Summer Walker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Summer Walker
|
|
|---|---|
Summer Walker in 2019
|
|
| Born |
Summer Marjani Walker
April 11, 1996 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2017–present |
|
Works
|
Discography |
| Children | 3 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | R&B |
| Instruments |
|
| Labels |
|
Summer Marjani Walker (born April 11, 1996) is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She was born and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. In late 2017, she signed with a local record label called Love Renaissance. This label is part of Interscope Records.
In 2018, Summer Walker released her first big mixtape, Last Day of Summer. A popular song from it was "Girls Need Love." This song was her first to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later, a new version of the song came out with Canadian rapper Drake.
Her first studio album, Over It (2019), was very successful. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. This album also set a new record for the most streams in its first week for a female R&B artist. It has been certified triple platinum, meaning it sold over three million copies.
Her second album, Still Over It (2021), went straight to number one on the Billboard 200. This album broke her own record for the most streams in its first week for a female R&B artist. It also broke the record for most streams in one day by a female artist on Apple Music. Summer Walker also had 18 songs from this album on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Only Taylor Swift had done this before among female artists.
Some popular songs from Still Over It include "Ex for a Reason" (with JT from City Girls) and "No Love" (with SZA and Cardi B). "No Love" became a platinum-certified song. In 2023, her song "Good Good" with Usher and 21 Savage also became a top 40 hit.
Summer Walker has won many awards. These include a Billboard Music Award, an IHeartRadio Music Awards, and three Soul Train Music Awards. She has also been nominated for two Grammy Awards. In 2022, Billboard Women in Music gave her the Chart Breaker Award. This award recognized her amazing success on the Billboard charts. As of 2024, Summer Walker has sold over 32 million certified songs and albums.
Contents
Early Life and Music Start
Summer Walker was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Before becoming a famous singer, she had a small cleaning business in Atlanta from 2016 to 2018.
She taught herself how to play the guitar. She learned by watching videos on YouTube. She also posted many videos of herself singing cover songs on YouTube.
Music Career Highlights
Getting Started in Music (2018–2019)
Summer Walker was discovered on Vine by a studio manager at Love Renaissance, an Atlanta-based record label. In 2017, she signed with this label and Interscope Records.
On October 19, 2018, she released her first official mixtape, Last Day of Summer. The main song from this mixtape was "Girls Need Love." In her album, Summer shared her thoughts about love, doubts, and what it means to be a woman.
Towards the end of 2018, Summer Walker went on tour with another artist named 6lack. The tour was called From East Atlanta With Love Tour. Because her mixtape was so popular, Apple Music chose Summer Walker as their new "Up Next" artist in 2019. She quickly became one of the top R&B artists worldwide on their platform.
On January 25, 2019, Summer Walker released her first EP (Extended Play) called Clear. It had four acoustic songs. On February 27, she released a new version of her song "Girls Need Love" with Drake.
Big Success with Over It (2019–2020)
On August 23, 2019, Summer Walker released "Playing Games." This was the first official song from her first studio album, Over It. The song used parts of the famous Destiny's Child song "Say My Name."
On September 12, Summer announced that Over It would be released on October 4. The album came out through LVRN and Interscope Records. Over It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. It sold 134,000 units in its first week. This was the biggest first-week streaming success for a female R&B album ever.
The album stayed at the top of the R&B Albums chart for 14 weeks. Summer Walker went on "The First and Last Tour" to support Over It. However, she canceled many of her tour dates due to feeling uncomfortable performing in front of large crowds. On November 17, she won her first Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist.
In early 2020, Summer Walker worked with American rapper 21 Savage on a song called "Secret." She also appeared on a new version of Justin Bieber's song "Yummy." In April 2020, she was featured on Khalid's new version of "Eleven."
On June 29, Summer Walker announced a new EP called Life on Earth, which was released on July 10. This announcement came after she performed "Session 32" and "Come Thru" with Usher at the 2020 BET Awards. Life on Earth debuted at the top of the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. It was her second album to reach number one. It also reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Two songs from the EP, "Let It Go" and "My Affection" (featuring PartyNextDoor), appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Her song "Come Thru" with Usher was certified platinum. Her songs "Body," "Playing Games," and "Girls Need Love" also received gold and platinum certifications.
On September 14, Summer Walker performed "Body" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Her performance was praised by music critics. On October 14, she won the Billboard Music Award for Best Female R&B Artist. This was her first Billboard Music Award.
On November 23, she released a special version of the Over It album called Over It (Complete Edition). This version included all 18 original songs plus extra instrumental versions, a capella versions, and live performances. By the end of 2020, Over It was the second best-performing R&B album of the year.
Still Over It and Recent Work (2021–present)
On November 5, 2021, Summer Walker released her second album, Still Over It. This album broke the record for the biggest R&B album debut on the US charts since Beyoncé's album Lemonade. It sold over 166,000 units in its first week. On November 29, Summer Walker and Ari Lennox performed their song "Unloyal" at the 2021 Soul Train Music Awards.
A new version of "No Love" featuring Cardi B was released on March 25, 2022, along with a music video. In May, Summer Walker was featured on Kendrick Lamar's song "Purple Hearts" from his album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. This song earned her first Grammy Award nomination.
On September 28, 2022, Ciara released her song "Better Thangs," which featured Summer Walker.
She also released her Clear 2: Soft Life EP, which was a follow-up to her 2019 EP, Clear. She also re-released her first mixtape, Last Day Of Summer (Sped Up). Plus, she released four new versions of her song Girls Need Love, called Girls Need Love (Girls Mix). These new versions included a solo acoustic performance by Summer Walker and featured artists like Victoria Monet, Tyla, and Tink.
Personal Life
Summer Walker has many tattoos, including some on her face.
In November 2020, Summer Walker announced she was going to have her first child. Her daughter was born on March 22, 2021. On June 25, 2022, she announced she was expecting her second child. She gave birth to twin boys on December 29, 2022.
Music Style
Summer Walker has said that she gets ideas for her music from artists like Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Donell Jones, and Erykah Badu. She also mentioned Mary J. Blige as an inspiration. Summer likes how Mary J. Blige shows real feelings and stories in her music. She also looks up to Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo for inspiring her to try new sounds in R&B and neo soul music.
Music Albums and EPs
- Studio Albums
- Over It (2019)
- Still Over It (2021)
- Finally Over It (2025)
- Mixtapes and EPs
- Last Day of Summer (2018)
- Clear (2019)
- Life on Earth (2020)
- Clear 2: Soft Life (2023)
Concert Tours
Headlining Tours
- The First and Last Tour (2019)
- The Summer Walker Series (2022)
Awards and Nominations
Summer Walker has received many awards and nominations for her music. Here are some of them:
- American Music Awards: She has been nominated several times for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and Favorite R&B Album.
- BET Awards: Nominated for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.
- Billboard Music Awards: Won Top R&B Female Artist in 2020. Nominated for Top R&B Artist and Top R&B Album.
- Billboard Women in Music: Won the Chart Breaker Award in 2022.
- Grammy Awards: Nominated for Album of the Year (as a featured artist and songwriter) in 2023 and Best R&B Album in 2024.
- iHeartRadio Music Awards: Won Best New R&B Artist in 2020. Nominated for R&B Artist of the Year and R&B Song of the Year.
- MOBO Awards: Nominated for Best International Act.
- MTV Video Music Awards: Nominated for Push Best New Artist and Best R&B Video.
- NAACP Image Awards: Nominated for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration and Outstanding Album.
- Soul Train Music Awards: Won Best New Artist in 2019 and Album of the Year for Over It in 2020. Won Best Collaboration for "Good Good" in 2023. She has also been nominated for R&B/Soul Female Artist, Song of the Year, and Best Collaboration multiple times.
See also
In Spanish: Summer Walker para niños
