Jill Scott Ends 13-Year Break From No. 1 as ‘Pressha’ Rules Adult R&B Airplay

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The singer/songwriter's return includes her first radio champ at the format since "Blessed."

Jill Scott at the 3rd Annual Give Her FlowHERS Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton on November 08, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Jill Scott at the 3rd Annual Give Her FlowHERS Awards Gala at The Beverly Hilton on November 08, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Michael Buckner/Variety

Jill Scott reclaims Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart crown after a nearly 13-year gap as “Pressha” tops the list dated March 14. The single, released on Blues Bebe/Human Re Sources, advances from No. 2 and was the most-played song on panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Feb. 27-March 5, according to Luminate.

“Pressha” ascends after a 6% improvement in plays for the tracking week compared with the previous period (Feb. 20-26). With its promotion, the new champ ousts Kehlani’s “Folded” after its two-week reign.

As Scott achieves another No. 1, the veteran adds a fifth leader to her Adult R&B Airplay ledger. It joins these four:

  • “A Long Walk,” seven weeks at No. 1 in March-April 2001
  • “Whatever,” one week, February 2005
  • “So in Love,” feat. Anthony Hamilton; 18 weeks, July-October 2012
  • “Blessed,” one week, June 2012

“So In Love,” notably, holds the record as the song with the most weeks at No. 1 in the history of the Adult R&B Airplay chart, which launched in September 1993.

With “Blessed” to “Pressha,” Scott closes a gap of 13 years, 8 months and two weeks between No. 1s. The last artist to wait as long to lead again was Mariah Carey, whose “Type Dangerous” ruled in August 2025, nearly 19 years since “Fly Like a Bird” wrapped its six-week stay on top in September 2006.

“Pressha” introduced Scott’s newest album, To Whom This May Concern, her first full-length project since 2015’s Woman. The set, released on Feb. 13, opened at No. 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart to give the singer-songwriter her ninth project to reach the top 10.

Scott’s return proved to be highly anticipated at her best radio format. “Pressha” skips to the No. 1 spot in just its eighth week on the chart, the fastest among the singer’s five champs. “So In Love” held her previous personal best, needing 10 frames to complete its trip. Among all songs, “Pressha” holds the shortest mark since Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” also took eight weeks to the summit.

Elsewhere, “Pressha” holds at No. 11 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals on adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. There, it improved to 7.3 million audience impressions for the week, up 6%.

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