Willow Smith Debuts at Blue Note
Willow Smith's live performance at the Blue Note in Los Angeles is being praised for its intensity, vulnerability, and genre-blurring energy. Her set included "Petal Rock Black" and marked a significant artistic statement signaling her emergence as a boundary-pushing force in modern rock and alternative.
- The Blue Note is a legendary jazz club founded in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1981, having hosted iconic musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Oscar Peterson. The venue is known for encouraging progression and innovation in music. - Smith's musical journey began at age nine with the pop hit "Whip My Hair," which went double-platinum in the U.S. and made her the youngest artist to achieve that status. She has since moved into genres like experimental R&B, neo-soul, and folk. - Her 2021 album, *Lately I Feel Everything*, marked a significant shift into pop-punk and featured collaborations with Travis Barker of Blink-182 and Avril Lavigne. This was followed by the harder rock album *Coping Mechanism* in 2022. - In May 2024, she performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that showcased her vocal range and a new jazz-infused sound. The setlist included new songs like "Symptom of Life" and "Big Feelings." - Her 2024 album, *Empathogen*, which features artists like Jon Batiste, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. - Smith released her seventh studio album, *Petal Rock Black*, on February 17, 2026. The album, written and produced by Smith, includes collaborations with funk legend George Clinton and jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington.
