to let you know. that i want to hold you. and never let you go. oh this is nightline. tonight serena williams, inside the mind of the 23 time grand slam champion. >> then it starts thinking in my head. i'm about to win the us open. oh, my god, an intimate look at her most pivotal moments on and off the court. >> williams, on her way to becoming the icon she is today. >> it became us against everyone

else. then eventually it came. me against everyone else. >> and why? she says facing adversity was actually a blessing. plus, winning jacob collier, the six time grammy winner and, well, singer with a vip heavy fan base, i heard sizzle was stalking sizzle stalk me. >> that was an unnerving one of the earliest youtube stars. >> well, i wasn't trying to go viral, but they did what he did right in the end. i suppose they did. >> so all vibing on the british multi-instrumentalist becoming every audience's somebody to love what he says is his special sauce. and behind the balcony, the part of buckingham palace reopening to visitors after nearly 200 years. >> nightline will be right back >> your gut is like a garden growing both good bacteria and bad. that balance is key to a healthy gut environment. benefiber is plant based. prebiotic fiber gently nourishes the good bacteria, working with

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>> good evening. thank you for joining us tonight, serena williams, in her own words in the arena, is an espn plus original docu series chronicling the journey of the tennis icon. and our excerpt. we join williams as she is poised to win her first grand slam championship. the 1999 us open. her opponent, martina hingis, had just defeated serena's sister venus in the semifinals. but serena tells us she defeated a more formidable opponent that day. the voice of self-doubt jane williams. she leads five

three. >> then it starts thinking in my head, i'm about to win the u.s. open. oh my god. i remember like, seeing the prize money was $750,000. 1540. and i got in my head a little bit too much. and i kind of just started to crumble. worst ways you can think is thinking, oh, i have this in my pocket. very rare. have i thought that way, consciously. because i know consciously, it's the kiss of death. i cannot go three sets with hingis. i was like, i cannot go three sets with martina hingis. she's going to destroy me in

three sets. and by then i was getting tired. >> she's not really forcing the issue, is she, john? she's allowing serena williams to self-destruct. >> then i'm missing shots. then hingis. and i'm like, serena, stop missing. remember when you were a junior? you would just hit lobs and drop shots? don't miss. jane hingis. >> hingis leads six five. >> so i started to mix my game up. i started to hit slice and she would make an error whenever i did that game back. we get to the tie break and said it's now or never. you can't go

three sets, so you have to figure out a way to win. i remember at one point she was serving and then she missed her first serve, and it seemed like it was 20 minutes. and i said, you have to go for it. you have to hit a forehand down the line. and i'm arguing with myself because then you could miss all of a sudden the ball comes and i'm looking at the ball and hit a ball as hard as i could down the line. >> williams two points away. >> i just was like, i'm not going to miss. there's no way i'm going to miss. so i serve and then i just don't miss. i don't care if we have two, 2000 balls, like i'm literally not going to miss because i can't go

three sets with you. and i was just like, serena hits her backhand. don't miss. hit your backhand. don't miss. six for williams, the tournament was definitely filled with so much history. there you know, i think althea gibson was the last african american woman at the time. so not only won the us open, but to win a grand slam period. the only thing i was thinking about was making this premonition come true. game seven championship williams. >> i felt so relieved i was like, oh my god, i just won the open and i was like, jumping and i was super happy. >> but inside my soul, it was an act because i just knew i was

going to win. i had this premonition, i had this feeling. i don't know what you want to call it, but i knew i was going to win the u.s. open that year, and this was just the physical catching up with what had already happened. >> and the public courts of compton, california, to us open champion. >> everything that led up to that moment gaz de france, indian wells and all the other little tournaments, all the ones that i won that year, led me to this moment that i was going to win the open. ladies and gentlemen, the 1999 us open women's singles champion, serena williams >> well, it seems like forever,

