Long-standing assumptions about female artists competing with one another have also dissolved, says Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, CEO/owner of management firm SALXCO, whose roster includes Doja Cat and Bebe Rexha. The idea that there’s room for only one chart-topping female at a time is “very unrealistic,” he says. “When artists come together and have healthy competition, everyone wins.”
But executives aren’t suddenly having epiphanies dispelling sexist myths, notes Calhoun — audiences are voicing demand for female collaborations through their listening habits. “The fans are hungry for it and the fans are playing it, so there’s a business there,” she says. “Male artists have held the throne for a minute now, and I think women want to hear women artists.”
Perhaps no fan spends more time thinking about diva collaborations than Michael Junchaya — better known on TikTok as @MrGrandeOfficial — who has gone viral by writing and recording loving parodies of Nicki Minaj verses and inserting them into songs by Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and others. Junchaya lays out the steps for taking such collaborations to “another level of badass.”
Let lyrics do the heavy lifting
A good ladies’ anthem lives or dies by its writing. “You know what you want to hear when you listen to a female collaboration, and it’s powerful lyrics,” he says. But you don’t want a team-up to feel like a cut-and-paste job, so tailoring a verse through references to the other artist or other parts of the track is a must. “Writing those witty lyrics that somehow relate back to the song adds a different level of flavor,” he says, “even with a rap verse to a song that’s mainly sung.”
Play with the narrative
Gaga and Grande don’t just have great chemistry on “Rain on Me,” their presence makes thematic sense on a song about working through trauma, given the number of hardships they’ve endured in the public eye. “When two women who are going through something come together and create something that people can understand,” says Junchaya, “you know when you hear it that it’s going to be a moment in pop culture history.”
Forget a feature — do a duet
Even though he spends his time writing rap verses, Junchaya wants to hear more than just one verse from a featured artist — he wants the song to be a true duet. (Not unlike how Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion split “WAP.”) “Especially with the artists pairing up recently, people want to hear more from both of them,” he says. “To have two female artists singing and rapping with equal time, it makes the song more of a true collaboration.”
If it’s a remix, actually remix it
When Beyoncé jumped on a remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” her contributions weren’t the only addition — Megan updated the track with new lyrics of her own and new production flourishes. “Adding a different sound to a song or changing the flavor is what makes the excitement come back,” says Junchaya. “Give the people a fresh listen to the song that we all already fell in love with.”
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 19, 2020, issue of Billboard.
