Trending Up

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: The original Wicked cast album gets a big bump in anticipation of the imminent film adaptation, Jake Paul uses a rock classic to (maybe) take a pre-fight musical swipe at Mike Tyson, a Grammy nominee enjoys a nice winning streak and more.

‘Wicked’ Week Boosts Original Broadway Cast Album & Select Ariana Grande Tracks 

After decades of development, Wicked is finally hitting the silver screen! On Friday (Nov. 2), the film adaptation of the beloved Tony-winning Broadway musical will open in theaters across the U.S. In the lead up to the film, which will star Grammy winners Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Galinda), fans have been turning to the original Broadway cast album to hold them over. 

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According to Luminate, the 2003 Wicked cast recording has risen 60% in streaming activity from between the first two weeks of November. During Nov. 1-7, the album earned 4.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, with that figure jumping to 7.8 million during Nov. 8-14. Led by musical theatre icons Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the original Wicked cast recording features several songs that have earned significant streaming boosts as the film adaptation draws nearer. 

“Defying Gravity,” which Erivo and Grande will perform to close the film, is up 47% streams from 909,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (Nov. 1-7) to 1.34 million (Nov. 8-14). Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey will take on the role of Fiyero in the 2024 film, performing “Dancing Through Life,” which is up 62% in streams. The lengthy track, which was originally performed by Norbert Leo Butz, earned over 453,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during Nov. 8-14. “No One Mourns the Wicked,” the musical’s moving opening number, is also up 63% in streams, collecting over 417,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during Nov. 8-14. 

The anticipation for Grande’s take on “Popular” has also spurred streaming gains for Chenoweth’s original. “Popular” is up 64% in streams from 562,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (Nov. 1-7) to 923,000 (Nov. 8-14). On her 2013 Billboard 200-topping debut album Yours Truly, Grande included a collaboration with MIKA titled “Popular Song” that interpolates elements of the Wicked classic. That duet is up 66% in streams from 113,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (Nov. 1-7) to 189,000 (Nov. 8-14). 

Grande also covered “The Wizard and I” for 2019’s A Very Wicked Halloween 15-year anniversary special, and that version was tacked onto a commemorative re-release of the Wicked cast album. Grande’s rendition of the showstopper – which will be performed by Erivo in the film – pulled over 22,000 streams during Nov. 1-7. The following week (Nov. 8-14), that number jumped by a whipping 82% to over 40,000 streams. The original version of “The Wizard And I” is performed by Menzel and the late Carole Shelley, who originated the role of Madame Morrible that Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh will assume in the film. Their version jumped 64% in streaming activity from 294,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (Nov. 1-7) to 483,000 (Nov. 8-14). 

As crowds flock to Wicked expect to see more gains for the original Broadway cast recording – and a notable debut for the film soundtrack, which will arrive on Nov. 22 through Republic and Verve. — KYLE DENIS

Well If You Told Me You Were Boxing: Jake Paul Lends a Hand to a Phil Collins Classic

It was one of the most surreal (and most watched) sporting events of the year: the 27-year-old influencer-turned-pugilist Jake Paul taking on 58-year-old all-time boxing legend Mike Tyson in a Netflix-streamed Friday night fight (Nov. 15). Though many watching wanted to see the former undisputed heavyweight champion give the YouTube superstar a spanking, Paul ended up winning the much-hyped bout in a unanimous decision. Another less-likely winner from the evening, however, was another legend even more veteran than Tyson: U.K. pop and rock great Phil Collins.

Collins ended up soundtracking part of the evening, as Paul used the Genesis frontman’s eternal 1981 solo debut single “In the Air Tonight” as his entrance music – likely a winking pre-ring jab at the champ, who sang (and drummed) along to the song in a famous scene from the 2009 comedy The Hangover. Whatever Paul’s intent, the music did its job: Not only did he win the fight, but “Tonight” totaled 779,000 official on-demand U.S. streams over the following Saturday and Sunday, up 47% from the equivalent period the prior week, according to Luminate. (Tyson’s own walkout song, “Murdergram” (by Jay-Z, DMX and Ja Rule, recording collectively as Murder Inc.), was up 185% to 9,000 streams.)

