The talent manager from Liverpool, England, is known for her work with such pop stars as Bebe Rexha, Rita Ora and Madison Beer, but managing the legacy of the late Lil Peep — born Gustav “Gus” Åhr — has become her most defining project to date. In November 2018, a year after his death from an accidental drug overdose, Stennett — co-founder and CEO of First Access Entertainment — worked alongside his estate to release his first posthumous album, Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2. The set earned the artist his highest peak on the Billboard 200 (No. 4). Stennett recalls the bittersweet milestone.
It’s a great privilege to have access to a brilliant young mind like Gus. The first time we listened to the album in New York, it was very emotional. He had put so much work into completing it in difficult circumstances. That is so true to him; I was so proud.
Gus wanted to be successful and appear in Billboard, be on the charts, no question. But I didn’t have any expectations. I’ve had acts get No. 1s and make Billboard chart history — from Iggy Azalea [a former client] to Bebe Rexha — and you chase it. But we didn’t chase this. It was rightfully where it should be.
This Billboard [200] chart’s status is so significant. During Christmas of 2016, I was in Bogotá, Colombia, and on one of the walls of a café, somebody had done a mural of the Billboard charts. I remember thinking how strange that was, but it is the chart. [When Sober hit No. 4], I can’t say it was a celebratory moment; but it just felt like exactly what should happen with an album like that.
This article originally appeared in the Sept. 28 issue of Billboard.
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