During Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West premiered his Tidal-exclusive video for “Fade”—and turned its protagonist into a trending star.
The clip features singer Teyana Taylor, whom West signed in 2012. She lent vocals to the scorching, R. Kelly-assisted intro from the Cruel Summer album, “To the World.” Here she’s in the gym, dancing and fixating the internet.
Despite a night led by Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, and Rihanna, Twitter saw more than 186,000 tweets about Taylor. Just past midnight, she was the soaring, No. 2 trending topic in the U.S.
The “Fade” video also stars Taylor’s fiancé and NBA shooting guard, Iman Shumpert. At the end, their shower scene gets downright NSFW:
New Video: Kanye West "Fade" (Starring @TEYANATAYLOR) https://t.co/gooVEWCS1F pic.twitter.com/zWrrw1TD2I
— Missinfo (@Missinfo) August 29, 2016
But here’s the thing: Taylor is not a fresh face. She was on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16. Pharrell signed her to a recording deal in 2007. Hell, Taylor did a Tyler Perry movie. Sunday’s crossover moment sparked backlash against outlets that began publishing explainer articles about Taylor.
https://twitter.com/iSmashFizzle/status/770103268882210816
https://twitter.com/Felonious_munk/status/770103862309097472
When I see all these publications "introducing" us to Teyana Taylor… pic.twitter.com/cJFqh7jlC4
— DJ Heat (@DJHeatDC) August 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/ira/status/770105322992173057
The political edge has only boosted the “Fade” video’s signal. Taylor is a literal overnight sensation. You can watch the full thing at Tidal.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated due to copyright concerns.