How Slayyyter, RAYE & Kehlani’s Big Year Won Them New Fans — And Led to Their Biggest Tours to Date
Categoria: Musica
THE•TEAM’s Eli Gelernter is the booking agent behind three of this year’s breakout artists, helping each snag festival headlines and arena dates.
Por Billboard | 07/08/2026
This year, three artists who have been making music and performing for the past decade have enjoyed their most successful years yet. Slayyyter has built momentum from her recent album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA , which hit No. 1 on Billboard ’s Top Dance Albums chart and has spent 18 weeks on the chart overall, and debuted at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 . RAYE ’s latest album, This Music May Contain Hope , reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and spawned a Billboard Hot 100 top 20 single, “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”. Kehlani ’s single “Folded” marked her first top 10 hit on the Hot 100 last summer, reaching No. 6 and heralding her self-titled album this April, which hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200. That chart success has brought these women the biggest audiences of their careers thus far. Related Why This Is The Year Bella Kay, Slayyyter and Trueno Broke Out: ‘People Are Leaning Into Things That Feel More Real’ BE:FIRST Is Ready for the World: Inside the J-Pop Superstars' Long-Planned U.S. Breakthrough Glenn A. Baker, Australian Music Historian and Former Billboard Correspondent, Dies at 74 Slayyyter has been on the festival circuit this year, most recently performing at Lollapalooza last weekend, where the festival bumped her up to a main stage set following the success of WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA . She kicked off her Chicago dates with an aftershow at The Salt Shed on Thursday (July 30), ahead of her set on the festival’s main stage on Friday (July 31). RAYE’s recent run, This Tour May Contain New Music, landed in arenas across Europe and theaters in North America, including two nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 15 and 16 and two shows at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on May 12 and 13. Kehlani, too, has seen a blockbuster year by returning to her roots and becoming her most authentic self. The R&B singer faced show cancellations for her comments on Gaza last spring, with Cornell University and Central Park Summerstage in New York City pulling dates. But on Thursday (Aug. 6), she kicked off The Kehlani World Tour at The Armory in Minneapolis, with amphitheater and arena dates across North America through Oct. 4, when the Bay Area-born singer will wrap up with two shows at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountainview, Calif. And behind all three artists’ tours is THE•TEAM’s Eli Gelernter , their booking agent, which has earned him the title of Billboard ‘s Executive of the Week. Gelernter spent the last weekend at Lollapalooza , where five of his clients performed: Slayyyter, Wet Leg, Destin Conrad, Asha Banks and SUNSHINE BENZI. Wet Leg first took to The Vic Theatre in Chicago on Wednesday (July 30), then performed at Lolla day one on Thursday. Conrad also held an aftershow on Saturday (Aug. 1) before his Lollapalooza set that Sunday (Aug. 2), while Asha Banks and SUNSHINE BENZI performed at the festival on Thursday. Here, Gelernter talks Lollapalooza, what it’s like seeing the visio