Around the time that Toosii came up with his viral smash “Favorite Song,” he was largely recording ideas for songs instead of putting pen to paper. But when Rhode Island-based producer Adelso sent him the emotive beat for what would become his biggest hit to date, he knew it called for a more attentive process. “This is a song I actually sat and took the time to write,” says the 23-year-old, who came up with the sappy love-bomb ballad while driving home from his son’s mother’s house at seven in the morning. “I felt like the beat speaks to you. Whatever you want a song to sound like, whatever you want a song to be, the beat will tell you what to say.”
“Favorite Song,” which features a sample from indie singer-songwriter Tatiana Manaois’ “You Might As Well,” has become a crossover juggernaut since its release in February, racking up over 140 million Spotify streams and hitting No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Much of the credit for the song’s early success goes to Toosii himself, who teased a snippet on his TikTok page in January and posted with it relentlessly before the song’s official release, just three days after Valentine’s Day. During that gestation period, Capitol Records leaped into action to maximize the moment, with digital marketing VP Dante Smith working with popular influencers on platform to promote use of the track, which has since amassed millions of creates across the original and sped-up version.
“I feel like it’s relatable,” says Toosii, crediting the song’s ascent on TikTok to the high volume of female users who identified with its romantic lyrics. “Every woman wants to look good without makeup, wants to feel beautiful naturally, every woman wants flowers and to be treated nice. I feel like it was relatable to a lot of the women in the world, and I feel like it’s a song for guys to be able to use for the woman that they’re with and that they like.”
Toosii manager Marcel “Flip” Holmes, who also signed Adelso nine months before the song’s creation, played an integral part in the track’s creation and rollout, striking while the iron was hot by rushing to clear Manaois’ sample and match delivery dates. Following release, his label South Coast Music Group (led by CEO Arnold Taylor) worked in tandem with Capitol Records to translate the song’s virality across rhythmic, urban and pop. Chris Turner, VP of A&R at Capitol, helped secure remixes with Khalid and Future, extending the half-life of the hit and rolling it into the June release of his sophomore album “Najour” that peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
This fall, he hit the road as a supporting act for Rod Wave in anticipation of his project “Jaded,” which is slated for release in 2024. Chalk up the success of “Favorite Song” to the teams that grew it into a hit, but Toosii says it was all part of his master plan. “You gotta let actions speak louder than words,” he says. “My whole life been like that, man: I’ve been seeing everything before it happened.”
SONGWRITERS: Naujour Lazier Grainger (a/k/a Toosii), Tatiana Kamaile Muna Manaois (Tatiana Manaois), Adelso Sicaju (Adelso)
PRODUCERS: Adelso & Tatiana Manaois
Adelso, Producer
Arnold Taylor, CEO, South Coast Music Group
Marcel “Flip” Holmes, Manager/CEO, Lyric Management Group
Dante Smith, VP of Digital Marketing, Capitol Music Group
Chris Turner, VP of A&R, Capitol Music Group
LABEL: South Coast Music Group/Capitol Music Group
PUBLISHERS: Music By SCMG Publishing (Have We Got Music For You), Sony/ATV Songs LLC
