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Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, 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.
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This week: A new Gracie Abrams hit bumps a similarly titled old favorite, Lil Baby scores a viral hit with an unlikely guest verse and The Penguin starts to show its value as a TV synch source.
‘Sorry’ Not Sorry: Gracie Abrams’ Viral Hit Becomes Her Highest-Charting Hot 100 Entry
On Tuesday night, Gracie Abrams wrapped up the U.S. leg of her The Secret of Us tour in Philadelphia, which found the singer-songwriter playing to her biggest audiences yet following the June release of her sophomore album; three days after that final headlining show, she’ll be in Miami, back as an opener on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour through the stadium trek’s conclusion in December. Along with the two high-profile tours, Abrams has watched a pair of her songs — including her latest single from The Secret of Us — take off on U.S. streaming services, yielding what is now her biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit to date.
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The lilting strum-along “I Love You, I’m Sorry” has been a topic of discussion on social media for weeks — first with pop fans arguing over the quality of its official music video and Abrams’ gentle performance on the song, then with a TikTok trend supporting Abrams’ vocal take (literally called “whisper allegation beater”), and finally with a Vevo live performance of the track that fans rallied behind following its Oct. 2 release. The chatter has helped the song’s weekly U.S. on-demand streams soar from 7.38 million during the week ending Sept. 5 to 11.35 million during the week ending Oct. 10, according to Luminate.
As those streams have helped “I Love You, I’m Sorry” streak upward on the Hot 100 — moving up from No. 53 to No. 31 on this week’s tally, Abrams’ first solo top 40 entry — an older Abrams song, “I Miss You, I’m Sorry,” has also benefitted, thanks to longtime fans championing the 2020 track that belatedly received a titular callback. “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” earned 2.5 million streams during the week ending Sept. 5, but in the most recent tracking week, that number had jumped to 3.73 million — a 48% gain over those five weeks, not too far off from the 53% jump for “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” – JASON LIPSHUTZ
No Hate for Lil Baby’s Guest Verse on Italian Rapper’s ‘Canzone D’Odio’
Just a couple years after unquestionably being one of the most ubiquitous rappers in popular music, Lil Baby’s mainstream presence has been a little more sparse the past couple years. But now he might be on his way back to another viral hit with as a guest rapper – no surprise there, except for the artist he’s supporting: Italian MC Lazza, whose Italian-language single “Canzone D’Odio” (in English: “Hate Song”) Baby has turned up on, with a verse in English.
“Canzone” originally appeared on Lazza’s Locura album – the rapper’s third straight set to top Italy’s FIMI Albums Chart – before catching fire internationally online. Listeners were of course intrigued by hearing such a recognizable American voice on an otherwise Italian-language song, leading to the song climbing to No. 2 on Shazam’s United States top 200 chart. Fans have flooded the YouTube comments for the video in praise of Baby’s guest verse, with many wishing for a version of the song with just his part.
The song has also begun to ignite on streaming services as well. The song has grown by over 300% in official on-demand U.S. streams each of the last two weeks, according to Luminate, and posted over one million streams during the past tracking week, ending Oct. 10. That’s not enough yet to really threaten a Hot 100 bow – but if the song continues to grow from here, the new collaborators may be “cin cin”-ing to Lil Baby’s 142nd career entry on the chart before long. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
‘The Penguin’ Synchs March to Greater Streaming Numbers
Back in the ‘90s, a big Batman placement for a pop song was one of the surest paths to pop success: Just ask Seal, who had his lone Hot 100 No. 1 hit with a Batman Forever soundtrack single (“Kiss From a Rose” in 1995). While the Christopher Nolan-era Dark Knight trilogy of the early 21st century wasn’t as interested in creating big musical moments, Batman refound its pop footing in 2022 with The Batman, which created a chart hit out of grunge legends Nirvana’s once-deep cut “Something in the Way” – even getting the 30-plus-year-old Nevermind-closing ballad onto the Hot 100 for the first time.