Another non-entrance song seeing related gains this week? DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s 1989 hit “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson,” which racked up nearly 15,000 streams combined over Friday and Saturday, up from under 1,000 over the same period the prior week. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

PartyNextDoor Eyes Eleventh Hour 2024 Hit with a Nine-Year-Old Leak 

With PartyNextDoor 4, PartyNextDoor became one of the select few artists to reach the Billboard 200’s top 10 with a newly released R&B album – but his latest hit isn’t even on that project. 

“Dreamin” originally leaked alongside a slew of other PND tracks back in 2015, but thanks to a viral unofficial remix from rising artist Zayskii, the Grammy-nominated star uploaded the original track to DSPs two weeks ago (Nov. 3). During the first week of the month (Nov. 1-7), “Dreamin” earned 2.42 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. By the following week (Nov. 8-14), that figure ballooned 100% to 4.85 million streams. 

Zayskii (@onlyzayskii) first uploaded a snippet of his remix on Oct. 18, with a post captioned “Partynextdoor remix?” To date, the snippet has earned 6.3 million views and over 1.1 million likes; there are now over 61,000 posts soundtracked by that snippet.  

With the original version finally on DSPs, “Dreamin” will likely continue to grow. Time will tell if that buzzy remix also gets an official release. — KD

Doechii Experiences the ‘Heal’ing Powers of Grammy Nominations & Live Moments

It’s been a great couple of weeks for Florida rapper-singer Doechii, whose Alligator Bites Never Heal mixtape was released to strong reviews but little commercial fanfare back in August. She’s belatedly getting her due for the set this month, however – particularly with the nominations she landed for next February’s Grammys: best rap album for Bites and best rap performance for its lead single “Nissan Altima.”  

Those nominations, announced Nov. 8, have proven well-timed for Doechii, who has since wrapped her accompanying tour for the album and performed at the Tyler, the Creator-curated Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival (Nov. 16) – all of which has driven extra ears to her recent set and its lead single, which has also enjoyed some extra TikTok attention lately. The album drew 5.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams this past tracking week (ending Nov. 14), according to Luminate – a 40% gain from the prior week – while “Nissan Altima” was up 29% to over 1.7 million streams on its own. 

The good momentum should just keep growing for Doechii through this Friday’s Musicians on Musicians event at New York’s Apollo Theater, which will see her speaking and performing alongside Brittany Howard, Busta Rhymes and GloRilla. — AU

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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See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

This week: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’ new collab looks to be another steady-growing success, a Beyoncé classic goes re-viral on its own and in mashup form, victory anthems for the two New York baseball teams prove postseason-ready and much more.

‘APT.’ Unlocked: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars Team-Up Starts Off Strong on Streaming

Watch out, Luka Doncic, James Harden and Tyrese Haliburton: as a new NBA season gets underway, Bruno Mars has already become the king of the assist this fall. After teaming up with Lady Gaga on “Die With a Smile,” which has spent its entire nine-week run on the Billboard Hot 100 within the top 10, Mars jumped on “APT.,” the lead single from ROSÉ’s forthcoming debut solo project — and has likely helped the BLACKPINK star score the biggest chart hit of her career so far.

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The catchy, clap-along pop collaboration has been one of the biggest streaming hits in both the U.S. and the world since its release last Friday (Oct. 18): in its first four days of release, “APT.” earned 13.32 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate, while also topping Spotify’s global and U.S. daily streaming charts. Its daily streaming numbers also represent a positive sign for its continued momentum, as “APT.” started with 3.57 million U.S. streams on Friday, and cracked 3 million daily streams for each of the next three days, while also selling 5,700 downloads over that opening four-day period.

We’ll see how high “APT.” can bow on next week’s Hot 100, but there’s a great chance that the Mars assist will help ROSÉ score the highest-charting solo track from a member of K-pop superstars BLACKPINK; “One of the Girls,” the song from The Idol by The Weeknd, JENNIE and Lily Rose Depp, peaked at No. 51 last year, and both ROSÉ and LISA made it to No. 70 with “On the Ground” and “Rockstar,” respectively. Meanwhile, BLACKPINK’s highest-charting Hot 100 hit is their Selena Gomez collaboration “Ice Cream,” which peaked at No. 13. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Viral Dance Trend & Unofficial GloRilla Mashup Boost 16-Year-Old Beyoncé Hit 

Despite being the target of a bizarre conspiracy campaign on TikTok, Beyoncé has bounced back with her latest viral hit on the platform. According to Luminate, “Diva” — a single from her Billboard 200-topping I Am… Sasha Fierce album that peaked at No. 19 on the Hot 100 in 2009 – earned over 737,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Oct. 11-17. That marks an eye-opening 108% increase from the 354,000 streams it collected during the period of Oct. 4-10. 

Beyoncé has famously updated the original music video choreography for “Diva” with each successive tour and festival appearance. She’s also kept the song current by mixing it with trending hip-hop songs ranging from Future’s “F–k Up Some Commas” to Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock.” On TikTok, a dance trend blending choreography from Queen Bey’s “Diva” renditions at Coachella 2018 and the Renaissance World Tour has gone viral, helping the song increase in streams. Donte Colley, a dancer and choreographer who went viral this year for the trend he sparked with Nicki Minaj’s “FTCU,” perfected the choreography combination and posted his original clip on Sept. 17. That clip has amassed over six million views, and a more recent video of him performing the routine (Oct. 6) has collected over 26.4 million views. Colley soundtrack his video with an unofficial mashup of “Diva” and GloRilla’s “TGIF” courtesy of DJ Jacob Dior. That TikTok sound now boasts over 64,000 posts, while the official “Diva” sound plays in over 343,000 posts. 

Beyoncé may still be in her country era, but she’ll always be one of TikTok’s favorite divas. – KYLE DENIS

Start Spreading the Streams: Two New York Baseball Anthems Up Following Postseason Runs

The New York Mets’ high-octane run through the first two rounds of the MLB playoffs came to an end on Sunday night, as the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated them in six games to move onto the World Series. It was still a highly memorable postseason for the Mets, who had previously won a thrilling back-and-forth three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers and a less-suspenseful four-game drubbing of division rivals the Philadelphia Phillies – as well as a new good-luck charm in the form of McDonald’s mascot Grimace, and a new theme song in the crowd-pleasing “OMG.” 

The Latin pop banger – with a drawn-out “Oh! My! God!” chorus hook – became a Mets fan favorite (and a Billboard chart-topper) after being released in June by Candelita, artist identity of Mets shortstop José Iglesias. The defensive stalwart’s breakout hit became a clubhouse anthem for the team, as the team also brought an “OMG” sign to the clubhouse, which they would pose for photos with anytime someone on the roster hit a home run. The song went viral nationally over the course of the Mets’ postseason run, rising by 523% in official on-demand U.S. streams from 146,000 on the tracking week ending Oct. 3 to nearly 910,000 for the week ending Oct. 17, according to Luminate. (A new remix of the song featuring Pitbull and Silvestre Dangond, released Oct. 11, no doubt also helped in those rising totals.) 

Those streams will likely die down in the weeks to come, following the Mets’ postseason elimination, but their Big Apple rivals in the Bronx will probably see their own longer-established singalong anthem continue to gain in the meantime. Frank Sinatra’s “Theme From ‘New York, New York,” which has served as the Yankees’ victory song for well over 40 years now, has risen 24% in streams to over 864,000 over the same two-week period. It saw an even bigger bump this past Sunday (Oct. 20), racking up 180,000 streams following the Yankees’ Cleveland Guardians-eliminating Game Five ALCS victory the night before – a 59% gain over the prior Sunday – as the Yanks head to face the Dodgers in the World Series, and more and more listeners want to be a part of it. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Goofy ‘Gilmore Girls’ Trend Lifts Decade-Old Years & Years Song 

Although Years & Years has effectively morphed into a solo project for Olly Alexander, the British electropop outfit is still snagging hits. Streams for “Breathe” — a cover of the 2003 Blu Cantrell and Sean Paul hit that appears on the super deluxe edition of the band’s 2015 Communion LP – have risen by over 100% for the past three weeks. During the period of Oct. 11-17, the track earned nearly 1.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams, marking a whopping 1,603% increase from the 81,000 streams it earned during the period of Sept. 27-Oct. 3. 