she shared everything with her sister venus. but now the stage belongs to serena. >> it wasn't that i wasn't happy for her. it's just, you know, we all get caught up in our inner struggle. and i was in my own inner struggles. i think i was still, like in the past, in my own match. way too much. instead of, enjoying the moment best thing that happened to my career was coming up behind my sister. everyone expected her to do good. i can't imagine the pressure she felt as a 15 year old and as a 16 year old. like i don't know if i would have handled. tha i feel like i was able to go so much faster because of everything that she had went through. right after i walked

off center court, i couldn't walk. it was like the ankle injury i came back and i physically couldn't walk. it was crazy. i never experienced had that much adrenaline where it literally took away my pain for two matches, which is a period of like four days and you feel a lot more, wow, i don't know. i guess i have a lot of requests to go on the today show and stuff, so what are haha, i didn't think about that. the minute i left that press conference, like i couldn't see it at the time, but i had a big x, big red x on my back would talk in the locker room about how they had to beat us. it became us against everyone else and then eventually it came. me against everyone else.

it was just like, we don't want her to win. we don't care who wins. we just don't want her to win. that's the girl to beat. we're going to give everything we can to take her down. and that target got to be blessing. because if have that target, i would never have been serena williams >> compelling. the first episode of in the arena, serena williams, is streaming now on espn plus. when we return, meet jacob collins, somebody, somebody's somebody. >> find me somebody, love. >> find the singer and multi-instrumentalist. more than a million followers can't help falling in love with love. somebody to love. >> find me somebody to love,

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♪ >> byron: welcome back. what did john legend, sza, and coldplay singer chris martin have in common? his name is jacob collier, and those stars are all fans. if you're not yet, get ready. here's abc's ashan singh. >> reporter: i'm at radio city music call, and it's a friday night with one of the most famous performers you might not recognize. ♪ [ cheers and applause ]

>> new york! >> reporter: it's jacob collier. and he's your favorite artist's favorite artist. >> it's so nice to see you! >> reporter: he doesn't just write and sing his own music. he plays dozens of instruments and is known for conducting a crowd. ♪ aahhh ♪ >> reporter: with songs like his single "wow." ♪ live on the edge of the sun ♪ ♪ close to me ♪ >> reporter: and "sunshine." ♪ but i don't mind her giving me her sunshine smile ♪ >> reporter: fans are hooked. jacob, here we are in new york. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: you played here before. >> yes. >> reporter: but you've never played the iconic radio city music hall. >> that's true, i've never done that in my life. yeah, to sort out the show is wild. to go on the stage and sing and play with my amazing band and

crew is tentanebulous. >> trevor: that might be the first time i've heard that word. >> oh, sweet. >> reporter: this 29-year-old six-time great manymy winner is on a world tour for his latest album, "jesse volume 4," part four of a multi-year project. >> i suppose this whole tour has been this massive anticipation. the album has taken so many years to complete, so it feels like a triumphant punctuation mark in the journey. >> reporter: a journey he says began before he could even walk. music in his blood. his mom and grandfather, both violinists. all three generations of colliers receiving fellowships from london's royal academy of music ♪ his mom one of his collaborators. collier bringing her onstage during his radio city performance. ♪ >> reporter: take me back to the jump. you were born into it, correct?

>> i would say i was born into it for sure. there was music everywhere. every corner of the room there was something you could prod or poke. it was such a fundamental part of my expression that not making music felt weird. >> reporter: even with his prodigious background, he's mostly self-taught and got his big break online from youtube about a decade ago with classic stevie wonder songs. i remember you calling his name for the first time. posting covers to your youtube page. a cover of "isn't she lovely?" ♪ isn't she lovely ♪ >> reporter: you were releasing these videos at a time when people didn't know what it took to go viral. did you know that this type of sound would be so successful? >> well, i wasn't trying to go viral. >> reporter: but they did, but it did. >> i suppose they did. >> reporter: jacob's youtube page ballooned. his video racking up millions of