Now, the Gothamverse is aiding the music world again, thanks to the well-received new HBO crime drama The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell as the titular villain (anti-hero?) and taking place after the events of the 2022 Batman. The bumps for songs featured are thusfar more modestly scaled than “Something in the Way” post-The Batman, but synth-pop outfit Floor Cry’s cover of the Turtles’ 1967 pop classic “Happy Together” spiked 616% to nearly 93,000 weekly official on-demand U.S. streams in the two weeks after the moody rendition was featured over the end credits to The Penguin’s second episode. Similarly, EDM duo Bob Moses’ seething electro-funk banger “Broken Belief” was up 1,779% for the week ending Oct. 10, to nearly 81,000 streams, after being featured in an episode three montage.
Given the muscle it’s already showing with its synchs, it might only be a matter of time before The Penguin finds the right hit, new or old, to put back over the top – “Earth Angel,” perhaps? – AU
10/16/2024
The musical luminary took over New York’s Madison Square Garden as part of his short arena tour.
10/16/2024
Mariah Carey is looking back at some of the most defining moments of her career. The chanteuse sat down with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang for a new episode of the duo’s Las Culturistas podcast, where Carey revealed how much her sixth studio album, Butterfly, meant to her. “It definitely has very special significance to […]
Rising rapper Real Boston Richey completes a career milestone by earning his first top 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with “Help Me.” The single ascends 12-10 on the list dated Oct. 19 thanks to gains in radio airplay while maintaining its steady streaming results on the multimetric chart, which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data for its rankings.
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For the tracking week of Oct. 4-10, “Help Me,” released through Freebandz/Epic Records, generated 7.9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, down 1% from the previous week. Despite the decline, “Help Me” climbs 14-12 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart, where it achieved a No. 7 best in late September. The track sold a negligible number of downloads in the week and does not appear on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list.
In the airplay sector, “Help Me” registered 7.1 million audience impressions in the tracking period, a 12% improvement over the previous week. The increase aligns with the single’s 19-17 advance on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, sparked by a 16% boost for the week in format plays. “Help Me” repeats at its No. 23 best on Rhythmic Airplay, though it added 1% more plays.
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Elsewhere, “Help Me” drives 9-7 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and 56-53 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. As on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the song marks the debut appearance for the 27-year-old rapper, who, despite his stage name, hails from Tallahassee, Fla.
Although “Help Me” secures Real Boston Richey’s breakthrough on the singles’ charts, the rapper has made inroads with prior mixtapes. His Public Housing mixtape debuted at No. 22 on the Top Rap Albums chart in 2022, while Public Housing 2 improved upon its predecessor and landed a No. 15 showing in January 2023. Later that year, his debut studio album, Welcome to Bubba Land, reached No. 42 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Lil Nas X‘s 2019 smash “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, has maintained some pretty impressive records on the Billboard charts. But five years later, he’s happily passing the torch to two other artists. Last week, Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” broke the record for most weeks at No. 1 (21) on Billboard‘s Hot […]
Tuesday night (Oct. 15) was a very Mexican night at Billboard Latin Music Week‘s En Vivo, with stellar performances by Grupo Frontera and special guest Majo Aguilar.
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The outdoor stage at Wynwood Marketplace proved to be the perfect space to enjoy Aguilar, who sang in her very personal style with a mariachi band songs such as “La Negra”, “El Rey” and “Un Puño de Tierra” — one of the many hits penned by her grandfather Antonio Aguilar. She left no doubt of her intention to highlight the family and cultural traditions of a storied Mexican musical dynasty. She also paid a very personal tribute to Selena with “Si Una Vez.”
Majo Aguilar at Billboard Latin Music Week En Vivo Featuring Grupo Frontera and Majo Aguilar at Wynwood Marketplace on Oct. 15, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida.
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Aguilar warmed up the audience for Grupo Frontera, who hours previously had participated in the panel Making the Hit LIVE!, where Payo Solís (vocals), Alberto Acosta (bajo quinto), Juan Javier Cantú (accordion), Carlos Guerrero (drums), Julian Peña Jr. (percussion) and Brian Ortega (bass) made magic by creating a new cumbia in front of the audience at the Latin Music Week.
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On the Wynwood Marketplace stage, the band began with “Tulum,” the song they launched with Mexican star Peso Pluma, followed by other collaborations. Since their debut two years ago, they have become one of the hottest acts of regional mexicano and other genres.
