m more inclined to write by myself. I don\u2019t like to do that around people, and I\u2019m always around people on tour. When I\u2019m on the bus or in my room, maybe I can listen to things and try to come up with ideas. Otherwise, I\u2019m too overstimulated.<\/p>\n
\n\tHas this breakthrough moment changed or reaffirmed your writing process?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tIf I\u2019m feeling uninspired, it\u2019s hard to come up with something. And I think the production world is in a really weird space right now. Luckily, I have Nineteen85, who helped me put [Hearts Sold Separately<\/em>] together. I can go to him with any idea, and he can expand it.<\/p>\n\n\tI\u2019ll never lie and be like, \u201cI go to the studio every single day and I write 10 songs a day.\u201d I don\u2019t have a huge team of writers and producers. I\u2019ve never done that, and I don\u2019t think I will. That\u2019s also one of the reasons why I appreciate finally being recognized and getting awards. I\u2019ve had this theory that you can only be recognized if your music is a smorgasbord of help. Now, I feel like you can be considered if the music actually came from you.<\/p>\n
\n\tWere you expecting a Grammy nomination last year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tI don\u2019t want to say I expected a nomination, but when I wasn\u2019t included, I was like, \u201cWell, damn, what do you need?\u201d \u201cBurning Blue\u201d went gold [in three months]; it went platinum the same calendar year. It debuted on the [Hot\u00a0100] at No.\u00a025 \u2014 ain\u2019t nobody doing that these days, especially not Black artists. [\u201cBurning Blue\u201d was the highest-debuting female R&B song on the Hot\u00a0100 in 2025.] It was kind of a slap in the face, but they don\u2019t owe me anything. I don\u2019t know those people.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut I will say this: Kehlani definitely deserves what she got. If anybody was going to get [that Grammy], I would rather it be her. I told her, \u201cI really hope that they don\u2019t do you wrong.\u201d She deserved that.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow have the women on your team pushed and protected you during this moment in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tEverybody knows my sister [Morgan] is insane. It\u2019s an element to her character and vibe \u2014 before she walks in the room, you know she\u2019s a force to be reckoned with. My cousin, Ty, is my assistant and she\u2019s really helpful, never takes anything personally and can get almost any job done. I\u2019ve started incorporating a stylist named Jaclyn [Fleurant], and she takes the weight off my shoulders as far as procuring things.<\/p>\n
\n\tJennifer [Raymond] is my A&R, and her personality is like a rainbow. She\u2019s such a positive person and truly shows up. And, of course, everybody at Epic and Olivia [Mirabella], who\u2019s my agent at CAA. It seems like she can get me booked anywhere, anytime. She really kept me on the road for so long, so shoutout to her. I appreciate that because it has paid my bills!<\/p>\n
\n\tYou\u2019ve responded to criticism of your tour choreography by hopping on TikTok trends. How did you reach a point of being able to laugh at yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tEverybody has an opinion, and, for some reason, the internet has decided that I am a good candidate to be the butt of all jokes. Whenever people talk bad about me, my fans make it a positive. You guys don\u2019t like the [choreography]? We\u2019re going to turn it into a trend, the song is going to go viral and she\u2019s going to benefit more.<\/p>\n
\n\tAt the beginning of my tour, I was incorporating dancing because I wanted to do something different. I don\u2019t have much experience in dance outside of grade school, [definitely] not to the extent of people paying to see me do that. It\u2019s an \u201call eyes on me\u201d-type situation, and I have never been in a predicament like that. I was really reluctant to do it. It\u2019s crazy that people will put you down for something that you\u2019re putting yourself out there to do. That\u2019s why I appreciate my fans because they be backing me up.<\/p>\n
\n\tDo you have new music on the way?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tI\u2019m itching so bad to put new music out, but I want to set aside a time to cultivate a cohesive project the same way I did with Hearts Sold Separately<\/em>. When I get off tour, I\u2019ll probably go and sit in the studio a little bit. But I do have some songs that I\u2019m considering including.<\/p>\n\n\tThis story appears in the April 18, 2026, issue of <\/em>Billboard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first proper taste of the song that changed everything for Mariah the Scientist arrived in April of last year, in a TikTok shot while the singer was getting ready for Billboard\u2019s 2025 Women in Music red carpet \u2014 an idea Mariah credits to her older sister and manager, Morgan Buckles, who first joined her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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