Ambre Earns First Billboard No. 1 With ‘I’m Baby’ on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Ambré scores her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart — as well as on any Billboard tally — as “I’m Baby,” featuring Jvck James, lifts to the summit on the ranking dated May 6.
She’s the first act to land a first No. 1 on the survey in 2023. Previously, fellow Roc Nation act Rihanna scored her first with “Lift Me Up” in December.
“Baby” is Ambré’s first Adult R&B Airplay chart entry. She’s the first act to notch a No. 1 with a first title on the tally since Thundercat, as part of Silk Sonic’s “After Last Night” last November. She’s the first woman to achieve the feat since Tems as a featured artist on Wizkid‘s “Essence” in 2021 and the first as a lead artist since Snoh Aalegra with “I Want You Around” in 2020.
“Baby” also marks James’ first No. 1 on any Billboard chart.
The song concurrently climbs 17-16 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay with 7.2 million audience impressions, up 2%, April 21-27, according to Luminate.
Recalling the origins of “Baby,” the New Orleans native told Billboard last year, “Jvck, I had been following him for a while on social media, and we linked up and we did some sessions. Funny enough, none of those songs ever came to be anything. But after one of the sessions, I sent him ‘Baby,’ and he was just like, ‘I like this,’ so he just hopped on it. I feel like all the features I do are usually super easy like that, but it’s organic, and I prefer that.”
As the song took off, “I was shocked,” she said. “But it made me feel happy and excited that people just genuinely like the song. That was a cool thing for me, a first for me. I’m trying to get in the habit of celebrating myself more.”
“Baby” is the lead single from 3000°, Ambré’s second studio album. Released in June 2022 via Roc Nation, it has earned 12,000 equivalent album units since release.
Kevin Rutherford
Billboard