Electronic Producer Oliver Anthony Skyrockets in Streams Due to… Well, You Can Probably Guess
Written by djfrosty on August 23, 2023
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: Oliver Anthony is way up in streams — no, not *that* Oliver Anthony — while October London brings the spirit of Marvin back to the airwaves and an ’00s R&B hit spikes due to a highly unexpected TikTok trend.
The Other Oliver Anthony: Viral Country Sensation Gives Bump to Similarly Named Electronic Producer
Folks who read about the chart-topping phenomenon that was Oliver Anthony last week and went on to buy or stream his 2021 EP Breaking Bread were likely a little disappointed – or at the very least, extremely confused. That’s because Breaking Bread was not released by the Oliver Anthony who connected with country fans (and right-wing signal-boosters) with his breakout hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” – the one whose artist name is officially Oliver Anthony Music, and who has only released singles thus far – but rather, by the producer Oliver Anthony, whose lone release on streaming services is a six-song, seven-minute, independently released set of unassuming lo-fi electronic instrumentals.
Not much information seems to be publicly available about this other Oliver Anthony – there’s no biographical info on their Spotify page, their YouTube uploads are all automated and it’s not clear if they’re present on social media. But whoever they are, they’re enjoying a massive streaming bump from the Oliver Anthony Music confusion: The original Oliver Anthony netted over 36,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Aug. 17, according to Luminate – up 523% from the under 6,000 the week before, and up 144,548% from the negligible amount of streams they posted the week before that.
They also sold over 500 digital songs last week after a minimal amount the week before – and on iTunes, Breaking Bread has even reached the top 10 on their real-time albums chart. Hopefully those consumers looking for country-folk working-class anthems are also in the market for some low-intensity midtempo beats! – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Marvin Reborn: October London Brings Gaye’s Classic Sound to Streaming and Radio
The soul singer October London is unburdened by the anxiety of influence: He titled his February album The Rebirth of Marvin (out on the famed Death Row Records), and it’s nearly heroic in its single-minded commitment to recreating the tone and texture of Marvin Gaye’s 1970s recordings (with one exception: album closer “You Look Better” leans more Barry White). R&B radio programmers have welcomed the homage to Gaye: The single “Back to Your Place” jumped from No. 3 to the top spot on Billboard’s Adult R&B airplay chart this week, dethroning Janelle Monae’s “Lipstick Lover.”
“Back to Your Place” sounds like a nod to “Distant Lover,” a tower of yearning on the back half of Gaye’s Let’s Get It On album. It’s uncanny at times how closely London pitches his voice to replicate Gaye’s — the wails of “take me” during the chorus, the swelling harmonies that emphasize “your place.” Back in the second week of July, “Back to Your Place” was already piquing interest in core R&B markets, appearing high on the Shazam rankings in Washington D.C. and Atlanta.
Audience impressions from airplay have more than doubled since then, according to Luminate, and interest in London has spread more widely, with “Back to Your Place” climbing into the Top 20 of the U.S. Shazam chart. Growth at streaming has been slow but steady: The single amassed 556,000 official on-demand U.S. streams in the tracking week ending August 17, up from just over 400,000 a week in early July. – ELIAS LEIGHT
Chrisette Michele’s “Epiphany” Twerks Its Way to Streaming Gains
One of the most beautiful things about TikTok is how random catalog songs can experience resurgences due to trends that have absolutely nothing to with the song. Chrisette Michele, the Grammy-winning R&B star who experienced some controversy when she performed at then-President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Ball back in 2017, is the latest artist to benefit from this phenomenon. According to Luminate, “Epiphany (I’m Leaving),” the lead single from her 2009 sophomore studio album of the same name, has earned 329,000 official on-demand U.S. streams between August 11-17, a whopping 215% increase from just over 104,000 streams during the period of August 4-10.
The song’s sizable streaming gains are due to a TikTok trend where users flaunt how well they can twerk. The primary aim is to throw your backside in as perfect a circle as possible while Michele croons, “I think I’m just about over being your girlfriend.” On TikTok, the most popular “Epiphany” sound boasts over 60,000 videos. “Epiphany” is Michele’s first and only unaccompanied Billboard Hot 100 hit; in 2009, the song peaked at No. 89 on the chart, and also reached the top ten on Adult R&B Airplay (No. 9). – KYLE DENIS