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: Amanda Seyfried and her dulcimer help introduce a new generation to Joni Mitchell, while TikTok revives an ’00s southern rap cult favorite and makes new breakout hits for Ravyn Lenae and Sombr.
Amanda Seyfried’s Viral Joni Mitchell Cover Has Listeners Going to ‘California’
Did you know that Amanda Seyfried plays the dulcimer? You would if you watched her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this month, as the Emmy-winning actress explained she picked up the lap-set fretted string instrument over the pandemic. She then performed a stunningly note-perfect cover of Joni Mitchell’s “California” – a homesick highlight from the singer-songwriter’s canonical 1971 album Blue, much of which was composed on the dulcimer – for an enraptured Fallon and audience.
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The clip unsurprisingly made headlines and quickly went viral, while also giving the original song a wave of TikTok momentum and sending younger audiences to revisit (or check out) the West Coast classic. For the tracking week ending March 13, Mitchell’s “California” amassed just over one million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate – up a massive 794% from just over 100,000 streams two weeks earlier, before the late-night clip aired. If film studios are looking to cast a lead for the eventual Joni Mitchell biopic – should be coming pretty soon after the success of A Complete Unknown, right? – Seyfried might have just nailed the audition. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Ravyn Lenae Snags Sleeper Hit With “Love Me Not”
As guitar-led, pop/rock-inflected R&B songs like Janet Jackson’s “Someone to Call My Lover” continue to experience a resurgence across socials, some of that love is spreading to more contemporary tracks. Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not,” a similarly bouncy guitar-based pop&B song about the ups and downs of romance, has emerged as the Chicago singer-songwriter’s breakout hit.
According to Luminate, streams for “Love Me Not” have exploded nearly 120% over the past four weeks. On Feb. 7, Lenae shared a TikTok soundtracked by “Love Me Not” that played on feeling embarrassed over the man she wrote the song about. Lenae’s post came just as the song was naturally gaining traction on TikTok, easily becoming the most-viewed post on her profile with over 7.6 million views. During the week of Feb. 7-13, “Love” collected 1.86 million official on-demand U.S. streams, jumping 16% to over 2.15 million streams the following week (Feb. 14-20).
On Feb. 16, Lenae shared a post featuring a mysterious arm around her – commenters think it’s Steve Lacy – that became her third-most viewed TikTok ever, with 5.3 million views. Four days later (Feb. 20), she shared another clip with the official “Love Me Not” sound, earning over 6.4 million views and becoming her second-most viewed TikTok ever. During the week of Feb. 21-27, streams for “Love” hit 2.7 million, up 26% from the week prior.
By Feb. 27, Lenae shared yet another TikTok confirming that she’ll be opening up for Sabrina Carpenter’s new tour dates. Though she used “Espresso” in that clip, the post only helped her own profile and music earn more traction. During the week of Feb. 28-March 6, “Love Me Not” was up another 25%, collecting 3.42 million official on-demand U.S. streams. The following week (March 7-13), the song leapt a further 19% to over 4.08 million streams. Over on Spotify, the track currently ranks at No. 30 on the Viral 50 USA chart and at No. 1 as the most popular song on Lenae’s profile at the moment.
More recently, as Lenae has shared more clips of her live performances of the song, some TikTok users are discovering that she is, in fact, a Black woman. It’s become such a phenomenon that Lenae addressed it herself!
Last year, Billboard’s editorial staff named Bird’s Eye, which houses “Love Me Not,” the No. 3 best R&B album of 2024. The album didn’t chart upon debut – nor did any of its songs – but that could very well change should “Love” continue to grow. – KYLE DENIS
17-Year-Old Yung L.A. Song Experiences Money Spread-Led TikTok Revival
Another week, another ‘00s rap song goes viral on TikTok. This week, it’s Yung L.A.’s “Ain’t I,” a collaboration with Yung Bro and T.I. that served as ATL MC’s debut single.
At the top of March, TikTok user @lixanomerta shared a clip dancing to “Ain’t I,” that quickly evoked feelings of nostalgia from older Atlantans. Soon after, users started sharing clips from an old radio freestyle featuring Yung L.A. spitting “Ain’t I” a cappella and spreading a wad of crash. Taken by the apparent deterioration of his health, users made those clips go viral and eventually adapted the money spread into a mini-dance trend where users bop to the song before flaunting an obscene amount of cash (or weed baggies or fishing lures!).
During the week of Feb. 21-27, “Ain’t I” earned just over 270,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. By the following week (Feb. 28-March 6), that figure jumped 19% to over 325,000 official streams. By March 7-13 – the same week the trend exploded on TikTok — streams for “Ain’t I” leapt a whopping 190% to over 946,000 official streams. Over the past two weeks, “Ain’t I” has risen nearly 250% in streaming activity. – KD
Sombr Is Sparkling on Streaming With ‘Back to Friends’ Breakout
If you’re loving the wave of Sad Girl Anthems taking over TikTok lately and wondering where all their Sad Boy counterparts are at – well, you just found one of ‘em, anyway. Sombr, otherwise known as 19-year-old, Atlantic-signed singer-songwriter Shane Boose, has been taking over the app in the last month with his new single “Back to Friends.” Extensively teased and then extensively promoted by Boose on TikTok – with multiple videos of him singing along to the song garnering millions of plays – the explosive post-breakup song (if it was ever an official relationship in the first place) has struck a nerve with its cathartic “How can we go back to being friends/ When we just shared a bed” chorus shoutalong.
Now, the song is taking off on streaming. The song had been posting weekly official on-demand U.S. streams in the high six digits for most of 2025, but this month, that number has crossed into the millions – nearly 2.7 million for the most recent tracking week (ending March 13), a 160% gain from just two weeks earlier, according to Luminate. And as the song is only now starting to really break containment – it just made its first appearance on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart – Sombr is already onto the next one: His “Undressed” is due on Friday, and comes after an extensive TikTok rollout of its own. – 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: A late R&B great sees massive gains for her stellar catalog, a rising singer-songwriter scores a potential breakthrough hit and a beloved TV actor gets a Netflix bump for his music.
