Help us, Ravyn Lenae! You’re our only hope. The 2025 Billboard charts have been, for the most part, a slog. The sole excitement has come from the slow, steady ascent of Lenae’s track “Love Me Not.” The song, which hit No. 7 on July 21, currently sits amid three songs that, despite being some of the biggest hits of 2024, have stuck around in 2025: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s “Die With a Smile,” and Teddy Swims’s “Lose Control.” “Love Me Not,” as a throwback doo-wop bop by an alternative-R&B singer, was never destined to be a hit. And, at first, it wasn’t — when Lenae’s song was released in May 2024, it did not initially chart. The fun has come from watching it steadily build steam over the course of a year. First, it went viral as a mash-up on TikTok with Lenae’s vocals spliced over the beat from the 2012 Solange classic “Losing You.” Then clips from Lenae’s performances at Coachella garnered millions of views on TikTok, and the song entered the “Hot 100” on April 12.
Finally, on July 21, “Love Me Not” entered the top ten after multiple weeks of being blocked at No. 12 by a surprise new Drake track and a song from the Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters. But while Drake debuted big and then fell, Lenae’s rise has only continued. Her new peak knocks out the only top-ten hit that could reasonably be called R&B, SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther,” stranding Lenae in a sea of white-boy blandness like Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” and Morgan Wallen’s “Just in Case.” While those living blobs of oatmeal thrive, Lenae is the only solo Black woman to have a song in the top 30. On the day she entered the top ten, Lenae ran through how she and her team propelled the unlikely hit. Now, she’s prepping to release new music to a ballooning fan base and getting ready to open for Sabrina Carpenter. “There have been bursts or moments where I’m like, This is crazy,” Lenae says. “But I’m still having that pinch-me moment.”
For starters, congratulations. Has the accomplishment set in yet?
I just got the text that it’s official. I haven’t had that moment where it’s cemented in my brain what’s happening. Coachella felt like a burst because that was one of the bigger shows since the song started moving. I remember being offstage before I went on and thinking that nobody was there because it was early in the first day at Coachella. I was questioning if the song was an internet thing or if it was a real-life thing. Then I went onstage and saw it was completely packed, and that’s when I was like, This is a real-life thing that’s happening.
This song doesn’t sound like anything else on the charts right now — it’s mixed in with Morgan Wallen, Alex Warren, and Teddy Swims, none of whom are very “fun.” Whom on the contemporary charts do you see yourself in conversation with musically?
In the past few years, we’ve been getting bursts of people breaking into the mainstream. When my friend Steve Lacy went No. 1, something shifted. That was proof to so many artists like him and like me that there’s space for us and there aren’t rules for alternative R&B, indie, pop-rock — anything that’s a little left of center. I started to hear people making “Bad Habit”–type songs. I was like, We’re in control of this, and it’s not in control of us. We can direct the ship however we want. So many young listeners now are bored with the status quo.
When did you see people behind the scenes start to realize how big this song could get?
I never existed on the chart-watching side of pop. Once people I know for sure watch that shit were telling me this is a huge deal, that’s when it clicked for me. Around Coachella, people started pulling me to the side at gatherings and saying, “You know what’s about to happen, right?” I was like, “What are y’all talking about?”
Do you remember what it was like to write the song?
DJ Dahi and I had been working on Bird’s Eye for a month or two, and randomly in one session he remembered an idea that he’d started ten years ago but never finished. It had just been sitting with Anderson .Paak’s writing on it, but it never went anywhere. Dahi played it for me, and I could see exactly what it was and what it could be. I cut my verses and then added some things to the hook and backgrounds. He went back in and added the guitar, and at that point I knew this is a timeless song that was going to be a career-defining moment for me.
There’s some girl-group doo-wop in there. What do you pull from?
