Erykah Badu and Jill Scott’s display of neo-soul excellence took place on Saturday (May 9th), and the Instagram live stream garnered the most viewers on a “Verzuz” battle ever with nearly 750,000. Although many agreed that the “battle” felt more like a mutual celebration of each other’s talent and vast catalogues, it did mark the first female face-off of the “Verzuz” series, and it looks like the people showed their appreciation for finally including some ladies by tuning in in vast numbers. At one point, the two artists garnered nearly 750K, reaching just shy of it with 749K. Regardless, this number blows the previous record of roughly 500K set by Teddy Riley and Babyface last month out of the water.
To prepare for what would become a record-breaking battle, the two Grammy-winners launched a joint line of “Verzuz”-themed merch, which includes hoodies and graphic tees in black, white, gold, and orange colourways. The collection can be found on both Erykah and Jill’s websites here and here.
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The event was also done in partnership with Live Nation’s Femme It Forward series that celebrates women in entertainment. Watch the full battle below:
