What The Hell Happened: Summer Walker’s Album Promo Is Like Sparking a Sexy Relationship

With the imminent release of her sophomore album on Nov. 5, Summer Walker’s marketing strategies just keep getting better. Fans of her work may recall when she teased her 2019 debut studio album, “Over It,” with exclusive pink phone booths across various cities in the US and Canada. Branded the “Over It Hotline,” the phone booths allowed fans to listen to snippets of her album — whose cover featured Walker on her very own pink phone — and leave her voicemails with their thoughts.

In the weeks leading up to Nov. 5, Walker again plays with innovative promotion techniques, fans’ desire for exclusive access, and ways to interact directly with her audience by leaving the entirety of her second album — titled “Still Over It” — on a hard drive in sealed glass cases across US cities.

An album that leaves a legacy is like any steamy relationship — it has a sleek idea to pull you in, an intimate relationship with the artist cultivated through raw lyrics and emotive beats, and ownership over the specificity and personalization of this relationship. It’s what we crave in our conventional romances: attraction, relatability, and exclusivity.

Walker’s promotion techniques take advantage of just that; these glass cases are just enough to tempt curious audiences in the city, or incite drastic measures from fans. Fans in New York, Chicago, and Atlanta attempted to break open the lid of these cases with the pink hammers attached to the box, and a lucky few have been successful. The hard drive of “Still Over It” even has its own Instagram page, which has garnered over 125K followers.

In addition to announcements of the next city every week, the page boasts reactions from the winners who were able to break the glass case and grab the hard drive first. Five winners from New York City complimented both the artistry and the vulnerability of the album. “I appreciate the dedication, I appreciate the lyricism, I appreciate the love, and the pain,” one fan said.

With posts on the page nearly every day and less than a week left before the release of Walker’s second album, the R&B artist is still keeping the spirit of her pink phone booths alive. Inviting listeners to text her on why they’re “still over it,” Walker maintains her personal relationships with fans. We can only expect the sexiest, sassiest of songs on Friday.

—Staff writer Carrie Hsu can be reached at carrie.hsu@thecrimson.com.