The reason that song feels so electric is that it pulls from all of our favorite things about music. I love Motown. I love Diana Ross and the Supremes. It has a little Amy Winehouse, but there’s also something “Sweater Weather”–ish about it. When I cut the song, I was like, This feels like a pop song, ‘Hey Ya!,’ that brought so many different types of people together to agree on it. It feels funky, it feels pop, and it feels classic.
What was the response to it from other people when they first heard it?
When I played it for my team, they played it over and over and they called me a million times about it. I was like, This is different energy. The day it dropped, I played the song for the first time at a UCLA show. It’s always awkward playing new music, but that time it felt instant. People hadn’t heard of me before. Having that type of reaction in the crowd the day a song releases is so rare.
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How did the label respond?
They freaked out. There was even a moment where Dahi and I were like, “I think we’re going to take ‘Love Me Not’ off the album. It doesn’t really fit what we’re doing.” They were like, “Hell no.” Looking back at that, I was losing the plot a little.
What was the initial push for the song?
We did a music video, and I was sharing it on social media every day as much as I could. But this song is where I started to get familiar with TikTok. I was not on TikTok beforehand, but I knew with this album I wanted to push my comfort level. I’m really awkward with social media, but I know how much of a gift it can be, as far as people being able to get their music out to new ears. It was an exercise for me to get more confident in my presence online and with the way I communicate with my fans.
What was that initial TikTok push like?
It was so unnatural for me. We would schedule TikTok days, where my digital team would come over and we’d have it all completely mapped out: “Okay, we’re going to hit this. We’re going to go over here and do this. We’re going to go to the park and do this one. We’re going to wear this outfit for this.” That’s not how you’re supposed to approach TikTok. There was a moment where I said, “This process is not sustainable. It’s not natural. This is not what’s going to connect me to fans and, hopefully, to new fans.” I needed to get on there with my sweatpants on with my little sisters and dance or crack jokes or go to the movies.
Have you found yourself getting more comfortable with the app now?
Yeah, I don’t even think about it anymore in that way. Especially with my schedule being much more hectic, finding the time for it has to be second nature. I see people like Doechii or Charli where it’s just second nature for them. That is gold. There’s a certain level of bravery that girls like them have that I admire.
The song started taking off because of the remix a TikToker did combining “Love Me Not” and “Losing You.” How did that feel?
“Losing You” is one of my favorite songs ever, and that was such a good bridge for people to start recognizing my name and understanding the set of music I exist in. But then there came a point where I was like, Okay, how are people going to like “Love Me Not” the original? But my incredible digital team figured out a way for people to start connecting the dots and understanding who’s singing the song. That became a concern, but it vanished pretty quickly.
You spent a few weeks right outside the top ten, getting blocked by Drake, etc. How was that?
I wasn’t worried about it. In my heart, I knew it was going to go top ten, and I know it’s going to go top five. I have that type of confidence in this song, my team, and the power of people wanting to discover something new.
How has the energy changed at your shows as the song has blown up?
Right now, I can look in the crowd and see exactly how it’s divided up. I see the die-hard fans who’ve been there since Crush or Moon Shoes. I see the people who’ve just discovered Bird’s Eye and are a fan of that album and are curious about my live performance. Then I see people who have heard only “Love Me Not” and know my name from that song; they’re a little skeptical. Sometimes they put their phone up with “Play ‘Love Me Not’” on their head. I like having to win them over. I like that challenge, and I like this period for me. I know my power onstage and what music I have coming out next, too.
What is that music like?
I’ve been working on an album for six months now. Bird’s Eye was a good launch pad into some different flavors. I’m super-inspired by Santigold, Gwen Stefani, Nelly Furtado, and the Cranberries, but still with that classic, soulful Motown.
You talk in your shows about being in your mid-20s. What do you want from the back half of this decade?
Before we got on, I had a conversation with my manager about the top ten, and he was like, “Ravyn, this is your second album ever.” I can get caught up in the ten years it’s taken to get here and not realize I’m only 26 with so much career left in front of me. I just want to keep making music I love, and hopefully it keeps reaching this many ears. I’m going for the stars.
