D’Angelo’s streams surge by 796% following his passing, with 3 songs entering the R&B charts

The top hits of the late neo-soul icon, such as "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" and "Lady," are reaching new charts as fans explore his catalog once again.

After D’Angelo's passing, his streams increased by 796%, and it is expected that all his earnings will be divided among his three children—they’re the primary inheritors of his estate.

Billboard Charts reported on Wednesday (October 22), that the catalog of the late D'Angelo saw nearly a nine-fold increase in streams. Fans and fellow musicians revisited the visionary neo-soul singer, songwriter, and producer's work in the days following his death from cancer on Oct. 14 at age 51.

After the passing of neo-soul artist D'Angelo on October 14, 2025, the earnings from streaming will be directed to his estate, anticipated to be inherited by his three children according to intestacy laws. His estate comprises royalties from his albums and publishing rights, which will persist in generating value through continuous streaming, licensing, and other uses of his music. 

D'Angelo left behind three children. In the absence of a publicly disclosed will, his assets, such as music royalties, are anticipated to be allocated to his children according to intestacy laws.

Besides his current earnings, his music will keep earning royalties from streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, which will contribute to the estate's value.

D’Angelo’s song catalog achieved 16.1 million official on-demand streams in the United States during the tracking week of Oct. 10-16, according to Luminate, marking a 796% increase from the prior week's total of 1.8 million. The 2000 hit “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” led the way with 2.5 million streams, followed by 1995 tracks “Lady” (2.2 million) and “Brown Sugar” (1.9 million) in second and third place, respectively. These three songs were D’Angelo’s highest-charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Lady” peaked at No. 10, “Untitled” reached No. 25, and “Brown Sugar” topped out at No. 27.

Thanks largely to those streams, all three tracks make their debut on the Hot R&B Songs chart, which was established in 2012. “Untitled” enters at No. 7, “Lady” at No. 8, and “Brown Sugar” at No. 10. With their entry, D’Angelo now has five songs on the Hot R&B Songs chart; these three join Black Messiah tracks “Really Love” (No. 14) and “Sugah Daddy” (No. 22), which reached their peak in January 2015, a month after the album was released.

Alongside the increase in streaming, D’Angelo’s song catalog achieved 9,000 digital track downloads for the week, rising from an insignificant number the previous week. “Untitled” was the leading seller with 2,000 copies, debuting at No. 1 on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart.