Streaming Gains for ‘Spider-Verse’ Hits New and Old: Metro Boomin, Swae Lee & Post Malone and More

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 
 
This week: The Spider-Verse stretches its way across streaming, a tri-state indie rock band launches an unlikely dance challenge and an alt-folk singer-songwriter enjoys his first real crossover success.

Miles Morales Spurs a Spider-Verse Takeover 

It’s been just over a week since the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Miles Morales and co. are already having a sizable musical impact that nicely complements the film’s box office success. Serving as the sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the new film continues Miles’ journey, and boasts a star-studded soundtrack curated and produced by Billboard 200-topping hip-hop producer Metro Boomin. 

According to Luminate, the genre-spanning soundtrack (released on Boominati/Republic) garnered 83.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of June 2-8. In the same period, two songs emerged as the set’s strongest and most consistent performers. “Calling” (which is credited to Metro Boomin, Swae Lee & NAV feat. A Boogie wit da Hoodie) collected 10.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams, while “Annihilate” (credited to Metro Boomin, Swae Lee, Lil Wayne & Offset) garnered 10.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams. Both songs have been hanging around the upper regions of Spotify and Apple Music’s daily charts off the strength of their placement in the film, the allure of the performing artists, and, of course, the music itself. 

In a slight contrast to the success of these Spider-Verse posse cuts, Coi Leray’s solo Spider-Man track alongside Metro, “Self-Love,” has also emerged as one of the soundtrack’s biggest songs — and one that’s still growing. On June 2, the song earned over 920,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, and one week later (June 9), that tally increased by 35.8% to a total of 1.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams. Although that number dipped slightly to 1.16 million the following day, consistent love across social media looks to buoy the song as it continues its run. 

Of course, in 2018, the previous Spider-Verse soundtrack (for Spider-Man: Inside the Spider-Verse) spawned “Sunflower,” the inescapable Post Malone and Swae Lee duet that recently became the highest-certified single in the United States. The RIAA certified the song 18x platinum in recognition of over 18 million units sold. Since the release of Across the Spider-Verse, the already-stable streaming numbers for “Sunflower” have experienced a significant increase: During the week of June 2-8, the Billboard Hot 100-topping track received 8.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, a 29.6% increase from its May 26-June 1 tally (6.9 million). 

On the Billboard 200 chart dated June 17, the Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack entered at No. 7, becoming Metro Boomin’s fourth consecutive top ten title. He previously topped the chart with 2018’s Not All Heroes Wear Capes, 2020’s Savage Mode II (with 21 Savage), and last year’s Heroes & Villains. – KYLE DENIS

Noah’s Arc: Kahan Climbs Toward Mainstream Stardom With “Dial Drunk” & Expanded Album

Over the past year, Noah Kahan’s brand of heartfelt folk-rock has amassed a sizable fan base thanks to both old-school road grinding and next-gen social media engagement. After the Vermont native teased “Stick Season,” a post-breakup song rife with COVID-era loneliness, to his fan base for months ahead of its July 2022 release, the song took off on TikTok as the singer-songwriter plowed through tour dates, eventually leading to a No. 14 debut for his Stick Season album on the Billboard 200 last October. 

Kahan hasn’t slowed down since – a North American tour that began last month will continue through October – and a recently released deluxe edition of his Stick Season album, combined with an already-viral new single, may speed up his ascent to household-name status. 

Last Friday (June 9), Kahan released Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) via Mercury/Republic, which featured seven additional songs and sent his streams soaring. Kahan’s catalog rose over 300% in daily U.S. on-demand streams upon the release of the expanded album – from 3.11 million last Thursday to 12.83 million on Friday, according to Luminate – and hovered around 9 million daily streams through Monday, suggesting that far more than Kahan’s diehard supporters are playing his new tunes. 

Those songs are highlighted by “Dial Drunk,” a banjo-led story of an intoxicated man reaching out to an estranged contact as his emergency call from jail. Like “Stick Season,” “Dial Drunk” had been teased on TikTok by Kahan for a prolonged period – but now that the singer-songwriter boasts a larger fan base than last summer, the new track may mark his Hot 100 debut next week. “Dial Drunk” bowed with 1.81 million streams on Friday, then garnered seven-figure plays each day through Monday, while remaining fixtures of the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA and Apple Music charts. 

The success of “Dial Drunk,” along with Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) potentially pushing into the top 10 of next week’s Billboard 200, would continue an already huge year for Kahan, who recently sold out New York’s Radio City Music Hall and led a substantial crowd at the Boston Calling festival. The crowds have exploded, and now may be the time for Kahan’s commercial breakthrough. – JASON LIPSHUTZ 

Indie Fans ‘Need 2’ Participate in “Pinegrove Shuffle”

The New Jersey indie-rockers of Pinegrove might not technically be the least-likely artist to ever benefit from a viral dance challenge, but they’re certainly much closer to the bottom than the top of that list. Nonetheless, that’s what’s been happening since last Friday, when a video from TikToker @garrettlee39 dancing to their 2014 Mixtape Two highlight “Need 2” — maybe more full-body thrusting than dancing, along with some arm-flailing — went viral over social media, leading to countless other users trying to recreate what’s since been dubbed the “Pinegrove Shuffle.”

Interest in the original song has now also shuffled over to streaming services. “Need 2” had already been swelling in official on-demand U.S. streams for the couple weeks prior — the self-released track was up from 220,000 for the chart week ending May 18 to 567,000 for the week ending June 8, according to Luminate — but those numbers have really spiked since the @garretlee39 video (which currently has 4.6 million views), raising from 99,000 daily streams on June 8 (the day before the video) to over 427,000 on June 11, a gain of 333%, according to Luminate.

If those numbers keep spiking, it might give the cult band the first true breakout hit of its decade-long career — just after it entered an informal hiatus period earlier this year, following the departure of drummer Zack Levine. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Related Images: