Candiace Dillard Bassett Teases Her 'If Only...' Remixes with Tamar Braxton and Darrel Walls (Exclusive)

Yamillah HurtadoFri, March 27, 2026 at 9:19 PM UTC

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Candiace Dillard Bassett on 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen'Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty -

Candiace Dillard Basset collaborated with Tamar Braxton and gospel singer Darrel Walls for her “If Only...” remixes

“I’m really excited for you all to get a whiff of this new era of music that I’m in,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively

“If Only... (Remix)” with Braxton is out now, while the "HEmix" with Walls will be released April 24

Candiace Dillard Bassett is in a new era of music.

The former Real Housewives of Potomac star recently released her latest song “If Only...,” an honest exploration of the complexities of romantic relationships.

The R&B track, released in February, is the original song in Dillard Bassett’s collection of remixes called The Conversation, which features collaborations with Tamar Braxton and gospel singer Darrel Walls. The Conversation will be released in May.

“I wrote this song about a relationship that I was in well before I was married,” Dillard Bassett, 39, tells PEOPLE. “A lot of the woes that I was dealing with in that relationship that I put into this song are still very relatable to relationships that I’m privy to today.”

“My sister is a young woman who’s dating. I have many friends who are still in the dating world, and a lot of us go through and deal with the same stuff,” she says. “The Conversation is meant to pay homage to that and open up the space to liberate people to talk about the woes of relationships even more.”

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There were initially two versions of “If Only...” that Dillard Bassett loved equally, but she could only choose one as the debut single. She believed the alternate version needed to be heard and decided to release it as a remix, “If Only... (Solo Remix),” coming this April.

“Then the question became," she explains, “Okay, if we’re going to make this song the remix, why wouldn’t we have some amazing, talented artists jump on it too?” Braxton, 49, and Walls, 35, were then brought on to create their own renditions.

Candiace Dillard-Bassett, Tamar Braxton and Darrel WallsCredit: Gary Gershoff/Getty; Prince Williams/WireImage; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Having Braxton create the “If Only... SHEmix” — out now — was a surprise to her. Dillard-Bassett’s manager reached out to Braxton to record a verse because he knew how much it would mean for her to be a part of the project. After her manager played her Braxton’s version, Dillard Bassett says she “lost it” and started “screaming.”

Dillard Bassett describes Braxton as a “great big sister,” saying, “She’s just always embraced me. It’s been an honor to be working with her, especially to have her on my song is just insane.”

“Tamar is one of those women who has always championed going after your dreams,” Dillard Bassett says. “Her being aligned with this song is related to that. I wanted to celebrate women, and celebrate us living in our fullness and living in our power and not being afraid to go after what we want. And that literally is Tamar.”

"If Only SHEmix" with Candiace Dillard-Bassett and Tamar Braxton cover art

Similarly, Dillard Bassett says gospel music is a “huge part of her life,” and she’s always been a fan of Walls and his family gospel group, The Walls Group.

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After meeting him for the first time on the set for Dennis Williams’ play I’ve Cried the Blues, she knew Walls had to be a part of her remix collection.

“We got to know each other there. I already knew that I liked him, but I just grew a greater and a deeper respect for him as a person, as a vocalist,” she says. “Hearing the vocal acrobatics that come out of his throat, it's just ridiculous. When we started the process of figuring out the remixes and who we wanted to be on the remixes, I knew I wanted a male voice as well. Darrel was my first choice. He just made sense.”

“She reached out to me, and I was completely befuddled,” Walls tells PEOPLE. “I was like, ‘Me? You want me to do it?’ I was honored. And even from the chemistry that we had from the play, I knew that it would be easy to do and it would be natural.”

When Walls first heard the original “If Only...” he was blown away by Dillard Bassett’s vocals, saying, “I was like, ‘My girl is singing!’ She’s so dope. She’s so talented.”

Walls’ remix, “If Only... (HEmix),” is set to release on April 24.

Candiace Dillard-Bassett attends 'Housewives on the Hill' in Washington D.C. on March 18, 2026Credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty

Dillard Bassett’s latest project comes after she was on the hit show The Traitors, where she was banished from the castle during the eighth episode of season 4. The reality star tells PEOPLE being a part of the show was “a blast” and she would “totally do it again.”

Despite this, Dillard-Bassett admits she’s not looking to be part of another reality show anytime soon.

“My focus is moving away from competition or docu-follow reality [shows]. I’m more interested in scripted, Broadway and my music,” she says. “Those are the areas that I’ve always wanted to live in and work in and have success in.”

“It’s incredibly fulfilling. It feels right, and it feels satisfying too,” Dillard Bassett says. “You know when you set a goal or when you have a bucket list of ideas, and sometimes they feel wild and out of this world and completely unattainable? But then you start to be able to reach them, and they start to feel real and start to materialize in a way that feels real. It’s very satisfying, and it’s very humbling.”

In addition to The Conversation, Dillard Bassett reveals she’s working on a full-length project and is currently recording new music.

“I’m really excited for you all to get a whiff of this new era of music that I’m in,” she says. “I was much more intentional with this new project.”

She continues, “Much of it was written when I was pregnant, so a lot of it is very emotional. ... It’s raw. It is very honest. Some of it is from the perspective of loved ones in my life, and it’s music I’m incredibly proud of. [I’m] really excited for people to hear it and really excited to perform.”

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