Jai'Len Josey QualityLenz
Trending on Billboard
If loving performing is wrong, Jai’Len Josey doesn’t want to be right!
Today, June 24, Billboard can exclusively reveal that the ascendant R&B star is taking her debut studio album, Serial Romantic, on the road. Her Serial Romantic Tour will kick off at Los Angeles’ The Echo on Oct. 6, playing intimate venues in major cities across North America, including Brooklyn, Chicago and Toronto, before concluding at Atlanta’s Vinyl on Oct. 27.
The artist presale runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time on Thursday, June 25, with public on-sale beginning Friday, June 26 at 12 p.m. ET.
Josey’s tour announcement comes the day after Billboard staff named Serial Romantic one of the 50 best albums of 2026 so far. Executive produced by three-time Grammy winner Tricky Stewart, Serial Romantic boasts 13 tracks that infuse Josey’s R&B foundation with fresh notes of Detroit ghettotech, gospel, pop-rock and musical theater. The album, which was released via Def Jam on April 24, includes the singles “New Girl,” “Freak” and “Love Ain’t S—,” the first behind-the-boards collaboration between Stewart and The-Dream in 10 years. Josey co-wrote nearly every track on the record, alongside contributions from Leon Thomas, Jozzy, Theron Thomas and Noah Ehler.
“This is the first album that I’ve made with a super-producer behind me… Those orchestral elements [from my time on Broadway] are embedded in me,” she told Billboard in March during her Up-And-Comer (formerly Rookie) of the Month interview. “Now that I [got] to work alongside somebody, I morphed those elements into the woman I am now. It can be played on the radio and still satisfy my own taste buds. On Broadway, that first note is how you captivate an audience, and they have to be in for the whole two-hour ride. That is the mindset I’m always in when making music; it’s truly all I know when it comes to performance.”
Before Josey formally entered the music scene in 2020 with a smattering of singles and her gorgeous Illustrations EP, she made her Broadway debut as Pearl Krabs in the Tony-winning SpongeBob SquarePants musical. During that time, Grammy-winning Wicked star Cynthia Erivo mentored her, helping her transition into the music industry through Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Label, then an imprint of Def Jam. Before her Broadway stint, Josey won the 2014 Jimmy Award for best performance by an actress (as Effie White in Dreamgirls). Recently, Josey returned to her musical theatre roots for select dates of True Colors Theatre’s staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella in Atlanta, Ga. She signed with WME for global representation earlier this year (March 25).
Check out the full list of dates for Jai’Len Josey’s Serial Romantic Tour below and here.
Oct. 6 — The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 8 — Globe Hall, Denver, CO
Oct. 12 — Schubas, Chicago, IL
Oct. 14 — Drake Underground, Toronto, ON
Oct. 15 — Baby’s All Right (LATE), Brooklyn, NY
Oct. 17 — Songbyrd, Washington, D.C.
Oct. 19 — The Lounge at World Stage, Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 25 — Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC
Oct. 27 — Vinyl, Atlanta, GA