On Monday night r&b sensation Summer Walker made her Tonight Show debut. Performing the song "Playing Games" off of her debut studio album, Over It, Walker and her band delivered a soulful live rendition of the song.
The singer has prompted much controversy around her stage presence and self-described social anxiety. It would be easy for her to skip out on televised performances all together, but luckily Walker is ignoring the online criticism and is continuing to perform her music live for a mainstream audience. The sliver lining here is that much of the hate she received for being visibly nervous onstage has also lead to Walker finding a large amount of support online.
Many can identify with her battle against social anxiety and her transparency on the matter has created a connection between the fan and the artist that pop culture hasn't seen in a long while. Even if it already exists, many of the examples that come to mind are all white men (Robert Smith, Trent Reznor, etc). Women in music, especially black women, are expected to be perfect, confident, and charismatic. Men are given the space to be introverted. Promoting their quirks and idiosyncrasies has generally worked in their favor.
It's quite wonderful to see artists like Summer Walker on a national stage like The Tonight Show and I hope her success inspires more industry professionals to make these connections.