UMI has accomplished a major career milestone. The alt-R&B artist has achieved her first award from the Recording Industry Association (RIAA) for her 2019 song “Love Affair.”
The Jhune and Teo Halm-produced track is now certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 equivalent units.
“Love Affair,” which UMI self-penned, is the opening track from her Love Language EP, released in 2019 under J.J. Abrams’ Loud Robot label. The project was dubbed a visual release, with official videos for each of the four tracks.
On Spotify, “Love Affair” has amassed 116 million streams. It’s UMI’s most-streamed song from the project on the platform, and it is among UMI’s most popular songs.
The RIAA announcement follows UMI’s upcoming renewed support for Jhené Aiko‘s Magic Hour Tour. UMI previously toured with Aiko as one of many special guests on leg one from mid-June to late August.
UMI will join Aiko for the next leg, starting on Nov. 29 in Toronto (rescheduled from the first leg) and concluding on Dec. 14 in Memphis. Other supporting acts include Jessie Reyez, Kiana Ledé, and Shenseea, with Tink performing on a select date instead of Reyez.
In January 2024, UMI independently released the 10-minute EP talking to the wind, consisting of four tracks, all written by UMI and produced by V-Ron.
Speaking on the project, UMI shared, “Talking to the wind is an EP that has felt like a leaf in the wind. Each of the songs were created at a time where I didn’t know exactly where I was going or what I was creating for.”
“The only thing I knew for certain was that in the moment of creating it all, I was happy. It’s okay to create without a map and to live without one, too; to breathe out and let the wind of life take you where you’re always meant to be,” UMI added.
Talking to the wind did not include “Wherever U R” featuring K-pop artist V of BTS, despite a December 2023 release. The song made a debut splash at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Digital Song Sales chart.
Different variations of “Wherever U R” were subsequently released, one of which features NATURE.
Watch UMI’s official video for “Love Affair” below.