A Sept. 17 TikTok post laying a Gilmore Girls clip over the Years & Years track is responsible for the streaming boost. In the original clip, Kirk Gleason tells the father of his love interest, “I love your daughter.” The father then replies, “Who are you to love my daughter? What do you have to offer her?” “Nothing,” Kirk responds. “Only this.” He then breaks out into an improvised dance number soundtracked by “Breathe.” TikTok users have quickly put their own spin on the scene, with some opting to act as Kirk and show off goofy dance moves of their own. The audio from the original TikTok post, courtesy of user @clozvr, currently plays in over 145,000 clips, while another unofficial sound boasts over 39,000 posts. There are also over 210,000 posts currently attached to the official “Breathe” sound. 

Years & Years have never had a Hot 100 entry, but if the streams for “Breathe” continue to increase, there’s a possibility that they will change that. 

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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See latest videos, charts and news

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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

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.  This week: Netflix has a new hit series on its hands and many alt-pop artists are benefiting from it, an ’00s indie rock classic proves timeless once again, it’s Girl in Red season again and much more.

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‘Nobody Wants This,’ But Lots of People Want the Soundtrack

The new Netflix series Nobody Wants This is one of the breakout hits of this late-2024 TV season, with good reviews and word-of-mouth buzz spreading the Kristen Bell and Adam Brody co-starring series – about the romantic relationship between a podcaster and a rabbi, and the reactions of their respective families and communities – all over social media and pop culture. That of course extends to the series’ soundtrack, which is stacked with synchs from some of the most popular and acclaimed alt-pop artists of the past decade-plus, as well as some exciting new up-and-comers. 

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Perhaps the biggest beneficiary so far has been Francis and the Lights’ “See Her Out (That’s Just Life),” which plays in multiple key scenes in the season, including during the first kiss between Bell’s and Brody’s characters. The song racked up 432,000 official on-demand streams in the U.S. last week (ending Oct. 3) following the show’s Sept. 26 debut, up from just 13,000 streams the prior frame – an eye-popping gain of 3,157%, according to Luminate. Multiple songs from star sister trio HAIM are also featured, with the group’s “Now I’m in It” jumping 120% to 177,000 streams over the same period, while “You & I” from veteran Swedish pop singer-songwriter LÉON is also up 245% to 196,000. 

The series has also had a big impact on the catalog of newer singer-songwriter Anna Graves, who has a couple songs featured in the series. Her “Fly” is up 304% to 63,000 streams over this period, while her “When the Love Is Gone” spikes 615% to 41,000 streams. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Wait, They Don’t TikTok Like I TikTok: Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Maps’ Gets a Viral Trend

Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps”: early-00’s classic, timeless alt-rock love song, iconic music video, the anthem that unwittingly launched Karen O and co. towards indie stardom. And now, more than 20 years after the 2003 single’s release, “Maps” is getting the viral treatment on TikTok thanks to the “Maps Dance,” in which a remixed version of the song soundtracks users shaking their hips and hitting them with their hands, then pausing (or moving in slow motion) when Karen O declares, “Wait!,” as in, “Wait! They don’t love you like I love you!”

The TikTok trend has helped “Maps” nearly double in U.S. on-demand weekly streams over a two-week period: the YYYs track earned 1.49 million streams during the week ending on Oct. 3, according to Luminate, up from 766,000 streams for the week ending Sept. 19. “Maps” crept onto the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 87 in 2004; depending on how this trend grows, maybe the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can hip-shake back onto the chart two decades later. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

‘Joker’ Sequel & Harlequin LP Lift Lady Gaga’s Jazz Catalog 

Although Joker: Folie à Deux has suffered from dismal reviews and a disastrous box office performance, there is a silver lining for the film’s leading lady. Lady Gaga, who portrays Harley Quinn in the new film, injects the Joker sequel with her love for jazz standards, which spilled over into both Harlequin, her new Billboard chart-topping companion album featuring both covers and original cuts, and even to a couple her older jazz collections. 

According to Luminate, combined official on-demand U.S. streams for Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale – Gaga’s two Grammy-winning duets albums with the late Tony Bennett – have risen 30% since the release of Harlequin (Sept. 27). During the period of Sept. 20-26, the two LPs earned about 380,000 combined official on-demand U.S. streams. That figure ballooned to over 490,000 combined streams in the week following Harlequin’s release (Sept. 27-Oct. 3). It’s unlikely – but not completely out of the question – that Harlequin will launch a Hot 100 hit, but its arrival has spurred some gains for Gaga’s non-pop catalog. A win is a win! 

Latto Squeezes Another Streaming Hit Out of ‘Sugar Honey Iced Tea’ 

Latto’s Billboard chart-topping Sugar Honey Iced Tea already boasts streaming hits like “Big Mama” and “Brokey,” and it looks like “Georgia Peach,” the record’s intro, could join those ranks. 

Bolstered by a rise in social media adoration for the song – alongside the album and Latto in general – official on-demand U.S. streams for “Georgia Peach” have risen over 83% from Sept. 27-20 to Oct. 4-7, according to Luminate. During the period of Sept. 27-30, the Southern hip-hop banger collected over 588,000 streams, which rose to over 1.07 million streams during the period of Oct. 4-7. On TikTok, the official “Georgia Peach” sound boasts nearly 30,000 clips, while an unofficial upload soundtracks a further 13,000 videos. 

Although “Georgia Peach” does have an official music video, it’s rise in popularity isn’t tied to that clip, a dance trend or anything else. Should its streams continue to rise, “Georgia Peach” could become the fourth Hot 100 entry from Sugar Honey Iced Tea. — KD

Q&A: Sarah Patellos, Head of Spotify Music Studios, on What’s Trending Up in Her World

How did the Spotify Anniversaries series idea form?

This concept was born as a result of a few creative inspirations from our team. We wanted to find a way to celebrate iconic catalog music, especially as we’ve seen listeners engage positively in that space over the past few years. Our Los Angeles Spotify Studio is an incredible space that has always birthed creativity, so the idea of bringing artists into the space to revisit their classics as a series felt like it had a lot of potential. It would give existing fans something new to experience, while engaging new fans in discovering the music for the first time.

From that initial internal excitement, we started to build out what the series would be. On that would exist through music and video. Knowing that every project’s lifespan is unique, our thought was to allow for a flexible anniversary window that made sense for each album and artists’ milestones.  That gave us a wide canvas to find the right projects to bring back to life.

How did you decide on the artists and projects that made sense for the series, and what goes into each one?

Spotify Anniversaries celebrates the staying power of iconic albums. We’ve worked with artists from different genres, but the throughline is the timelessness of the projects we’re celebrating. From Isaiah Rashad’s EP Cilvia Demo to Weezer’s The Blue Album to Christina Aguilera’s debut album Christina Aguilera – we are honored to have the opportunity to help celebrate these anniversaries.

For each episode, we invite the artists to perform 4-6 songs from the project, ideally both the hits and the tracks that embody this milestone for the project. We partner closely with the artist to create an environment in our Spotify Studio that feels aesthetically right for the project and their vision, but keep it really focused on the live performance and the quality of the studio recording.

What have been some highlights thus far?

Our first episode with Isaiah Rashad felt incredibly special – he is such a captivating performer and really set the stage for the vision of this series. For Christina Aguilera, her special guests Ron Fair, Heather Holley, mgk and Sabrina Carpenter brought a unique element to the making of the project, while also reimagining and bringing new life to it.

Weezer was also a highlight. The band chose the direction to perform facing each other, which led to a really natural conversation and allowed the meaning of the project amongst the band to shine beautifully. Not only were the songs being revisited, but watching the band connect face-to-face created a unique experience, and that’s one of the reasons why that episode in particular has been so impactful. It’s a great example how artists can take the series and steer it into their own creative space.

How has Spotify Anniversaries impacted engagement with those projects on the Spotify platform?

The beauty of this project is that is led by music, but supported by video on socials and YouTube. Each Spotify Anniversaries episode has a live EP that lives exclusively on platform. We’ve seen incredible responses to each EP release – the Christina/Sabrina collab was even seen on New Music Friday and Teen Beats. The more this program grows, the more ways we are testing the use of other products to make this even more layered. – JL

Season’s Gainings: Leaves Turning, Pumpkin Spice Lattes Arriving & Girl in Red Rising

If Earth, Wind & Fire’s moment has already passed and you’re not hearing Ray Parker Jr. and Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers everyone just yet, that must mean it’s Girl in Red season. As happens annually around this time of year, the Norwegian singer-songwriter born Marie Ulven Ringheim is rising on streaming with her indie-pop modern classic “We Fell in Love in October” – with the song racking up 3.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams over the first four days of the month, a 73% gain from the 2.1 million combined streams of the prior four-day period. The song even hit a new all-time peak of No. 38 on the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart, suggesting that folks are falling even more in love with Girl in Red this October. – AU 

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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See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

This week: Ryan Murphy’s new FX series about the Menendez Brothers inspires streaming gains for a heavily featured late-’80s act, dance crazes help a new viral hit by Odetari and an old one by Freak Nasty, and can you believe it’s Sept. 21 again already?

‘Menendez Story’ Drives Streaming Gains for Milli Vanilli’s Catalog 

The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story – the latest installment in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters anthology series – has unsurprisingly inspired loads of controversy and discourse, but it’s also inspired some new interest in Milli Vanilli’s catalog. 

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The vocal duo, best known for their three 1989 Hot 100 chart-toppers and the infamous revocation of their best new artist Grammy after being exposed for lip-syncing,also plays a key musical role in the first few episodes of Menendez Story. The opening episode features three of their biggest hits — “Girl You Know It’s True,” “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” and “Blame It on the Rain” — even earning its title from the latter. Though the events of Menendez story take place several years after Milli Vanilli’s reign, the duo’s music is used to help set the scene and explore the two brothers’ friendship. 

“Blame It On the Rain,” the most prominently featured Milli Vanilli track in the series, posted at 68% increase in streaming activity, going from 75,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Sept. 13-16 to over 125,000 streams in the four-day period following the series premiere on Netflix (Sept. 20-23). Similarly, “Girl You Know It’s True” jumped 32.5% in streaming activity to nearly 135,000 streams (Sept. 20-23). “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” earned the biggest streaming increase out of all three tracks, exploding a whopping 258% from 28,000 streams (Sept. 13-16) to 103,000 streams (Sept. 20-23). Overall, streams for Milli Vanilli’s entire catalog leapt 114% after the release of Menendez Story, crossing 552,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Sept. 20-23. – KYLE DENIS

‘Perfect Couple,’ Perfect Synch: Nicole Kidman Helps Meghan Trainor Dance Up in Streams

The Perfect Couple, the latest bestselling book-turned streaming series starring Nicole Kidman, has been a smash hit for Netflix since premiering earlier this month — and while the mystery involves a murder taking place at a posh wedding, the opening of each episode showcases a much lighter mood than the high-stakes family drama. Kidman, along with costars like Liev Schreiber and Meghann Fahy, spend the theme performing a full-cast, choreographed dance routine on a beach, turning in slow motion and clapping as a voice sings, “Anything that feels this good / Well, it must be illegal, it must be illegal.”

That voice belongs to Meghan Trainor, whose track “Criminals” serves as the theme song for The Perfect Couple after being featured on the deluxe edition of her June album Timeless. And the streaming synch has already helped “Criminals” triple up in streams compared to its pre-Perfect Couple numbers: after earning 263,000 U.S. on-demand streams the week prior to the show’s Sept. 5 premiere, according to Luminate, the song earned 972,000 streams during the week ending Sept. 19, along with 2,400 in weekly digital sales. 

While “Criminals” has yet to hit the Hot 100, the song’s rise is arriving at an enjoyable moment for Trainor, who’s celebrating the 10-year anniversary of “All About That Bass,” and performing at New York’s Madison Square Garden tonight. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Fraternity Rush Season Revives Freak Nasty’s “Da’ Dip” 

It’s still early in the school year, which means that rush season is in full effect. In a natural progression of the undergraduate fraternity rush process, many pledges now document their journeys to brotherhood on TikTok. Part of that process now includes filming adorably dorky TikTok dance trends – including the latest viral choreography to Freak Nasty’s 1997 smash “Da’ Dip.” 

 The dominant choreography template was originated by user @varsnikk earlier this year (Aug. 14), but as is the case with most TikTok dance trends, the moves have become more simplified as the trend became more viral. That original clip boasts over 700,000 views, while the official “Da’ Dip” TikTok sound now plays in nearly 350,000 posts. Several major stars have hopped on the trend – including Matthew Morrison and Ice Spice – but the recent uptick in engagement has been spurred in large part by “#pledgetok” videos. Essentially, pledges (prospective members of a fraternity) execute the dance trend while commenters around the world cheer on their awkward moves and laud their favorite “divas.” Normally, the young men are dressed in some combination of a navy sports jacket and khakis, and they execute the dance with fellow members of their pledge class. 

According to Luminate, “Da’ Dip” earned over 320,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of Sept. 13-19. That marks a 95% increase in streaming activity from three weeks prior (Aug. 23-29), when the beloved Miami bass track pulled in just over 165,000 streams. “Da’ Dip” has ballooned in streams for each of the past few weeks, helping the track notch a No. 16 debut on the Billboard TikTok Top 50 (chart dated Sept. 21). Should “Da’ Dip” continue its streaming revival, Freak Nasty could add a few more chart accolades to the No. 15 Hot 100 peak the track earned back in 1997. – KD

Numbers Going Strong: Odetari Manages to ‘Keep Up’ Momentum With New Viral Hit

In January, Billboard Dance editor Katie Bain wrote a digital cover story about Odetari (along with frequent collaborator 6arelyhuman) asking if they were the future of dance music; eight months later, the former is providing further evidence that he just might be. His adrenalized new single “Keep Up” – which sounds like the perfect gamer soundtrack, down to its verses even lifting a bit of the melody from the classic Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone theme – has been steadily taking off since its July release. 

Sonic edits have actually played a big part in the song’s viral success on TikTok – including a couple posted by the producer himself – to the point where a Change.org petition to get the song included in the third Sonic the Hedgehog movie is just a few hundred signatures away from its 5,000 goal. An associated dance has also played a major part in the song’s social media proliferation, with the song’s rapid pace making it a particular degree-of-difficulty challenge. 

It’s all added up to help “Keep Up” increase by millions of streams over the past few weeks. The song racked up 4.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Sept. 19, which is up 91% from where it was three weeks earlier, according to Luminate. It’s already on No. 21 on the Bubbling Under chart – so if it keeps it up, Odetari might not be too far away from his first-ever Hot 100 hit. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Season’s Gainings: “September,” Remembered Once More

If you missed observing September Day this year, you’d probably be forgiven – it came over the weekend, and once again with no Demi Adejuyigbe celebratory viral video, with the writer/comedian having retired from his once-annual duties in 2021. But fear not, plenty still remembered the 21st night of September: Earth, Wind & Fire‘s signature 1979 smash racked up a little over 1.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams on Saturday, a 144% gain from the previous week. That is down just a little from the nearly 1.8 mil the song pulled on Sept. 21, 2023, though – so if anyone wants to pick up the torch from Adejuyigbe before the song really starts to reverse momentum and risk losing its perennial status, you’ve got a year to figure out how. – AU

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: VMAs winners and performers get a nice uptick in streams and sales, an outpouring of posthumous affection for Frankie Beverly results in huge gains in consumption for the Maze catalog, and Britney Spears fans have a very unusual day of celebration for one of her exes.

The VMAs Bump: Chappell Roan, Benson Boone, ‘Fortnight’ & More of the Night’s Winners See Gains

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As usual, the big wins from MTV’s 41st annual Video Music Awards on Wednesday (Sept. 11) came not only on stage, but also in the days that followed on DSPs and music retailers. A number of the reigning artists from last week — both in terms of moonpeople taken home and major performances delivered on stage — enjoyed strong gains in the consumption of their catalogs and hits following the awards show.