“Di Que Sí” (recorded with Marca Registrada), “De Lunes a Lunes” (with Manuel Turizo), “Pienso en Ella” (with Gabito Ballesteros), “Alv,” “Hecha pa’ mí”, “Ojitos rojos” (with Ke Personajes), “Bebe Dame” (with Fuerza Regida), “En Altavoz” (with Junior H), ”No Se Va,” “Por Qué Será”(with Maluma), “Que Vuelvas”(with Carín León) and “El Amor de su Vida” (with Grupo Firme) were all in a setlist gifted to the fans, who sang word for word during the one-hour long show. It ended with “Un x100to” (originally recorded with Bad Bunny), which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart.
Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.
A day after Rufus Wainwright and Village People co-founder Victor Willis lashed out at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for playing their songs during a 39-minute musical interlude at one of his campaign events, the Republican National Committee has responded to the criticism.
In a statement to Billboard, RNC spokesperson Taylor Rogers noted that the campaign has the appropriate licenses from performing rights organizations BMI and ASCAP to play the music heard at the town hall in Oaks, Pa. on Monday during which the twice impeached former President halted the planned Q&A session to cue up a playlist of his favorite songs. “It’s a shame that some artists want to limit half of the country from enjoying their music,” Rogers said.
The unusual event hosted by Trump in one of the most crucial swing states was intended to be a back-and-forth with voters. But less than an hour in, after an audience member required medical attention Trump halted the proceedings and inexplicably asked his team to fire up Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”
The strange sight of convicted felon Trump doing a swaying dance to the instrumental version of that song instantly became fodder for mockery on late night programs and news casts on Tuesday. Democratic rival Kamala Harris’ X feed piled on with a trolling statement saying “hope he’s okay” along with video from the event of Trump solemnly swinging side-to-side as he listened to his playlist in the overheated room.
“Let’s not do anymore questions. Let’s just listen to music,” Trump said after a second audience member reportedly fainted from the heat. “Personally, I enjoy this,” Trump said. “We lose weight. We could do this, lose 4-5 pounds.” He then asked his for his sound person to cue up a second version of the funeral and church service staple “Ave Maria,” requesting a vocal version sung by Luciano Pavarotti.
“We’ll do a little music. Let’s make this a musical-fest,” said Trump, whose unusual request prompted NBC News to report that the incident once again put the focus on Democrats’ questions about 78-year-old Trump’s mental acuity with just three weeks to go before the Nov. 5 presidential election; if elected a second time, Trump would be the oldest president in the nation’s history.
In addition to the “Ave Maria” double-down, Trump spun Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” as well as Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain,” James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” Elvis’ “An American Trilogy,” the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” and Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye,” another song often played at funerals.
Harris supporter Wainwright issued a statement on Tuesday blasting Trump for playing his version of Cohen’s beloved, oft-covered 1984 hymn.
“The song ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen has become an anthem dedicated to peace, love and acceptance of the truth. I’ve been supremely honored over the years to be connected with this ode to tolerance,” wrote Wainwright. “Witnessing Trump and his supporters commune with this music last night was the height of blasphemy. Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.” The statement also noted that the publishing company for the Cohen estate has sent a cease-and-desist order to the Trump campaign.”
GNR and O’Connor’s reps have publicly requested that Trump not to play their music during his campaign stops, and the Village People threatened to sue the former reality TV star last year over a lookalike band playing their hits at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida private. Trump has long been enamored with the group’s 1978 queer disco classic, which he plays a many of his events; spokespeople for GNR and O’Connor’s estate had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on Trump’s event.
In a statement sent to Billboard on Tuesday morning, Village People co-founder, “Y.M.C.A.” lyricist and one of the owners of the song’s copyright Victor Willis wrote, “I have been inundated with hundreds of complaints from the public and press about Donald Trump and his campaign’s use of my song,” he said. “Me, and the Village People as well, have in the past opposed Trump’s use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and we have made this very clear to him.”
While Willis acknowledged that Trump has continued to play the song because he is “legally entitled” to thanks to what the RNC said in its statement is the proper licensing, he noted that despite his objections he will not be taking legal action at this time. “Could I have asked my wife, who’s a lawyer, to have BMI revoke his political use license… yes,” Willis said, adding that he decided not to because Trump’s repeated spins have “greatly benefited” the song.
“Some fans are demanding that I sue. I am not going to sue the President over his use of ‘Y.M.C.A.’ because it’s stupid and just plain hateful,” Willis said. “Though I don’t dislike Trump, I am a registered Democrat who supports Kamala Harris for President.” He added that Harris is also free to play the song if she wants to.
Trump has accrued a long list of artists who have objected to his use of their songs at his events, including, over two weeks this summer, Beyoncé, the Foo Fighters and Jack White, who blasted him for using their music without permission. They joined a long roster of acts who’ve made similar requests since Trump launched his first presidential bid in 2015, one that includes: Adele, Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, Celine Dion, Earth, Wind & Fire, George Harrison, Neil Young, Isaac Hayes, Linkin Park, Nickelback, Ozzy Osbourne, Prince’s estate and R.E.M., among many others.
On today’s (Oct. 16) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we kick off the top 10 of our list with a singer-songwriter who defied pretty much every trend that defined pop music at the outset of the 2010s — and still zoomed past everyone else to become the best-selling artist […]
VivaOla, an R&B artist born in Korea and raised in Tokyo, released his second full album, APORIE VIVANT, in March. His progressive style, inspired by Bryson Tiller’s album Trapsoul, has generated a great deal of buzz, and he recently released a new song, “RIGHT/WRONG,” which features Jimmy Brown, a globally active R&B artist based in Korea. This is the second collaboration between the two, following Jimmy’s 2022 song “bag on you,” on which VivaOla appeared. The borderless style of “RIGHT/WRONG,” with lyrics switching between English, Japanese, and Korean, embodies today’s music environment, where music has global reach.
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Billboard Japan had the opportunity to talk to these two artists, whose roots lie in R&B but whose creativity crosses genre lines and national borders.
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To start off with, VivaOla, could you introduce Jimmy Brown?
VivaOla: Jimmy’s an artist based in Korea who releases songs in English, with an eye toward fan bases in North America and Europe. He’s been a part of the global R&B scene for a while now, so I’d known about him for a while, but a shared Korean acquaintance of ours put me in touch with him. In 2022, I was a featured vocalist on his song “bag on you,” which I recorded remotely, without ever meeting him in person. We finally met for the first time at Shibuya in August 2023, when he came to Japan on vacation. I grew up listening to R&B from the 2000s and the 2010s, and I could feel that same musical influence in his vocals and songs. His music really resonated with me, and when I found out later that the “Brown” in Jimmy Brown came from Chris Brown, one of his favorite R&B singers, it made perfect sense.
Jimmy Brown: Thank you. I think VivaOla’s appeal lies in his beautiful singing voice. When I was working on “bag on you,” I knew that it would be a great song if I could get his voice on it, so I asked him to be a featured artist. The song was positive to begin with, but his addition increased those vibes, and I love how the song came out.
VivaOla: I work a lot with Kenya Fujita from Bleecker Chrome, who appears as a featured artist on my new album, APORIE VIVANT, and he was also talking about how he had to “catch the vibes.” It made me realize, again, that it’s more important to catch that vibe rather than the sound or style of the song. In “bag on you,” money represents love. Money’s a sensitive topic that I handle in my own works, too. I used a lot of trial and error in writing “bag on you,” and I was able to tie it all together with the message of loving someone so much you want to give them everything, even if you don’t have any money. I’m glad that Jimmy and I were able to arrive at that same message.
Tell us how you went from collaborating on “bag on you” to, two years later, featuring Jimmy on your own song with your second collab, “RIGHT/WRONG.”
VivaOla: For me, 2022 was a year of collaborations, but out of the many I did that year, “bag on you” was my favorite, in terms of the mix, the lyrics, and the vibe. Following the release of APORIE VIVANT, I’ve written a lot of songs with producer Kota Matsukawa (founder of creative collective and label w.a.u). I knew one of the songs would be even better if we had a featuring artist, so I consulted with Kota about who we should go with, and we were like “Jimmy Brown would be great, wouldn’t he?” After releasing “bag on you,” I’d met Jimmy in person and gotten a feel for what a wonderful person he was, so I wanted him to collaborate with me on one of my own songs. My songs are about all kinds of topics, like our internal struggles, but the theme of this new song with Jimmy was straightforward: love. Kenya and I worked on the songwriting together, and we both talked about how we wanted to write a song that would excite Jimmy.
In “bag on you,” Jimmy depicts love in a positive way, but “RIGHT/WRONG” feels more in line with your style, VivaOla, not necessarily depicting love as always positive.