Angie Stone’s Catalog Rises After Neo-Soul Icon’s Passing, Led by “No More Rain”
On March 1, neo-soul icon and The Sequence founding member Angie Stone tragically died in a car accident near Montgomery, Ala. at the age of 63. With a three-time Grammy-nominated catalog spanning hip-hop, neo-soul and southern R&B, Angie Stone amassed three Billboard Hot 100 hits and landed seven titles on the Billboard 200 throughout her career.
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According to Luminate, Stone’s catalog earned just over 621,000 official on-demand U.S. streams in the week preceding her passing (Feb. 21-27). During the week of her passing (Feb. 28-March 6), that figure exploded a whopping 1,263% to over 8.4 million official streams. 1999’s “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” was one of her biggest streamers during the week of her death, collecting 2.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams — a 538% boost from the week prior.
Meanwhile, 2002’s “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” — her most recent Hot 100 entry (No. 79) — rose 1,008% during the week of Feb. 28-March 6, collecting 1.44 million official on-demand U.S. streams. And 2001’s classic “Brotha,” a song and music video honoring and uplifting Black men, experienced one of the biggest streaming boosts in Stone’s catalog following her passing. During the week of Feb. 21-27, the song earned just over 42,000 official on-demand U.S. steams. The following week, that figure leapt 2,026% to over 907,000 official streams.
Notably, all three songs debuted in the top five of the R&B Digital Song Sales chart dated March 15: “No More Rain” bowed at No. 1, “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” followed at No. 2, and “Brotha” managed a No. 5 debut. All three songs mark her first entries on this particular ranking, which launched in November 2012. — KYLE DENIS
Streaming Wraps Its Arms Around Sydney Rose’s New Sad Girl Hit
If Drake’s new musical obsession is weepy singer-songwriter ballads with hard-hitting beat-switches, Sydney Rose has just the viral hit for him. The Georgia singer-songwriter, who previously achieved some streaming success with the independently released “Turning Page” in 2020, released her new song “We Hug Now” to DSPs in February. The post-relationship song starts as a gentle, echoing ballad, à la Rose’s musical hero Phoebe Bridges – but it’s the climax, after a switch to a more cathartic mid-tempo singalong, that has taken off on TikTok, with countless users connecting with the lyrics: “You’re just thinkin’ it’s a small thing that happened/ The world ended when it happened to me.”
The world now may just be opening up for Rose, who has signed to CAA for touring and released “Hug” through Mercury Records. Her new signature song has exploded on streaming, racking up nearly 4.3 official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending on March 6 – a gain of 345% from three weeks earlier, according to Luminate. As the song continues to grow and Rose herself continues to spread the word herself through edits and mashups shared on her TikTok, it might not be long until the 6 God is once again asking for a “Hug.” – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Gabby Petito Netflix Docuseries Revives 16-Year-Old Matt Berry Song
Last month (Feb. 17), Netflix released American Murder: Gabby Petito – a docuseries about the 2021 murder of travel vlogger Gabby Petito. At the close of the final episode, Matt Berry’s “Take My Hand” begins to play, which has ratcheted up the track’s streaming activity.
During the week of Feb. 14-20, “Take My Hand” earned just over 36,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. By the first full week since the release of the docuseries (Feb. 21-27), that figure jumped 866% to over 348,000 official streams. The following week (Feb. 28-March 6), that number rose a further 6%, reaching 579,000 official streams. Over the past two weeks, streaming activity for “Take My Hand” has risen over 1,505%.
“Take My Hand” served as the opening theme for Berry’s award-winning Toast of London comedy series, exemplifying the crossover between his acting and music careers. In 2022, there was a small wave of TikToks expressing shock that the What We Do in the Shadows actor also made music. The official “Take My Hand” TikTok song currently boasts over 10,000 posts.
Berry has yet to hit any Billboard chart, but that could soon change should “Take My Hand” maintain its streaming momentum. – KD
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: The Oscars leads to gains for songs from winners Anora and Emilia Perez, Bob Dylan gets another wave of A Complete Unknown gains (as does the guy who plays him in the movie), and listeners say farewell to one of the greatest pop, soul and jazz singers of the 20th century.
Oscars Boost ‘El Mal,’ Take That’s ‘Anora’ Anthem And… Indie Band Yuck
The 97th Annual Academy Awards may have been the rare Oscars telecast to shrug off any performances of the best original song nominees, but that doesn’t mean some wide-ranging tunes didn’t benefit from their ties to Hollywood’s biggest night. For one, the song that actually did emerge victorious in that category — “El Mal,” from Emilia Pérez — did earn a major streaming bump. The spiky rap-rock track, performed in the French musical by Zoe Saldaña and written by Clément Ducol, Camille and director Jacques Audiard, experienced more than a 2,000% increase in official on-demand U.S. streams thanks to the Oscar win, according to initial data from Luminate – from fewer than 1,000 streams on the Monday before the awards ceremony (Feb. 24) to nearly 20,000 streams the day after the Oscars (Mar. 3).
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Meanwhile, the enormous night for indie dramedy Anora — five Academy Awards, including Best Picture — coincided with an uptick for Take That’s “Greatest Day”: the 2008 single received a euphoric remix from Robin Schulz and Calum Scott in 2023, and the reworked version appears multiple times in Anora. As director Sean Baker enjoyed his “Greatest Day” with a record-tying four Oscar wins in a single night, the updated Take That track shot up 500% in daily streams, from 6,000 on Feb. 24 to 41,000 one week later. Elsewhere, Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds Are Forever” earned a similar percentage bump thanks to Doja Cat’s performance of the classic during a James Bond medley at the Oscars; “Diamonds” was up 441% on the day after the Oscars, from over 3,000 streams to over 18,000 streams.
Yet the most surprising recipient of an Oscars streaming increase is Yuck, the noise-rock-leaning indie band that released three albums between 2011 and 2016; as astute blogosphere scholars pointed out on Sunday night, Daniel Blumberg, the composer who won the Best Original Score Oscar for his work on The Brutalist, used to be Yuck’s frontman before he pivoted to the film world. As a result, Yuck’s streaming catalog soared 432% post-Oscars, from 7,000 total streams on Feb. 24 to nearly 39,000 streams on Mar. 3. That’s probably not quite enough to convince Blumberg for a reunion, but indie rock diehards can dream. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Despite Oscars Shutout, ‘A Complete Unknown’ Continues to Boost Tracks From Its Stars – And From Bob Dylan Himself
Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown may have lost all eight of its nominations at Sunday night’s Academy Awards (March 2), but the film is pulling off a few notable wins on streaming and in sales.
According to initial data from Luminate, streams for Dylan’s catalog rose 15% during Oscar weekend. From Feb. 21-24, Dylan’s catalog earned 7.02 million official on-demand U.S. streams. For the similar period the following week (encompassing Oscars weekend), his catalog pulled 8.11 million streams. His digital song sales also nearly doubled over that period, shooting from 1,600 to over 3,200.
A Complete Unknown was accompanied by an official soundtrack, featuring covers of Dylan and Joan Baez classics sung by Oscar-nominated stars Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro. “It Ain’t Me Babe,” the 1964 classic notably performed by the duo in the film, has steadily risen in streams over the past month. During the period of Feb. 7-13, the cover pulled just 177,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. Two weeks later, that figure exploded by 310% to over 727,000 streams earned during the period of Feb. 21-27.
And it’s still rising, as both the song and the movie continue to find new fans. Over that Feb. 28-Mar. 3 period, the song’s streams leapt nearly 80% over the equivalent period the prior week, from 315,000 to over 565,000. – KYLE DENIS
Roberta Flack’s Catalog Up Over 400% in Streams, 4,600% in Sales Following Her Death
The great pop, soul and jazz singer Roberta Flack died from cardiac arrest at age 88 on Feb. 24. Flack was a four-time Grammy winner – including back-to-back record of the year wins in 1973 (“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”) and 1974 (“Killing Me Softly With His Song”), making her the first artist to ever win the award in consecutive years. She also topped the Billboard Hot 100 with both of those singles, in ‘72 and ‘73, respectively, as well as with “Feel Like Makin’ Love” in ‘74 – making her the first woman to score No. 1s on the chart in three straight years.
Following her passing last week, fans of course flocked to DSPs and retailers to stream and buy her classic hits. Her catalog more than quintupled in official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending Feb. 27 – up from just over a million streams the week before to over 5.4 million, according to Luminate – and also rose nearly 4,600% in digital sales, from under 400 total to over 18,000. The biggest risers included those two record of the year winners, “The First Time” (up 284% to 769,000 streams and over 5,000% to 5,900 in sales) and “Killing Me Softly” (up 220% to 1.3 million streams and nearly 4,900% to 6,700 in sales), as well as one of her signature Donny Hathaway duets, 1978’s “The Closer I Get to You” (up 244% to 584,000 streams and over 4,600% to 1,900 in sales). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Bhad Bhabie Rides New Feud to a Catalog-Reviving Surprise Hit Diss Track
Seven years after scoring her first Billboard Hot 100 entry, Bhad Bhabie could be gearing up for her first appearance of the 2020s on the chart. Taking a page out of Kendrick Lamar’s book, Bhad Bhabie has spun a legitimate streaming hit out of her beef with Alabama Barker, daughter of blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
On Feb. 25, Bhad Bhabie dropped “Ms. Whitman,” a blistering diss track that samples Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” and accuses Barker of a litany of things, including an unconfirmed abortion from a Tyga pregnancy. During its first full week of release (Feb. 25-March 3), “Ms. Whitman” earned 7.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to initial data from Luminate – essentially working out to a little over a million streams a day.
“Ms. Whitman” is also boosting Bhad Bhabie’s back catalog, which includes the Hot 100 hits “These Heaux” (No. 77), “Gucci Flip Flops” (No. 79, with Lil Yachty) and “Hi Bich” (No. 68). During the week of Feb. 14-20, Bhad Bhabie’s discography pulled 1.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams. The following week (Feb. 21-27), streaming activity for her catalog more than doubled to over 3.57 million streams. With streams still pouring in and the beef still active, “Ms. Whitman” could very well threaten to become Bhad Bhabie’s highest-peaking Hot 100 hit yet. – KD
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: A viral TikTok is remixed into a best-selling protest song, an indie rock institution is introduced to younger fans (again) through a big movie synch and Philadelphia gets to celebrate yet another February win via a breakout rap hit.
‘Hostile Government Takeover’ Dance Remix Turns Bleak Current Events Into a Bop
A few weeks after Donald Trump returned to the White House and started dismantling norms left and right, the TikTok user AGiftFromTodd recorded a 30-second video of himself getting ready to leave his house while crooning an original song that began with the line, “We’re in the middle of a hostile government takeover/ I wanna talk about it, but I’ll be late for work.” Todd’s soulful alarmism went viral, with thousands of likes and shares on TikTok upon its Feb. 4 upload, and while he posted a few new versions of the song in the following weeks, the one that’s crossed off to streaming services in a major way is an EDM remix that pairs hopelessness with a club thump, courtesy of producer Vinny Marchi.
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“Hostile Government Takeover” by AGiftFromTodd & Vinny Marchi spent a good chunk of last weekend at No. 1 on iTunes, selling 4,800 downloads from Feb. 21-24, according to initial data provided by Luminate. Meanwhile, its streams keep climbing — the dance remix earned 597,000 official U.S. on-demand streams over that four-day span, up from 153,000 streams from the previous Friday-to-Monday tracking period. As the song continues to spread, the good news for Todd Givens Jr. is that the next four years will offer plenty of new material to riff on for follow-ups. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Yeah Yeah Yeahs ‘Edge’-ing Towards Another Newly Viral Hit Thanks to ‘Gorge’ Synch
If there’s one rock act from 20 years ago that doesn’t especially need any more bumps from newfound Gen Z virality, it’s probably New York’s the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The trio, which reunited in 2022 for its first album together in nearly a decade, spent a stunning eight weeks atop the Billboard TikTok Top 50 chart last year for signature 2003 power ballad “Maps,” racking up millions of streams a week for the revitalized (and re-viralized) hit. Now, the group is surging again with a catalog hit – though this time, it’s not with another decades-old song, but rather a song from that reunion album.
“Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” which was the lead single of 2022’s Cool It Down and featured an assist from acclaimed alt-pop singer-songwriter Perfume Genius, has gotten a big look in Apple TV’s original movie The Gorge, released on Valentine’s Day. The song plays during a pivotal love scene between the film’s co-leads – played by film stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy – and it shot to near the top of the Shazam charts almost immediately after the film’s release, still sticking around there a week later, as folks scrambled to find out what the doomy song playing in the action romance was.
A whole lot of those Shazamers undoubtedly ended up streaming “Spitting” as well – as the song racked up 629,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending Feb. 20, a 375% gain for the song from the previous week, according to Luminate. And many ended up purchasing the song, too: “Spitting” sold nearly 3,000 copies in that week, a massive gain from the just-over-100 it moved the week before, and good enough for a No. 15 debut on the Digital Song Sales chart – the group’s first-ever appearance on that listing. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Philly MC Skrilla Taps RWE Basketball Star & TikTok ‘Clipfarming’ for Latest Viral Hit
Last fall (Sept. 9, 2024), a nameless TikTok account uploaded a snippet of a then-unreleased Skrilla song titled “Doot Doot.” The snippet quickly rent viral due to his rambling opening verse, 1ellis’ gritty production and his memorable delivery of the phrase “six, seven.” Since September, the snippet has been used in over 126,000 TikTok posts, eventually giving way to an official DSP release on Feb. 7, 2024.
As the “Doot Doot” snippet continued to make the rounds on TikTok going into 2025, the song earned an unforeseen supporter in Taylor “TK” Kinney, a basketball star for RWE of the Overtime Elite league. Hailing from Newport, Kentucky, the baller has found a way to say “six, seven” in Skrilla’s cadence in nearly every interview from the past few months. The phrase is now synonymous with both TK and Skrilla on socials, and the two young men got to link up in person at an RWE game two weeks ago.
For weeks, TikTok users have been responding positively to TK’s “clip farming” — a practice that basically entails purposely doing something in hopes that it will be clipped and reuploaded across social media – by making edits of his game highlights that are soundtracked by his “six, seven” quip merged with the “Doot Doot” snippet.
According to Luminate, “Doot Doot” earned 1.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams during its first week of released (Feb. 7-13). That figure shot up 105% the following week to over 3.5 million streams. The track has already racked up 3.2 million streams over the first four days of this tracking week (Feb. 21-24), according to initial data provided by Luminate, which marks an 88% jump from the same period the prior week.
With its official music video garnering over 1.26 million YouTube views in just over a week and no signs of slowing down on TikTok, there’s tons of room for Skrilla ‘s latest hit to continue growing. – KYLE DENIS
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: Drake’s new album with PartyNextDoor has a mid-week breakout hit, Charli XCX has a pre-Brat viral bump, Riley Green’s song (and video) for the lovers sees seasonal gains, and more.
Drake’s “Nokia” Is Buzzing, Aaron Hall Embraced on Streaming After “Gimme a Hug” Sample
In its first couple days of release, the early leader on streaming from PartyNextDoor & Drake’s new R&B collaborative album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U was Drake’s more rap-driven solo number “Gimme a Hug,” with the song topping the Apple Music real-time chart and reaching the top 10 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA listing. But over the week, another song from even deeper in the 21-track album has taken over as its top performer: the pop hook-driven, two-part banger “Nokia.”
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With backing vocals and a beat helmed by U.K. producer Elkan, “Nokia” – also credited solely to Drake – had the usual big streaming drop following its first day of release, but has been climbing throughout the week. On Tuesday, it posted 2.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to initial data provided by Luminate – its best streaming performance since that Friday of release, and its first time passing “Hug” as the set’s most-streamed song. Meanwhile, the song has also been one of the week’s best sellers, topping the iTunes real-time chart and moving a combined 13,000 copies over its first five days of availability.
Meanwhile, “Hug” continues to offer warmth on streaming to its original sample source. Aaron Hall’s “I Miss You,” which Drake heavily lifts from towards the end of his $exy $ongs ¢enterpiece, garnered over 700,000 streams during the first five days of this tracking week (Feb. 14-18), after combining for under 100,000 streams the equivalent period the prior week, a gain of 694% for the 1993 Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
‘How I’m Feeling Now’ Winter? An Old Charli XCX Track Is Going Viral
Charli XCX’s enormous 2024 — which included the critical and commercial success of her Brat album and its accompanying Sweat tour alongside Troye Sivan — has already pushed into 2025, thanks to a fruitful Grammys night and more arena headlining dates. Now, a song that’s years older than her comeback album is going viral: the tender, ethereal “Party 4 U,” from her 2020 lockdown album How I’m Feeling Now, has been exploding on TikTok in recent weeks, with a series of lip synch performances from longtime Charli fans ready to prove their pre-Brat bona fides.
A month ago, “Party 4 U” was earning 278,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (for the chart week ending Jan. 23), according to Luminate; that number more than doubled to 573,000 streams for the week ending Feb. 13, and will once again surpass that high-water mark after earning 830,000 streams from Feb. 14-18, according to initial Luminate reports. Charli herself acknowledged the viral explosion on Wednesday (Feb. 19): “it’s p crazy that this song is suddenly getting love in this kinda way,” she wrote. “I know this song means so much to so many angels. she’s a cutie
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: The Super Bowl pours further gas on Kendrick Lamar’s still-blazing flames on streaming, while a Lady Gaga one-off gets emotionally resurrected and a Latto single gets a huge bump from a new remix with a big-name guest.
TV Off, Headphones On: Kendrick Lamar’s Daily Streams More Than Double Post-Super Bowl
Prior to the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar was already one of the biggest artists in the world, with five songs in the top 40 of last week’s Billboard Hot 100. Yet his explosive halftime performance at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday (Feb. 9) was a rising tide that lifted all of his respective boats on streaming services, from the superstar rapper’s latest album to his signature hits to his co-star at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
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On the day after the Super Bowl (Feb. 10), Lamar’s streaming catalog earned 70.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams — a 153% increase from the previous Monday’s total (27.5 million on Feb. 3), according to initial reports provided by Luminate. “Not Like Us,” the Drake diss heard ‘round the world and the centerpiece of the halftime show, experienced an even greater percentage uptick: the former No. 1 hit rose a whopping 222% in daily streams, to 10.4 million on Monday.
Major spikes occurred for halftime highlights “Squabble Up” (up 159% in daily streams compared to the previous Monday), “Luther” (up 150%), “TV Off” (up 139%) and “Peekaboo” (up 186%). All of those songs are featured on Lamar’s most recent album, GNX, which earned a 141% total increase in daily streams across its dozen tracks, notching 31 million plays on Monday. Meanwhile, some of the older hits that Lamar revived for the halftime show scored even bigger bumps: “Humble” was up 242%, “DNA” was up 207% and “All the Stars” was up 295%, as fans returned to some of Lamar’s biggest hits from the previous decade.
And SZA, who joined Lamar on two songs during the showcase, saw her own streams soar thanks to her first Super Bowl halftime appearance. Last Monday, her catalog earned 19.1 million streams; a week later, that number reached 30.3 million streams, a 58% increase on the day after the big game. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Lady Gaga Gets a ‘Hold’ on the iTunes Chart After Emotional Pre-Super Bowl Performance
Few would consider “Hold My Hand,” Lady Gaga’s 2022 soundtrack single from Top Gun: Maverick, to be a signature song of hers: The song charted respectably, reaching No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, but had little commercial staying power and is unlikely at this point to ever appear on a full Lady Gaga album. But it clearly has a time and a place – and that time and place may have proven to be at the Super Bowl LIX pre-show on Sunday night (Feb. 10), where she performed the piano ballad on Bourbon Street in New Orelans, as part of a tribute to the victims of numerous tragedies that struck American soul in the past year, namely the New Year’s Day attack on New Orleans that left 14 dead.
After NFL legends Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw helped introduce the tribute and the performance, the tribute cut to Gaga at her piano, playing a stripped-down rendition of the Top Gun love theme that accentuated the song’s message of support and perseverance. It clearly resonated with the global audience watching: The song was up 149% in official on-demand U.S. streams over Feb. 9-10 (the day of and day after the Super Bowl) compared to the same two-day period a week before, according to initial reports provided by Luminate, and it was up to nearly 6,000 in digital sales – topping the real-time iTunes chart on Sunday night – up thousands of percent from the negligible amount it moved the prior equivalent period.
It probably won’t be the song most Little Monsters continue streaming in the lead-up to next month’s Mayhem release, but it might have some endurance in Gaga’s catalog after all. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Latto Eyes Yet Another ‘Sugar Honey Iced Tea’ Hit with Some Help from Playboi Carti
Between Grammy-nominated tracks like “Big Mama” and radio-conquering cuts like “Brokey,” Latto’s Sugar Honey Iced Tea album has been cranking out hits for several months now. Big Mama has shown no signs of slowing down in 2025, tapping Playboi Carti to boost the next single from her chart-topping third studio album.
Late last month (Jan. 27), Latto announced that she enlisted Carti for a new version of “Blick Sum.” The high-energy trap banger had been a fan-favorite since Sugar Honey Iced Tea dropped last summer (Aug. 9), but the Carti version lifted the single to new heights. In the week preceding Carti’s take on the song (Jan. 17-23), “Blick Sum” earned over 584,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. The following week – which includes a shortened tracking week for the Carti version since it dropped on Jan. 28 – that number exploded by a staggering 541% to over 3.74 million official on-demand U.S. streams (all versions combined). In its first full tracking week including the new version (Jan. 31-Feb. 5), “Blick Sum” collected over 5.34 million official on-demand streams. Over the past two weeks, streams for “Blick Sum” have been up 815%.
The new version of “Blick Sum” isn’t technically a remix; it’s actually an earlier version of the song that leaked months ago. Latto ultimately settled on the solo version for her album, but the Carti version remained in circulation, further building anticipation for its eventual release. One TikTok sound containing Carti’s leaked verse collected over 45,000 posts since last October; there was even a quasi-viral dance choreographed to the sound.
Should “Blick Sum” continue its streaming ascent, the Carti-assisted track would become the sixth track from Sugar Honey Iced Tea to do so, the most of any of Latto’s studio albums. – KYLE DENIS
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 Grammys make big winners on streaming out of both long-established legends and rising stars, while Fetty Wap scores his biggest hit in a decade with a song from a decade ago and Severance dips its toes into big rock synchs.
Biggest Grammys Gainers: ‘Cowboy Carter,’ ‘Von Dutch’ and All Things Doechii
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards ended with history being made: Beyoncé at long last won the album of the year award, as her country crossover Cowboy Carter finally earned the most Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning artist in history the top prize of the ceremony. The magnitude of that victory is still being put into context days later, but one thing was for certain: Cowboy Carter was going to see a major uptick in streaming activity immediately after the Grammys, with unfamiliar viewers perusing the album and longtime fans revisiting it nearly a year after its release.
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On Jan. 26, the Monday before the Grammys, Cowboy Carter earned 1.07 million U.S. on-demand audio streams, according to Luminate. On the Monday after the Grammys (Feb. 3), however, that daily total shot to 7.50 million — a 595% increase. As for the rest of the Big Four, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was up 74% in daily streams (from 1.37 million on Jan. 26 to 2.4 million on Feb. 3) following its wins for record of the year and song of the year, while Chappell Roan’s catalog rose 50% (from 5.96 million streams on Jan. 26 to 8.99 million streams on Feb. 3) thanks in part to her best new artist victory.
Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” — which received a brightly colored, rodeo clown-filled performance showcase — naturally earned an even bigger bump, rising 109% (851,000 daily streams to 1.77 million) during that span. Other notable gainers thanks to performances included Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch,” which zoomed from 183,000 daily streams to 423,000 (up 130%) following her raucous performance to close out the ceremony; Raye’s “Oscar Winning Tears,” which jumped from 216,000 daily streams to 334,000 (up 54%) thanks to the British artist’s vocal pyrotechnics, and Doechii’s eye-popping medley, which constituted the best performance of the ceremony, helped “Catfish” leap from 210,000 daily streams to 658,000 (up 213%) and “Denial is a River” move from 1.08 million daily streams to 2.08 million (up 93%).
In addition to her performance, Doechii also delivered a moving acceptance speech following her win for best rap album with Alligator Bites Never Heal — a breakthrough moment, which helped her entire catalog soar from 2.84 million daily streams to 8.01 million (up 182%). – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Fetty Wap Is Hot ‘Again’ Thanks to Slightly Confusing Viral Trend
10 years after the New Jersey rapper took the world by storm with hits like “Trap Queen,” “My Way” and “679,” Fetty Wap is hot again – and the conversation is all around his aptly titled 2015 Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit “Again” (No. 33).
Centered around the phrase “blasting Fetty Wap on the JBL speaker,” the joke of the meme is playing he rapper’s songs at particularly inappropriate moments via the JBL. At the top of the new year (Jan. 9), one user used “Again” in a video captioned “How do you think the pilgrims would react if I pulled up to the Mayflower with my JBL speaker and introduced them to Fetty Wap?”; that post currently has over 3.6 million views and a reply from the official History Channel TikTok account. More history–minded posts followed, and near the end of the month (Jan. 24), the trend evolved past historical settings. One user used the official “Again” sound to make a World War III quip, while another used it to make a joke about blasting the track at a friend’s funeral.
According to Luminate, “Again” earned over 4.77 million official on-demand U.S. streams last week (Jan. 24-30). That’s a 265% increase in streaming activity from the 1.3 millin streams it pulled the week prior (Jan. 17-23). Last weekend (Jan. 24-27), the song posted a 387% jump to 6.69 million streams versus the 1.37 million it logged the weekend prior (Jan. 31-Feb. 3). Currently, the official “Again” sound boasts over 250,000 posts. Fetty Wap may unfortunately still be incarcerated, but clearly a comeback isn’t entirely out of the question. — KYLE DENIS
The Who and Stone Roses Jams Get ‘Severance’ Bump
The first season and a quarter of Apple TV’s sci-fi workplace drama Severance has been relatively light on high-profile synchs – but thank Kier, the show is starting to break out the big guns midway through its second season. The third episode of Season Two, “Who Is Alive?,” is bookended with a pair of songs used in big spots: The Stone Roses’ mid-’90s alt-rock hit “Love Spreads” soundtracks a road journey for the (maybe?) villainous Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) to start the show, while the ep ends with The Who’s early-’80s AOR staple “Eminence Front” punctuating a breakthrough moment for protagonist Mark S (Adam Scott).
The synchs haven’t resulted in Stranger Things-sized gains yet for the songs in question, but both saw big bumps following their S2E03 appearance in the hit show. “Love Spreads” racked up a combined 33,000 U.S. on-demand audio streams over the first four days of this tracking week – with the episode premiering on the first day, Friday (Feb. 20) – a gain of 78% over the same period the week prior, according to Luminate. “Eminence Front” was also up 27% to 326,000 over the same time span, while the two songs combined to sell nearly 400 copies after selling under 100 the week before. If Severance keeps up with the inspired synch choices, maybe it’ll be producing legitimately viral hits by the time Mark completes the Cold Harbor project. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Yung Bredda Heats Up the Winter with Soca Smash
Between Machel Monatano’s historic NPR Tiny desk set and Yung Bredda’s infectious new hit, soca is having a beautiful start to 2025. Trinidadian soca star Yung Bredda’s “The Greatest Bend Over” — a sweet ode to the woman with “di wickedest bend over” — arrived late last year on Full Blown’s “Big Links” riddim (Dec. 2). The song has quickly become one of the most dominant current hits across the Caribbean with carnival season still to come. Soca is a bit more of a nice genre in the U.S., but “The Greatest Bend Over” is still finding some traction.
During the period of Dec. 13-19, Yung Bredda’s track earned just over 35,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. A little over a month later (Jan. 24-30), the song’s streaming exploded by a whopping 940% to over 367,000 streams. On TikTok, the song’s official sound plays in over 34,400 posts – a number that’s sure to grow as the song continues to enchant different parts of the globe.
Vybz Kartel’s comeback may be giving dancehall all the airtime, but pay attention to the soca scene too! — KD
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: Lola Young’s breakout hit keeps on breaking in the U.S., Timothée Chalamet’s turn pulling SNL double-duty helps shine a light on some lesser-streamed Bob Dylan cuts and a Lil Wayne and Drake favorite from a decade ago finds new TikTok virality.
Lola Young Gets “Messy” on Late Night, Breakthrough Single Surges in Streams & Sales
U.K. alt-pop/rock sensation Lola Young made her debut on stateside TV last week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with both a performance of her breakthrough hit “Messy” and an interview with Fallon. Young captivated viewers with her unpolished energy, cheeky humor and thick accent – and of course, with one of the best hits of the past few months, an anthem of frustrated individualism that had reaches a new No. 25 high on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (on the chart dated Feb. 1), following her performance last Tuesday (Jan. 21).
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The song should climb even higher next week, as “Messy” has hit new peaks on streaming and sales following her high-profile Fallon appearance. The song has racked up 8.8 million official on-demand streams across the first four days of this tracking week – a gain of 30% from the same period the previous week, according to Luminate – while also moving 4,800 copies through digital sales, a 119% gain from the week before. “Messy” has been in the No. 1 spot on the real-time iTunes chart for most of the week, suggesting that a lot of folks in this country are connecting with its “I just want to be me/ Is that not allowed?” sentiment these days. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Timmy Plays Twice, It’s Alright: Chalamet Boosts Bob Songs on ‘SNL’
A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Bob Dylan’s streaming catalog, including some of the most iconic hits of his early discography, had skyrocketed thanks to A Complete Unknown, the new Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. Since then, the James Mangold-directed film has scored eight Oscar nominations (including Chalamet’s second Best Actor nod), and Chalamet served as both the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Jan. 25, where he covered some relatively lesser-known Dylan songs: “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels” as a medley, and “Tomorrow is a Long Time.”
Naturally, streams for those three Dylan songs exploded following the SNL performances, growing an even greater percentage than the legendary tracks receiving upticks from the film. “Tomorrow is a Long Time” leapt from 4,000 official U.S. on-demand streams over the previous Sunday and Monday (Jan. 19-20) to 52,000 streams from Jan. 26-27 — a 1100% bump, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels” were up to 45,000 streams and 30,000 streams over the more recent two-day period, respectively. All told, the three songs grew from a little over 9,000 streams from Jan. 19-20 to a whopping 128,000 streams one week later. Maybe Chalamet can help out some more Dylan deep cuts with an Oscars performance? – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Lil Wayne and Drake Strip Club Anthem Becomes TikTok Wall Dance Trend
TikTok certainly loves a wall-dance trend. One of the latest songs that has countless users backing it up against the wall is “She Will,” the Drake-featuring smash from Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV album that reached the Hot 100’s top five back in 2011. The clip from the song used for these videos is triggered by Wayne’s “Ladies and gentlemen, Drizzy” welcoming of his co-star, followed by Drake’s own introductory “Unh” grunt – but then the vocals cut out for a Jersey clubbier remix of the song’s strip club-ready beat to soundtrack users’ wall-bound gyrations.
The challenge has become a big-enough TikTok trend to help drive consumption of the song back to some of its highest levels since its original release. “She Will” was up to 3.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams the past tracking week (ending Jan. 23), according to Luminate, part of a steady climb that’s seen the song rise 65% from 2.3 million streams it posted five weeks earlier. Lil Wayne might not have gotten the career-capping hometown gig he might have really wanted for this early year – though we’re still holding out hope he makes some kind of appearance at the Superdome on Feb. 9 – but his back catalog remains forever present in the culture regardless. – 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: Fan support for a 2000s TV icon has resulted in her 15-year-old album likely recharting next week, while a soundtrack synch sets off a revival of a late-’80s pop classic and TikTok embraces a Rihanna hit that never was.
Heidi Montag’s ‘Superficial’ Goes Viral to Aid Recovery From Palisades Fire
Reality star Heidi Montag can now add pop star to her resume. Montag and husband Spencer Pratt, best known for their roles on hit reality TV show The Hills, lost their home in the Palisades wildfire last week. Pratt took to TikTok to share the devastating news, and to direct viewers to stream and purchase Montag’s 15-year-old album Superficial to help the family generate income in the wake of the disaster.
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Followers certainly showed up for the couple, pushing Superficial to No. 1 on the iTunes chart over the weekend and into this week with over 6,000 in album sales for the weekend of Jan. 10-12 (up from a negligible number of sales the weekend prior). It also picked up massively on streaming services, growing 740.6% in U.S. on-demand streams to over 800,000 from the first weekend of January to the second. If it maintains its performance, it could make a bow on the Billboard 200 next week — which would be Superficial‘s first appearance on the chart. — KRISTIN ROBINSON
‘Babygirl’ Milk Drinkers are Lapping Up George Michael’s ‘Father Figure,’ Too
Babygirl, Halina Reijn’s new erotic thriller/dark comedy starring Nicole Kidman as a powerful CEO who indulges in her sexual fantasies with her intern (played by Harris Dickinson), has not only served as Kidman’s latest bravura turn with Oscar buzz, but is also being meme’d ad nauseam by cinephiles who are sick of talking about the turtle in Conclave. One particular sequence that has been hoisted up by the Internet involves Dickinson dancing shirtless to “Father Figure,” the iconic No. 1 smash by George Michael, in a hotel room, while Kidman watches from afar.
Following the film’s wide release on Christmas Day, “Father Figure” has not only picked up steam on streaming services thanks to the Babygirl scene, but also with Michael’s 1987 smash soundtracking various TikTok mash-ups, from those trying to recreate Dickinson’s dance moves to others who want to anoint Pedro Pascal as the ultimate “father figure” (read: zaddy). In any event, “Father Figure” earned 358,000 U.S. on-demand streams during the week ending Dec. 26, according to Luminate, and that weekly streaming total had more than doubled two weeks later, to 984,000 streams in the week ending Jan. 9. Who knows? With the film’s pivotal scene of Kidman’s character drinking a glass of milk, maybe U.S. dairy sales are on the rise, too. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Nearly 18 Years Later, Rihanna’s ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ Is Still Churning Out Hits
Even though she’s popped up for a Black Panther song or two, it’s still been nearly nine years since Anti – Rihanna‘s last studio album. Like most Rihanna album’s, Anti produced a plethora of hits, and that’s a trend Riri began with 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad. That album housed “Umbrella” (No. 1, seven weeks); “Shut Up And Drive” (No. 15); “Hate That I Love You” (No. 7); “Don’t Stop the Music” (No. 3); “Rehab” (No. 18); “Take A Bow” (No. 1) and “Disturbia” (No. 1). Now, nearly 18 years later, another Good Girl track is looking to join those ranks: the Christopher “Tricky” Stewart-produced, The-Dream-penned “Breakin’ Dishes.”
According to Luminate, “Breakin’ Dishes” has steadily risen in streams over the past month. In the week preceding Christmas (Dec. 13-19, 2024), the track pulled over 2.37 million official on-demand U.S. streams. Though streaming activity dipped during the holiday week (Dec. 20-26) — earning 2.25 million streams, down 5.2% — the following week produced its biggest week-over-week streaming increase of the month. During the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 2, streams for “Dishes” soared 22% to over 2.7 million streams. By the following week (Jan. 3-9), streams rose by a furter 5.7% to just over 2.9 million streams.
Although “Breakin’ Dishes” — like the bulk of RiRi’s catalog – isn’t available on TikTok as an official sound, fan uploads have kept the song in near-constant circulation on the platform. Across three different sounds ranging from 40,000 to 280,000 posts each, users have hopped on three distinct trends attached to “Dishes.” First, some users use the song’s “A man, a man, a ma-e-a-a-an” refrain to show off their boyfriends’ strength by having them lift them up on one shoulder. Another set of users have used the song to make edits of their favorite characters from media like Squid Game and various Disney films; other users have used “Dishes” sounds to explain that the song is about “female rage” and not love.
Regardless of how they found their way to “Breakin’ Dishes,” fans are discovering Rihanna’s deep cuts and falling in love with them as if they’re new singles. — KYLE DENIS
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: Timothée Chalamet helps get Bob Dylan rolling on streaming, one of basketball’s Ball brothers goes supernova on social media, a late dance great sees streaming gains from a new documentary and more.
The Streams, They Are a-Boomin’: Bob Dylan’s Catalog Soars Thanks to ‘A Complete Unknown’
A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s new Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, has spent the past few weeks scoring raves from critics, posting top 10 box office receipts and earning Oscar buzz, with Chalamet zooming into the Best Actor race thanks to his portrayal of the music icon during the first half of the 1960s. With the film going into wide release on Dec. 25, Unknown has helped Dylan’s storied catalog receive a huge spike on streaming services since Christmas Day, with listeners putting away their holiday playlists and picking up Highway 61 Revisited.
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During the week ending Dec. 26, Dylan’s catalog earned 11.6 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate; that number leapt to 20.2 million streams the following week (ending Jan. 2), in the first full tracking week since the film’s wide release. Compared to Dylan’s streaming numbers from one month earlier, in which his catalog earned 8.1 million streams in the week ending Dec. 5, A Complete Unknown has helped the legend’s weekly streaming numbers grow by roughly 150%.
Meanwhile, some of Dylan’s early classic songs (which Chalamet sings himself in the film) have gotten replayed since its release, with listeners wanting to either revisit or discover the original versions. “Like a Rolling Stone” earned 1.64 million streams in the week ending Jan. 2, a 232% increase from its streaming total five weeks ago (494,000 during the week ending Nov. 28). Meanwhile, “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’” posted streaming jumps of 215% and 174%, respectively, from their weekly totals during the last full tracking week of November. With the Academy Awards nominations being announced next Friday (Jan. 17) and the Oscars scheduled for Mar. 2, these streaming numbers may stay boosted — or keep climbing — for a few more months. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
G3 Gelo (aka LiAngelo Ball) Scores 2025’s First Viral Smash
There’s hitting the ground running, and then there’s scoring the first viral track of the year just three days in. G3 Gelo, aka LiAngelo Ball, knows a thing or two about the latter.
After a snippet of “Tweaker” went viral in late December, Gelo – the second of basketball’s three Ball Brothers, along with guards Lonzo and LaMelo of the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets, respectively — uploaded the full thing to WorldStarHipHop’s YouTube channel, with DSP uploads following soon after.
The early ’00s hip-hop-indebted track has increased in streams every day since its official release on Jan. 3. By its fourth day of release, streaming activity for “Tweaker” jumped a jaw-dropping 871% from where it was upon its debut. The song earned over 1.83 million official on-demand U.S. streams on Jan. 6 versus 188,000 streams on Jan. 3.
Already given the stamp of approval by sports teams across the country, a few hip-hop heavyweights are also co-signing G3 Gelo’s breakout hit; both Boosie Badazz and Moneybagg Yo have asked Gelo to send them an open verse. What’s more? A newscaster has already referenced “Tweaker” live on the air! With so much momentum and little competition from 2025 hip-hop releases at the moment, the coast is clear for “Tweaker” to reign in the coming weeks. – KYLE DENIS
Avicii’s Catalog Surges in Streams After New Documentary
The Avicii catalog experienced a significant streaming surge following the release of a new documentary about the late artist.
In the wake of the Dec. 31 release of I’m Tim on Netflix, global on-demand streams of the Swedish producer’s catalog increased by 63.9%, according to Luminate. The artist’s catalog had a total of 26.4 streams in the four days preceding the film’s release, Dec. 27-30, with this number rising to 43.3 million from Dec. 31-Jan. 3.
The streaming surge has been especially pronounced for three of Avicii’s biggest songs: 2013’s “Wake Me Up” (featuring Aloe Blacc) has experienced a 47.1% increase in global on-demand streams; 2015’s “The Nights” has seen a 27.6% increase; and 2011’s “Levels” has had a 68.2% increase. – KATIE BAIN
Read more about the I’m Tim documentary and Avicii’s related streaming gains here.
‘Mufasa’ Soundtrack Roars Into the New Year with Multiple Streaming Hits
After losing out to Sonic 3 in its debut week at the domestic box office, Mufasa – the Barry Jenkins-helmed prequel to 2019’s Oscar-nominated photorealistic remake of the 1994 classic – climbed to the summit, becoming America’s first No. 1 movie of 2025. Helping Mufasa sustain its box office pull: the stunning streaming success of its soundtrack, led by Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr., who are in the midst of a viral press tour.
According to Luminate, the Mufasa soundtrack pulled 1.02 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its first week of release (ending Dec. 19). That figure jumped 224% the following week (Dec. 20-26) to over 3.33 million streams. By its third week of release – the same week the film topped the domestic box office – Mufasa’s streams jumped a further 137% to 7.92 million streams.
The breakout hit of the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned soundtrack is the adorably protective “I Always Wanted a Brother,” performed by Pierre, Harrison, Jr., Theo Somolu and Braelyn Rankins. The Mufasa-Scar duet has consistently been the most-streamed song from the album, logging over 3.17 million streams last week (Dec. 27-Jan. 2). From family-centric TikTok trends to NOLA bounce “trip out” remixes and Pierre’s viral Jennifer Hudson Show spirit tunnel walk, “Brother” is quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon. Pierre also duets with Tiffany Boone on “Tell Me It’s You,” another breakout song from the soundtrack. Streaming activity for their duet has exploded 1,301% over the past two weeks, crossing 1.09 million official on-demand U.S. streams last week (Dec. 27-Jan. 2).
In addition to returning cast members from the 2019 film like Beyoncé and Donald Glover, Mufasa boasts some new additions, including Grammy winner Blue Ivy Carter and BAFTA-nominated actor Mads Mikkelsen. While Carter does not sing in Mufasa, Mikkelsen performs “Bye Bye,” yet another viral cut from the soundtrack, alongside Joanna Jones and Folake Olowofoyeku. “Bye Bye” has jumped over 120% in streaming activity for each of the past two weeks, earning over 1.25 million streams last week (Dec. 27-Jan. 2). – KD