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About The Artist:
Jody Watley is a Best New Artist GRAMMY®-winning, multi-platinum singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and style icon.
With a diverse discography across multiple charts with 14 entries on The Billboard Hot 100
Here are Jody Watley’s biggest Solo Top 10 Billboard Hits, of the 14 Total Solo Entries:
Looking For A New Love, Don’t You Want Me, Some Kind Of Lover, Real Love, Friends ft. Eric B & RAKIM, Everything.
Ranked by Billboard in the Top 25 of Top Dance Artists of All Time, Top 60 Female Hot 100 Artists of All Time, an inductee in Women’s Songwriters Hall Of Fame, Black Music Honors Crossover Music Icon Honoree + more.
Watley has built a diverse discography spanning R&B, Pop, Dance, Hip Hop, Electronic, Jazz, and Adult Contemporary from the 80s, 90s, 2000s from mainstream to independent critically acclaimed.
Her latest release, 2025’s Let’s Dance Vol. 1, hit #1 on U.S. iTunes Top Dance Albums in July 2025.
An award-winning songwriter (BMI Medal of Honor, Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame).
Jody Watley is also celebrated as a fashion and cultural trailblazer with features in GAP, l.a. Eyeworks, Harper’s Bazaar, VOGUE, Rolling Stone, and more. Widely regarded as a pioneer fusing music and style, she remains one of the architects of 21st-century Pop/R&B/Dance.
Jody Watley Grammy winning music style icon, singer/songwriter/music producer was celebrated in 2017 as “Crossover Music Icon” on the television broadcast presentation Black Music Honors. As March kicks off Women’s History Month let’s take a look back at an everlasting honor. The delightful tribute performances by R&B stars Vivian Green and Sevyn Streeter are now viewable on YouTube if you missed the original airing. Watch it Here: OmazingTV
Crossover Music Icon Honoree – Jody Watley Black Music Honors 2017Crossover Music Icon Honoree Jody Watley with performers in tribute Sevyn Streeter and Vivian Green
Black Music Honors 2017: As quiet as it’s sometimes kept, Grammy award winning artist, songwriter, producer Jody Watley, one of Pop /R&B and Dance music’s most enduring pioneers has been at the forefront of some of the most groundbreaking trends and movements in modern pop culture – political statements, music and music video innovation, and the place where all those tracks meet. Check just a fragment of her résumé:
The video for her classic 1987 song “Still a Thrill” (from her Grammy-winning eponymous debut album of that same year) dazzlingly incorporates waacking, the underground freestyle dance (think of it as an even more beat-driven cousin to voguing), and is the first time a major pop star used their artistic platform to showcase this particular means of body expression. But Ms. Watley had actually brought the dance to widespread American attention a few years earlier as a teenage dancer on the iconic TV show Soul Train. Now, waacking has fans and practitioners around the globe, many of whom use the music of Ms. Watley in their routines as a show of respect for an OG who has kept the flame burning.
Jody Watley was the first black woman and artist to release a million selling fitness video in 1989. An early adapter to what was to come with artists taking control of their potential extensions in business as “brands” with her vision forward “Dance To Fitness” set to her own Pop/R&B hits from her first 2 albums.
Jody Watley was one of few black female artists selected to crossover into groundbreaking celebrity ad campaigns for GAP and l.e. Eyeworks 1988 and 1989. Later she would be featured in an unprecedented 15 pages in the prestigious Fall Catalog for luxury retailer Saks 5th Avenue in 1996.
Her groundbreaking 1989 cut “Friends” carved the template for both R&B/hip-hop and pop/hip-hop fusions to come, as it was the first time a rapper (the legendary Rakim, of Eric B. & Rakim) wrote original verses for an R&B/pop song.
The video for “Friends” was a landmark of subversive/progressive representation that has still not yet been matched – or given its due as a taboo-shattering cultural artifact. Set in an underground New York dance club, and featuring performances by Ms. Watley and Eric B. & Rakim, the club’s denizens are made of up straight, gay, and transgender folk, of all races, body shapes and sartorial aesthetics. B-boys jostle alongside drag queens, Rakim rocks the mic, and Jody serves face and fierceness. It’s a warm utopian vibe. The gathering is organic, and lacks the opportunistic marketing tactic of gay-friendly advocacy that is now on trend for pop divas.
The catchphrase “Hasta La Vista Baby” for her mega debut single “Looking for a New Love” became a pop culture phenomenon along with her signature jumbo hoop earrings and eclectic swag separating her from other artists; a freestyle girl mixing high, low funky couture with high end and vintage.
Long before making his mark as a film director, David Fincher (Se7en; FightClub) cut his stylistic teeth on Ms. Watley’s sleek, hugely influential music video for the 1989 smash “Real Love,” perfecting a signature visual look that he would later impart to other pop divas.
