Entertainment
AI Artist Xania Monet Climbs the Charts — And Signs a Multimillion-Dollar Record Deal
Last week, a team of record-label executives took a Zoom meeting with a little-known R&B artist releasing music under the name Xania Monet, whose album has been climbing fast up the charts, drawing interest and potential bidders from around the music business.
But it quickly became clear that this was no ordinary rising star when she joined the call without video, explaining she wasn’t “camera ready” and declining to sing.
That’s because the artist, a poet whose real name is Telisha Jones and who goes by Nikki, has used AI to craft her image and Suno to craft her music. Given her use of Suno, which was sued for copyright infringement by the major record companies last year, labels backed by the majors abstained from making offers, though one major label put a top offer on the table anyway. The bidding reached $3 million to sign her, sources say, and Hallwood Media, the entertainment company led by former Interscope executive Neil Jacobson, ultimately added her to its roster with a multimillion-dollar agreement.
Xania is the brainchild of 31-year-old Jones, who owns a design studio and lives in OIive Branch, Miss. She comes from humble beginnings, says her manager Romel Murphy, a veteran music marketing executive who has worked with gospel acts like Cheneta Jones and K. Michelle as well as Memphis newcomer IME Casino and considers Jones family.
“She’s been writing poetry for a long time,” Murphy tells Billboard, noting that 90% of her lyrics are her own true stories, and the other 10% are inspired by the stories of her friends and community. What’s making the songs catch is “not a hook and a bridge and a catchy chant — It’s just the lyrics, and they are pure.”
While Jones grew up singing herself in church, she’s not the “vocal beast” that Xania is, Murphy says. Jones used a combination of Suno’s platform and live elements to create her album, and claims full ownership of the songwriting and production credits, he says, but she plans to work with additional human producers on her upcoming project. Murphy says he’s now fielding publishing deal offers, and is in the midst of planning Xania’s first live performance.
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“This is real music — it’s real R&B,” says Murphy. “There’s an artist behind it.”
Notably, Monet appeared on the Billboard charts for this first time this week (dated Sept. 20, 2025), debuting at No. 25 on the Emerging Artists tally and at No. 21 on Hot Gospel Songs with “Let Go, Let God.” Additionally, her song “How Was I Supposed to Know” hit No. 1 on R&B Digital Song Sales, No. 3 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales and No. 22 on Digital Song Sales. Her catalog has earned 9.8 million on-demand official U.S. streams, 5.4 million of those in the most recent tracking week (Sept. 5-11), according to Luminate.
Jacobson is betting big on AI-powered music: In July, Hallwood announced a recording agreement with imoliver, the top-streaming “music designer” on Suno, marking the first signing of a Suno creator to a record label. “Stone,” the breakout single, racked up more than 3 million streams on the Suno platform before it was released on all streaming services on Aug. 8. It has now earned 4,000 on-demand official U.S. streams, according to Luminate.
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It’s the final new music Friday (April 24) of the month, and everyone from Noah Kahan to Kehlani and Suki Waterhouse have put forth some of their best work as May waits just around the corner.
This week, Vermont’s favorite folk-rock singer-songwriter finally returned with a new album after four years of Stick Season, his breakout album that reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The Great Divide is 17 tracks of Kahan reexamining his worldview after struggling with his mental health in the years since he found fame.
And, as if taking cues from the success of first-ever Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Folded” (which reached No. 6 on the chart in January), Kehlani leans fully into classic R&B flavors in an intentional push to recenter the genre’s traditions. “All the R&B artists, we want R&B to be back,” the artist told Billboard ahead of being named Billboard Women in Music’s Impact honoree. “We want good, long songs. We want three verses and bridges and modulations and all the things – we want that too. We just didn’t think anybody else wanted it. I have an allegiance to the genre, and I’ll keep it there.”
On top of the bounty of new albums, several artists have released fresh singles — including Suki Waterhouse, who returns with “Tiny Raisin” shortly after announcing her next album, Loveland, as well as Hayley Kiyoko and Gigi Perez, who teamed up for heartfelt duet “Collide.” Plus, Dylan Gossett adds “My Boy” to the mix, written as a letter to his son.
But which release is your favorite this week? Let Billboard know by voting in the poll below.
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It’s been almost three decades since the LA-based casual wear brand Juicy Couture first hit store shelves, and the Hollywood-loved label has made its way back into the spotlight in recent years thanks to the Y2K trend resurgence and newfound love from influencers online.