VivaOla: Right, it’s a little bit dark. But even though there’s this dark part, as you point out, the verse section is ultra-positive. I was hoping Jimmy would use a Chris Brown-like vocal approach, and I was really happy to feel that Chris Brown feeling in his verse section, where the groove is in double-time.
On your latest album, APORIE VIVANT, which came out in March, you embodied the spirit of trap soul, inspired by Bryson Tiller. What sound approach did you use on your new song?
VivaOla: Stylistically, I carried on the feel of APORIE VIVANT, but while the actual sounds are trap, I wasn’t fixated on the music itself being trap. That’s why I didn’t use the rapid-fire rapping of trap, but instead tried for a more alternative rap feel, like Frank Ocean.
Jimmy, what do you think of VivaOla’s music?
Jimmy Brown: It’s got a very modern sound. If you listen to our verses, you’ll be able to hear the things we have in common and also our differences. For both of us, our roots lie in American R&B, but there are some major differences in how we stretch out our voices, the parts we stretch out, and how we use our vocal cords. Before I was exposed to R&B, I grew up in the Korean countryside, listening to [traditional] Korean ballads, which I think influenced me. Likewise, I think VivaOla was influenced by his experience with rock and jazz, before he got into R&B. But I don’t think these are things we’re consciously trying to bring out, they’re part of our respective characters, the products of our backgrounds.
VivaOla: In my case, I often overthink my singing approach, so I end up circling around to singing without thinking about it, but Jimmy doesn’t overthink things, he’s a very genuine artist. The two of us are alike in that neither of us is really all up in our own heads when we’re singing, but my approach is the exact opposite of Jimmy’s. I think that’s what draws us to each other, and our approaches harmonize within the same song.
So you’re more of a producer-style singer-songwriter, VivaOla, while you, Jimmy, are more of a natural-born singer-songwriter. And your contrasting styles resonate in “RIGHT/WRONG.”
Jimmy Brown: I’m a very simple man (laughs).
Can we look forward to hearing more collaborations between you two in the future?
VivaOla: “bag on you” and “RIGHT/WRONG” were positioned as one-offs, with each of us appearing as featured artists on each other’s songs. If we work together again, I think it would be fun for us to go into the studio together, creating music from the ground up and releasing it under both of our names.
—This interview by Yu Onoda first appeared on Billboard Japan. It was conducted in Japanese then translated into English
Billboard Latin Music Week continued on its third day Oct. 16 with a panel on The Winning Combination of Sports and Music presented by Walmart.
The conversation, moderated by athlete manager Daniella Durán, gathered artists Piso 21 and Guillermo Novellis of La Mosca Tsé Tsé, and soccer stars Igor Lichnovsky (Inter Miami, Club América) and Leonardo “Leo” Campana (Inter Miami).
“There’s mutual admiration,” Piso 21’s Juan David “El Profe” said. “Many soccer players want to be artists, and many artists have that frustrated dream of being a soccer player.”
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“It’s true,” Campana noted. “I play soccer, but I would rather be an artist. I’m the type of person who likes to consume a music album from beginning to end.”
During the conversation, Novellis shared how his song “Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” became a soccer anthem in Argentina.
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“When Leo Messi heard it, the song went viral,” the Argentine rock artist said. “Everything else was thanks to soccer, the people, the seven [soccer] matches, the astros aligning. That song is always going to be related to the happiest moments of all Argentineans and Messi.”
“Music is everything to an athlete … it’s motivation, dopamine,” Lichnovsky added. “I train with music, I change in the locker room with music. It plays a very important role in everyone’s mood … Music generates happiness and that connection with people. They can see that we are human beings and we can have fun too.”
Meanwhile, Piso 21 — whose latest single, “Fichaje del Año,” in collaboration with Ozuna, was inspired by sports — announced that their new album is dropping this week.
“The idea is to let yourself be surprised and to enjoy the whole album: 10 new songs, produced by Icon Music,” Piso 21’s Lorduy said. “We have been working on this whole album for a year. 2.1 is an album of renewal and evolution for Piso 21. There will be music to refresh, to dedicate, and to dance to.”
Over the past 35 years, Latin Music Week has become the one, steady foundation of Latin music in this country, becoming the single most important — and biggest — gathering of Latin artists and industry executives in the world. Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.