R&B powerhouse Leela James has scored her first award from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Her 2014 single “Fall for You” is now certified gold, selling more than 500,000 equivalent units. It’s James’ most popular song on Spotify, with 26 million streams.
“My team and I decided to ‘Reach For It’ this weekend and in the midst of that received the wonderful news that my song ‘Fall For You’ is Certified GOLD! God is good and always on time. So blessed and very grateful,” James wrote in an Instagram post, before thanking her team.
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“Fall for You,” produced by Rex Rideout, is the title track from James’ fifth studio album, which was released July 8, 2014.
The 10-track project debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart and No. 12 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. Fall For You included features from Anthony Hamilton (“Say That”) and Joe Ryan (“Save Me”).
“I wrote every single track on the album,” James told Rated R&B in a 2014 interview. “That in itself is huge for me because you get all of my thoughts and all of my melodies. No one was in the studio telling me, ‘You can’t do that,’ or ‘No, I don’t think you should do that.’ Since I was able to do me, that freedom and vulnerability came out in some of the records.”
She also shared her commentary on the title track. “It conveys the rawness and sincerity in my voice and in the lyrics. I think it’s definitely one of the stronger records on the album,” James said.
James’ latest album, See Me, was released in July 2021. “I hope it reaches a new audience of listeners. I hope it increases the respect of the current fans and listeners and that it just takes things [in R&B] to greater heights,” James told Rated R&B.
See Me includes the lead single, “Complicated,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart.
Regarding “Complicated,” James told Rated R&B, “I wanted to give the people something that I felt we needed in the R&B and soul culture, from a time where we used to feel it and it used to sound like that. [It’s a] throwback, but it’s still fresh and new.”
In October 2021, James released her “Complicated (Remix)” featuring Anthony Hamilton. Later, in December, James shared a music video for “See Me” directed by Eric Daniels and Matthew Houck.
Stream “Fall for You” by Leela James below.