Best known for its T-shirts, handbags and yes, those velour tracksuits (reportedly designed exclusively for Madonna at first), Juicy Couture pieces were seen on practically every major celebrity in the 2000s, from Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, to Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian. Musicians like Miley Cyrus, Nicole Scherzinger and even Beyoncé have also been spotted wearing Juicy Couture, and now, a new Amazon deal makes it easy for you to get into some JC as well.
LIMITED TIME DEAL
Juicy Couture Cap Sleeve T-Shirt (Five-Pack)
$38.24 $44.99 15% off
Amazon is selling a five-pack of Juicy Couture T-shirts right now for just $39. Part of the “Juicy Sport” line, the cropped T-shirts are made from a super soft and breathable “performance” fabric that features a touch of spandex for easy movement and stretch.
That makes the T-shirts as ideal for a workout or yoga session as they are for pairing with your everyday ‘fits. The crop top look leans into the Y2K aesthetic and Amazon’s website shows the shirts styled with shorts, leggings and mini skirts alike.
This Amazon deal gets you five Juicy Couture T-shirts for under $40. That brings the price of each tee down to less than $8 — a virtually unheard of deal for generic T-shirts, let alone a brand name pick.
We like the five-pack above, which gets you a T-shirt in two shades of pink (including a light pink with the signature Juicy Couture cherries), plus navy blue, gray and black. You can choose from other color combinations online. The tees are available in sizes small to XXL.
ALSO AVAILABLE
Juicy Couture T-Shirts (Three-Pack)
$29.74
Don’t need five T-shirts? Amazon also sells a three-pack of Juicy Couture tees for just $30, bringing the price of each individual shirt to under $10.
ALSO CONSIDER
Juicy Couture Queen of Everything Mini Duffle Bag
$45.09 $79.00 43% off
And if you need a bag to take to the gym (or for an overnight stay), we like this mini barrel-style duffle bag, on sale for 43% off. The two-tone bag measures approximate 8.2 x 4.9 inches in size, which is enough room for your wallet, keys, change of clothes and toiletries. Choose to carry the bag via the top handle or with the detachable shoulder straps.
All of the above picks are officially-licensed products sold through Amazon’s Juicy Couture storefront. As with all Amazon deals, the sale prices could end at anytime, so we recommend adding the deals to cart while they are still live.
Netflix is bringing us back to the ’80s, and it’s making sure we have the right music for the occasion.
On Wednesday (April 22), Billboard can exclusively reveal that an original soundtrack is coming this week for the brand-new animated spin-off series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. The score album, composed by Brad Breeck (Gravity Falls, We Bare Bears), will be released globally Thursday (April 23) at midnight ET.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 also arrives Thursday on Netflix, bringing viewers back to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the ’80s and reuniting us with some of the original show’s main characters. And much like Stranger Things, music plays a large role in the new show.
“This collection bridges the gap between the eerie depths of the Upside Down and the vibrant, neon energy of the mid-’80s,” Netflix said in a statement.
Tales From ’85 will feature not only a brand-new version of the original Stranger Things theme song, but the first episodes also include a selection of ’80s hits from artists like Black Sabbath, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper and more. Needle drops throughout the series include “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Go’s, “A Forest” by The Cure and “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn, “Rebel Yell” by Idol, and Lauper’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Time After Time.”
If it’s anything like the original show, artists with songs played in the new series could see a bump in streams and chart placements in the aftermath of the show’s premiere. After featuring the songs in pivotal moments, Stranger Things brought Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” to a new peak of No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2022, 37 years after its initial release, while Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” made its debut on the chart the same year, 36 years after it came out.
Fans can pre-save Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck here, and find the full score track list below.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck track list
Flamethrower (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Brian Parkhurst)
Kids Riding Bikes
Big Snowstorm Coming
Someone In There
HIC Theme
I Just Saved Your Life
Strange Stones
Gotta Go Dark
How Long Is Detention
Sewer Chase (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Brian Parkhurst)
Towns
Clean Up
Investigating Pumpkins
Heaven Eleven
Nice Time Tonight
Storm the Gates
What Were These Things
Ground Rules
seluR dnuorG
Her Royal Nastiness
We Have To Try
Tales from ’85 End Titles (artists: Brad Breeck feat. Cooper Babbes)
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