Billboard Explains: Tommy Richman’s ‘Million Dollar’ Journey to the Charts

Tommy Richman is riding high with his breakout anthem “Million Dollar Baby,” which he followed up on Friday (June 14) with “Devil Is a Lie.” Billboard delves into the Virginia native’s story and details his meteoric rise to stardom this year with the latest Billboard Explains video.

Richman hails from Woodbridge, Virginia, and got his start experimenting with music on platforms like SoundCloud in 2016. He gained some recognition from peers as a college freshman with the release of “Pleasantville,” which led to him dropping out of college altogether to pursue music.

The genre-blending artist signed to Brent Faiyaz’s indie creative agency ISO Supremacy in partnership with Pulse Music Group in 2023.

Richman earned his first collaboration with Faiyaz last year when he hopped on the R&B star’s “Upset,” which also featured Felix! and landed on Brent’s Larger Than Life album. The track peaked at No. 6 on the Hot R&B Songs chart.

Richman released a few solo singles before striking gold with “Million Dollar Baby,” which exploded upon arrival thanks to a viral TikTok snippet in the days leading up to its release.

“Million Dollar Baby” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and currently sits at No. 3 on the chart dated June 15. It also debuted atop the Streaming Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.

Richman will look to build on the success of “Baby” with his new “Devil is a Lie” single, which hit streaming platforms on Friday. As far as what’s next, fans can expect a “Million Dollar Baby” music video, and the 24-year-old remains working on his debut album Coyote.

After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Stray Kids’ chart success, Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boom, the role record labels play, origins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.