views. but his career really took off when he caught the ear of one of the titans of the music industry. >> i released "don't you worry about a thing," a classic stevie wonder song. ♪ don't you worry about a thing don't you worry about a thing ♪ >> i got an email in my inbox, "what's up, i'm quincy jones. >> reporter: obviously spam. >> obviously spam. it was from the real man. we ended up becoming really good friends. hanging out a bunch. i've learned so much hanging out with him. hobey hancock reached out. "hey, man, what are these chords? behave." for herbie to be asking questions of me was very, very surreal. i was so deeply thrilled and moved that these very legendary musicians expressed that they were enamored with the things i was creating. this particular song there, that's actually a grammy award trophy. >> reporter: like, the trophy? >> yeah. it's like metallic. it sounds great, man.

>> reporter: that list of enamored and legendary musicians now long. coldplay front man chris martin. shawn mendes. brandi carlile. all lining up to collaborate with collier. many of them chasing his so-called secret sauce for a hit and showing up on the studio album "jesse volume 4." this is a little blue? >> yeah, man. >> reporter: sounding familiar, yeah. recording a track with brandi carlile. >> it is. let me first play -- this is the beginning of the song. ♪ there's a few other things going on down here. ♪ funny for them all to combine but without being overwhelming, you know? i want to quest out and make this massive album on my own terms. i made this crazy list of people. people started to fall into my lap. joe joe.

becker stevens. daniel cesar. the list goes on. >> reporter: i heard sza was stalking you? >> sza stalked me for a while, that was unnerving. >> reporter: how did that collab come together? ♪ i wasted the best of me ♪ >> she was running "good days" which is one of my favorite songs of hers of all-time. she sent the demo, this is gold already, this girl. i put some of my secret sauce or whatever onto it, and she loved it, so she put it on the record. it's crazy, like a billion streams now. >> reporter: that sound now used in more than 300,000 reels on instagram. you speak so ethereally about the creative process, but some of the biggest names in music, they're calling you. and they're asking for this, like you said, secret sauce. what the hell is that? >> it's hard to say, really. i think the most valuable asset an artist can ever bring is their perspective. when i hear a piece like "good days," what can my perspective bring to this? i'm not thinking, how can i superimpose my secret sauce or my identity. i'm thinking, what does that

sound like what does that feel like? >> reporter: with over 40 dates left on his tour, collier isn't stopping any time soon. >> the last few years, i've just -- it's like my perspective's done this and my heart's done that. you know? and so i think i would say that in terms of lyrics, in terms of songwriting, definitely in terms of performance, there's a real delight when it comes to opening up and saying, look, this is me. you know, take it or leave it. and i think that an audience, when they feel about that an artist -- when i get the sense an artist is beam their real self, i'm so relieved. because we live in a world of bright packaging -- i say this in a yellow jacket. >> reporter: and rainbow crocs. >> yeah, yeah. this is the way i see the world. and i'm not going to try to compete for the attention. ♪ >> byron: our thanks to ashan. when we come back, a wing of >> byron: our thanks to ashan. when we come back, a wing of buckingham palace soon to open i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

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♪ >> byron: finally tonight, fans of the british monarchy will soon have a new vacation destination. here's abc's maggie rulli. ♪ >> reporter: buckingham palace, the landmark seat of the british royal family now opening up a previously private wing to the public. first up, behind the iconic balcony where royals have stood throughout generations. this is where we have watched royals from queen elizabeth, the princess kate, wave to the public. where i'm standing right now, right here, this is the closest that any member of the public have ever been allowed to stand. come on in. the palace's east wing has been

undergoing renovation, and this summer for the first time in its 175-year history, it is open for public tours. oh, wow! this is gorgeous. with it, many priceless works of art held in the king's royal collection. with pieces dating back more than four centuries. why open up the east wing now? >> his majesty the king is very keen on public access. he's passionately interested in the collection. >> reporter: a king's-eye view now available for everyone. >> byron: our thanks to maggie. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episode s s on h. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.