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Grammy-nominated artist Eric Bellinger opens up about his artistic growth, coping with grief, and the enduring power of R&B music.
Eric Bellinger is back, and host KG Smooth of Loving R&B couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. “I have not stopped playing this,” KG declared, heaping praise on the singer’s new self-titled album from start to finish. “You are singing your ass off. I never heard you sing like this before. Where has this Eric been?”
The answer, it turns out, is layered and deeply personal.
For years, Bellinger kept his sound radio-ready and commercial on purpose. But hearing artists like Victoria Monét and PJ Morton shifted something in him. “I said, oh, we singing,” he recalled. That spark pushed him to finally lean into the runs, harmonies, bridges, and key changes he’d been holding back. “R&B is R&B-ing again,” he said with a grin.
The project didn’t come from a light place. Bellinger poured his real life into every track. He spent time traveling back and forth to Africa, falling in love with the culture and the Afrobeat sound. He also walked through profound loss. “I lost my mom. I was grieving my mom. I was trying to figure out life,” he shared. That journey of self-healing became the foundation of the album.
His manager challenged him to dig deeper. “You’ve never talked about your past. You never talked about the grieving,” she told him. That conversation birthed “Closure,” a raw apology to someone from before he met his wife of nearly 12 years. “We both knew it was over, but there was no closure,” Eric explained. KG Smooth called the songwriting undeniable: “The pen was pinning.”
The album opens cold with “I Need Help,” no intro, just honesty. “I still feel I need help every single day,” Bellinger admitted. And when the weight gets heavy, “Everything’s in Order” brings the celebration. “That one is too swaggy,” KG laughed.
Both men praised the sequencing, noting how the track order carries listeners through the full emotional arc. Working with producers like Troy Taylor, Harmony Samuels, and Antonio Dixon, Bellinger built each song from live instruments rather than pre-made beats. “It’s an interweaving marriage musically,” he said.
This release also marks his move from independent artist to a major label. “It’s a lot more relaxing,” he said, though he still double-checks every detail. On tour with Chris Brown and Usher, he’s found peace in a simple mission: “I’m in the booth telling my story, or on stage telling a story. That’s it.”
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