Billboard Names Joyce Wrice Its October R&B Up-and-Comer
Billboard has named Los Angeles R&B singer Joyce Wrice its October R&B Up-and-Comer, the magazine's monthly pick of artists it considers to be on the rise. The Billboard feature was published on 26 October 2026, and it centres on her new record.
That record is MACHIKO, her second studio album, which was released on 9 October via BMG Records. A sophomore album is an artist's follow-up to a debut. Wrice's first album, Overgrown, came out in 2021.
The album runs to 14 tracks, according to Andscape. Its single "Fly (Someone You Love)" was announced in September, when the album was first made public, as Rated R&B reported.
The title comes from Wrice's middle name. It translates as "city girl", and the name sits at the centre of the record's identity.
Wrice was born in Chula Vista, California, to a Japanese mother and a Black father. She now works from Los Angeles. Billboard's feature includes an interview in which she talks through how the album was made.
For a general reader, the Up-and-Comer label is a useful way to see where Billboard's attention is going. It is a monthly editorial pick, not a chart position, so it does not come with a sales figure or a ranking. Anyone wanting the details of how MACHIKO has been received commercially will need to watch for chart releases from Billboard and the other charts that track album sales.
Wrice's career so far runs on a short timeline: a debut in 2021, a second album in October 2026, and a single that carries the new record into the public eye. Her story is also a reminder of how an album reaches listeners. It starts with an announcement, moves through a release date and a label, and ends when a listener presses play.
