While many Billboard radio airplay stories focus, rightly enough, on which artists and songs are topping the charts, this week’s Adult R&B Airplay survey (dated Nov. 1) contains a potentially historic development at the anchor spot, No. 30, thanks to Xania Monet’s “How Was I Supposed to Know?”
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What’s the difference between that song and the other 103 titles that have made the chart this year alone? Xania Monet (first name pronounced “zha-NI-ah,” rhyming with Shania, as in Shania Twain) is an AI-driven artist, the product of a poet named Telisha Jones, and her song’s chart arrival marks the first known instance of an AI-based act to earn a spot on a Billboard radio chart. The move also represents another step in the evolving relationship between AI tools and creators and the music industry.
“How Was I Supposed to Know?” begins on the Adult R&B Airplay chart through its plays at panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the United States. It improved 28% in plays for the tracking week of Oct. 17-23 compared to its Oct. 10-16 total, according to Luminate. In that window, 15 of the chart-contributing adult R&B radio stations played the song, according to Mediabase, among 57 total reporters.
The song first generated public attention as a viral track on TikTok and other social media platforms. Social growth extended to streaming services and digital retailers, prompting the song’s No. 1 debut on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart dated Sept. 20 and a No. 20 start on the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart a week later. As awareness spread, the song and its creator ignited a discourse of both supportive and opposing perspectives, with SZA and Kehlani among the most prominent opponents.
Billboard reached out to several stations’ programming and music directors to seek comment on the song, artist and surrounding industry discussions, but none replied to our inquiries.
For a creative situation only possible thanks to futuristic technology, a focus on radio promotion may seem an old-school approach. The team surrounding Monet, however, views it as a no-brainer. “Her song is resonating with the masses. That was our simple formula,” says Romel Murphy, who manages Monet. “If you had a, let’s say, traditional, artist and were a label and marketing executive, radio would be a piece of the promotion strategy. We’re interested in bringing the music to as many people as possible.” To that end, Murphy says a full radio push is part of the equation. “Our goal is to continue to grow, continue to connect and hopefully get to No. 1.”
While Monet has generated the bulk of discussion, she isn’t the only AI-driven act making an impact on Billboard’s charts. The Emerging Artists chart has become a home for these budding acts, with several landing on various rankings the last few weeks.
Now, those concrete examples indicate the growing likelihood of AI-driven artists as a major industry transformation.
Still, Murphy asks observers to assess from a music-first perspective. “Be it a radio programming director, be it a music fan, be it our peers, colleagues, artists,” he says, “just listen to the songs. Listen to the lyrics. And then make your judgment.”