Unhappy with the constraints of being on a major label, she parted ways with her industry home and started her own label Avitone Recordings in 1995. Through it she has released four critically acclaimed CDs (Affection, 1995; The Saturday Night Experience, 1999; Midnight Lounge, 2001; The Makeover, 2006, Paradise, 2014) which have collectively spanned the genres electronica, ambient, R&B, and House. They’ve also reinforced her roots in and solidified her ties to the global dance underground, as everyone from 4Hero and King Britt to Masters at Work and Junior Vasquez jumped at the chance to work on these projects. She has also collaborated recently with Modern Funk Impresario Dam-Funk, and folk artist Peter Harper continuing to reflect an artist not confined to a stereotypical music boxes.
A fashion-forward visionary from her Soul Train days, Ms. Watley never used a professional stylist but, as a solo artist with a singular vision and keen instincts, carved her own look by weaving vintage clothing and contemporary street fashions from her own closet with high-end pieces from fashion designers who hadn’t yet caught the public or industry eye (Jean-Paul Gautier; Rifat Ozbek.) Photographers from the legendary Francesco Scavullo to firebrand Steven Meisel lined up to work with her. For her iconoclastic and influential eye, she was honored with a feature in VOGUE Italia’s groundbreaking “Black Issue” in 2008.
• • Jody Watley in 2016 was ranked by Billboard Magazine as one of the Greatest Dance Artists of All Time on a list that includes Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna and Katy Perry. – Ernest Hardy
Jody Watley is a GRAMMY award winning multi-platinum singer/songwriter/producer/entrepreneur. Some of her iconic Top 10 singles include “Looking For A New Love” “Don’t You Want Me” the groundbreaking “Friends” ft. Eric B & Rakim, and “Real Love”.
With a diverse music discography spanning R&B / Pop / Dance /Hip Hop / Electronic / Jazz / Adult Contemporary 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20sJody Watley is recognized as a style icon and one of the architects of 21st century Pop/R&B/Dance music. Jody Watley was 2017 recipient of the Black Music Honors ‘Crossover Music Icon’ Award for her early cultural influence and impact as a solo artist; other accolades include 2007 Billboard Dance Lifetime Achievement Award, along with nominations from the American Music Awards, MTV Awards, NAACP Awards and Soul Train Awards.
In 2018 Billboard Magazine included Jody Watley in the Top 60 Hot 100 Female Artists Of All Time and Top 25 Top Female Dance Artists Of All Time. A 2022 Inductee into the Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame, Watley has also been recognized by performing rights organization BMI (Broadcast Music). “I’m really most proud to have songwriter and producer be a part of my resume and legacy as an artist.”
“Still, Today She Continues to Fuel Quality Music Over the Decades and Into the New Millennium
Jody Watley is the gold standard of artistry. A brilliant songwriter, artist, entrepreneur, producer, and visionary. When you visit Jody Watley YouTube Channel, experience All Things Jody Watley, including concert features, interviews of the Grammy Award-winning artist and more.” – Read the full feature:
The Jody Watley interview with Carl Wiser Songfacts only scratches the surface of Watley’s extensive history and diverse catalog but definitely a worthy read with some origins of what inspired that aspect of her life and career. We wish he’d asked about writing the poignant “16” covered by Destiny’s Child on their multi platinum “Writing’s On The Wall!” album.
“2022 marks the 35th anniversary of Jody Watley’s groundbreaking debut album, which earned her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Watley wrote lyrics and melodies on songs like “Looking For A New Love,” “Don’t You Want Me,” “Still A Thrill,” and “Some Kind Of Lover.” They had power and attitude, and some very memorable lines, including one Arnold Schwarzenegger stole: “Hasta la vista, baby.” Watley’s songs were all over the radio, and her high-concept videos garnered lots of airplay on MTV and BET, where she set trends in fashion and dance.
She’s been making music ever since, writing, producing and recording in a variety of genres from R&B pop, dance/club, house, jazz, to ambient electronica, releasing it since 1995 on her own independent imprint, Avitone Recordings. The discography is extensive, with a long list of entries on at least 20 different Billboard charts and many more globally. Among her honors and achievements: six Top 10 Hot 100 singles, 15 Top 40 singles, 13 #1 hits on the Billboard Dance chart, and the Black Music Honors Crossover Music Icon Award. An example of her visionary thinking is her 1989 track “Friends,” a collaboration with Eric B. & Rakim. It was the first Top 10 hit to pair a singer with a guest rapper, and it remains the gold standard. As Watley explains, Rakim was the only rapper she envisioned for the song, and it worked because she gave him the space to do his thing.
Watley is often asked about her videos, her performances, and her style, but rarely about her songwriting, which is at the core of her creativity. We set out to rectify that here. Just days before we spoke, Watley was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the T.I.U.A School of Business in recognition of her accomplishments in business and entrepreneurship. She also received the Women of Distinction Award from the United Nations Global Women Foundation during the ceremony.” ….