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And as has often been the case so far in 2024, perhaps the biggest winner there was Chappell Roan. The rising alt-pop star took home the award for best new artist, and also had perhaps the most highly anticipated (and later-buzzed-about) performance of the night, playing breakout hit “Good Luck, Babe!” in medieval armor, flanked by an array of dancing swordsmen. Over the three days following the VMAs (Sept. 12-14), “Good Luck, Babe!” racked up 9.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 2,700 digital song sales — gains of 20% and 152%, respectively, from the three-day period prior to the VMAs (Sept. 8-10), according to Luminate — while her entire catalog combined for 41.6 million streams and 6,5000 sales over that same period, gains of 22% and 116%, respectively. (In an average week, songs will often stream better from Thursday to Saturday than from Sunday to Tuesday, though usually not to such a sizable degree.)

Chappell wasn’t the only winner-performer to see such gains: Benson Boone, whose glammed-out and acrobatic performance of “Beautiful Things” was one of the evening’s highlights, also saw a 20% streaming gain (to 6.9 million streams) for his now-signature hit over the same period, while also rising 210% in sales (to 3,800). Meanwhile, Karol G lost the only award she was nominated for on the evening, but her delightful, high-energy performance of current Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” connected enough with viewers for it to see a 25% streaming bump over that period (to 5.7 million) while also rising 164% in sales (to over 800).

And of course, there was Taylor Swift — who did not perform on the evening, but did take the stage twice, to accept best collaboration and video of the year, along with Post Malone, for their Hot 100-topping team-up “Fortnight.” The evening’s big award winner was up 26% in streams over that period, to 3.6 million, while also rising 235% to over 700 in sales. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Before We Let You Go: Frankie Beverly’s Passing Spurs Massive Catalog Gains 

Frankie Beverly, an R&B and soul legend who has soundtracked generations of Black gatherings from cookouts to graduations, unfortunately passed on Sept. 10 at age 77, yet another tragic loss for the music industry this month. 

As the iconic voice behind anthems such as 1981’s “Before I Let Go,” Beverly’s music had an incalculable impact on countless listeners, particularly Black Americans, despite a relatively short list of appearances on the Billboard charts across his six-decade career. According to Luminate, Beverly’s catalog streams (credited to Maze feat. Frankie Beverly) jumped a whopping 970% from just over 690,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Sept. 8-10 to over 7.4 million in the three-day period following his passing (Sept. 11-13). 

Two of Beverly’s biggest hits with Maze, “Before I Let Go” and 1980’s “Joy and Pain,” received particularly notable bumps. The former, which Beyoncé notably covered in 2019 (and brought to No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100), leapt 540% over that period, from 156,000 streams to just over 997,000 streams. Similarly, “Joy and Pain” ballooned a massive 1,200% from just over 50,000 to over 654,000 streams. Moreover, Beverly’s passing also spurred fans to purchase tracks across his discography, with he and Maze’s catalog scoring a 9,308% boost in sales activity. During Sept. 8-10, they sold just 95 digital tracks; by Sept. 11-13, that figure rose to over 8,900 digital tracks sold. – KYLE DENIS

You Want a Song to Soar on Streaming as a Kevin Federline Diss? You Better ‘Work Bitch’

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Last Thursday (Sept. 12), Jayden James Federline, the youngest son of Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline, turned 18 years old — and Britney fans were well aware, having circled the date in their calendars as the reported end of Spears’ child support payments to Federline, now that their two sons were no longer minors. Although reports of those child support payments ending last week have been disputed, fans engaged in a bit of Federline dunking on the big day by streaming Spears’ 2013 single “Work Bitch” — i.e., the song in which the pop superstar declares that, if you want anything extravagant in this life, you better work for it (bitch).

The lampooning resulted in tangible streaming gains for the track: daily official on-demand U.S. streams for “Work Bitch” jumped 35% between Sept. 11 and 12, from 47,000 streams to 64,000 streams, according to Luminate. It’s time to wonder what Britney Jean track could receive a similar revival — maybe “Chillin With You” with Jamie Lynn, if Spears and her sister ever make amends? – JASON LIPSHUTZ