Rising Star BRI Makes Billboard History
Rising star Bri, (known to her more than 300,000 Instagram followers as Simply BeBe or to her friends as Briana Babineaux), has astounded the music industry with the sales of her debut digital EP “I’ll Be The One.” The dynamic singer has made history as the first vocalist to debut in the #1 slot on Billboard’s Digital Gospel Chart without aid of radio airplay, a major television appearance or prior sales history. “This is unprecedented for the gospel genre,” says one music industry veteran who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We’ve never seen this before.” Bri’s uplifting single also premiered at #13 on Billboard’s mainstream Hot Singles Sales Chart and it’s likely to surface on the magazine’s Hot Gospel Songs hybrid chart as well. “We are totally ecstatic,” says Bri’s manager Marquis Boone. “I knew she was something special when I first saw her videos on You Tube and I made up my mind to sign her.”
Marquis Boone Enterprises “pulled a Beyonce” and released Bri’s first-ever release to the various digital retailers at midnight on Tuesday, June 9th with an announcement across her social media platforms and an expectation that her social media fans known as Brination would support the song. “Brination really came through for us,” Boone continues. “They posted videos on their own social media pages that they had downloaded Bri’s music and then others shared those posts. Members of Brination posted videos of themselves singing the song to their Instagram pages and Bri re-posted many of them to her own Simply-BeBe Instagram page and a frenzy took place. We had high hopes but this response has eclipsed all of our highest aspirations.”
