Brockhampton Make Their Late-Night TV Debut, Premiere New Song “Tonya” on Fallon: Watch

The last couple of months have been a wild ride for the self-proclaimed “Best Boy-Band Since One Direction.” Brockhampton, the genre-blending L.A.-based rap collective, first gained popularity with the release of the Saturation trilogy in 2017. The group signed with RCA in April and teased the release of their fifth album, Puppy. Brockhampton then faced a setback when member Ameer Vann was accused of physical and emotional abuse by two women. Vann was removed from the 12-member boy band and they went off the grid to collect themselves, opting out of their set at New York’s Governors Ball and being replaced with Pusha T. Last but not least in the group’s list of setbacks, band leader Kevin Abstract announced in an Instagram live video that their forthcoming album would be delayed.

Well, now they’re back and they’re better. Brockhampton appeared on Fallon Wednesday night to debut a new song, “Tonya.” The appearance marks one of their first public performances since Vann’s departure. The group performed at Boston Calling last month but stood in silence during Vann’s verses.

Just before the performance of “Tonya,” Fallon revealed the name of Brockhampton’s new album, The Best Years of our Lives, and its artwork. It’s unclear whether this is the same album as Puppy, or if the band scrapped it entirely after removing Vann and have been working on a whole new album.

The performance, their first on late-night TV, was much more toned down from their piped-up performance of “BOOGIE” in Times Square on MTV’s TRL. Joba sat at the piano for the entirety of the song, with other members of the group sitting criss-cross applesauce on the turf next to him. They sat in front of a projection of a beach scene, solemnly rapping about disappointment and struggling to believe in yourself and your worth, clad in matching plaid shirts. They were joined on stage by R&B singers Jazmine Sullivan, serpentwithfeet and Ryan Beatty.

We don’t yet know when Best Years Of Our Lives will be released, but it’s on the way. Watch the performance of “Tonya” and the boy band’s performance of “BOOGIE” on TRL below.