State Champ Radio Trending Up
Page: 2
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.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week: Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour kickoff leads to gains for both her and her opening act, the new Tyler Perry movie spurs streams for sexy R&B jams new and old, the latest viral country star takes off on TikTok and much more.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour Kickoff Boosts Her Streaming Numbers — and Chappell Roan’s, Too
[embedded content]
Last Friday (Feb. 23), Olivia Rodrigo set forth on her second career headlining tour, and first arena run, as the Guts World Tour kicked off at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs. Fans inside the arena and soaking up the online clips pored over her setlist choices, discussed her visual stylings and wardrobe changes, and bemoaned her lack of cover songs a la the Sour Tour (bring back some Veruca Salt, Olivia!); they also, naturally, listened to a whole lot of Rodrigo’s music, as well as that of the rising pop favorite opening on the first leg of the trek.
Trending on Billboard
Last weekend (Feb. 24-25), Rodrigo’s catalog earned 19.62 million official U.S. on-demand streams — up 24% from the prior weekend before the tour launch (15.78 million during Feb. 17-18), according to Luminate. Guts standouts “Bad Idea Right?” (which opened Rodrigo’s show) and “Get Him Back!” (which closed it out) enjoyed some of the biggest individual upticks, with “Idea” up 27% to 1.23 million streams last weekend and “Back” up 29% to 1.21 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, Chappell Roan, the innovative art-pop auteur opening for Rodrigo across North America over the next month, also saw increased interest in her music, as previously unfamiliar Rodrigo fans watched Roan take the arena stage. The 26-year-old’s streaming catalog enjoyed a 32% bump during the first weekend of the tour, from 941,000 streams during Feb. 17-18 to 1.24 million streams during Feb. 24-25. Opening acts don’t always experience such notable streaming gains as fans are filing in to their arena seats, but on a tour as in-demand as the Guts run, everybody wins. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Tyler Perry’s Kelly Rowland-Led ‘Mea Culpa’ Spurs Streaming Boosts for Sultry Soundtrack Songs
[embedded content]
Tyler Perry’s latest film, Mea Culpa, which stars Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper Kelly Rowland and award-winning actor Trevante Rhodes, hit Netflix last weekend (Feb. 23) amid a flurry of online chatter. Written and directed by Perry, the film follows Rowland as a criminal defense attorney tasked with representing a man accused of killing his girlfriend. With a soundtrack that plays on the film’s dark, sultry overtones, it’s no surprise that several Mea Culpa syncs have experienced significant streaming boosts.
In terms of the classics, a pair of all-time covers — Issac Hayes’ “Walk on By” and Isley Brothers‘ “Hello, It’s Me” — both posted strong gains. Hayes’ track jumped 113% in streaming activity, from 30,000 on-demand U.S. audio steams during the weekend preceding Mea Culpa’s release (Feb. 17-19) to over 61,000 streams in the weekend following the film’s debut (Feb. 24-26), according to Luminate. Similarly, “Hello, It’s Me” collected 25,000 streams during Feb. 17-19, marking a 70% increase to 44,000 streams during Feb. 24-26.
As for the contemporary tunes, tracks from Sabrina Claudio and BANKS both earned eye-popping gains. During Feb 17-19, Claudio’s “Unravel Me” — which dropped back in 2017 – garnered 51,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. That figure jumped by 105% to 105,000 streams during Feb. 24-26. BANKS’ “And I Drove You Crazy” – a cut from the deluxe edition of Goddess, her acclaimed 2014 debut LP – posted an eye-popping 1,984% increase from 2,500 official on-demand U.S. streams (Feb. 17-19) to over 50,000 streams the following weekend (Feb 24-26).
Even if audiences and critics are less than enamored with Perry’s latest offering, they’re still running to stream the songs they encountered during their viewing experience. – KYLE DENIS
Tucker Wetmore Turns “Wine Into Whiskey” Into Viral Breakout
[embedded content]
Morgan Wallen was one of the first country stars to successfully make TikTok teasing a major part of his marketing strategy, so it’s only fitting that his followers should experience their breakout moments the same way. After Bailey Zimmerman followed the Wallen game plan and sound to crossover success in 2022 and 2023, now comes Tucker Wetmore, a Washington-born singer-songwriter who also borrows a heavy dose of Wallen’s twang, trappy production and proclivity for alcohol-soaked laments – and now also may poised for similar virality.
Wetmore had been teasing new single “Wine Into Whiskey” since a December TikTok clip where he offered, “I’m a little hungover, but I just got this demo back for this song, and it goes…. so hard,” before lip syncing along to the song’s moody first minute. Nearly five million plays of the clip later, Wetmore finally released the song independently to DSPs and online retailers last Friday (Feb. 23). The response was immediate: “Wine” has already racked up over three million on-demand U.S. audio streams from Friday to Monday (Feb. 26), along with over 5,000 in digital song sales, according to Luminate – both eye-popping numbers for an artist with little established chart history.
The early consumption has “Wine Into Whiskey” poised to make a Hot 100 debut next week – and then it seems like only a matter of time before country radio wraps its arms around it. In other words, expect to hear a lot more of Wetmore in the months to come. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
GC Eternal’s “Back It Up and Dump It” Sustains Sizable Streaming Gains Following A Pair of Viral TikTok Trends
[embedded content]
The impact of stomp-and-shake cheerleading on TikTok dance trends has been overlooked for some time now, but the sustained virality of GC Eternal’s “Back It Up and Dump It” is pushing the Black cheerleading style to center stage.
According to Luminate, “Back It Up and Dump It (Dump Truck)” — which features Kinfolk Thugs – logged over 650,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of Feb. 16-22. That’s a whopping 129% increase from around 435,000 streams two weeks prior (Feb. 2-8). Several dance trends have contributed to the song’s virality over the past few months. In fact, for the past two weeks the song has increased by over 50% in streaming activity.
Last fall, a two-step-rooted dance trend picked up steam on the platform to the first chorus of the song. More recently, a stomp and shake routine choreographed to the very beginning of the song has taken TikTok by storm. Created by TikTok user @mad0bout.miaaaaaaa, the latest “Dump Truck” dance has helped the song amass just under 300,000 posts on the platform. Mia’s routine – which has earned 1.7 million views and nearly 270,000 likes – errs more on the side of traditional stomp and shake than the current wave of Jersey-inspired TikTok dance combinations.
Although GC Eternal’s track is over ten years old, it’s still connecting with contemporary audiences through a combination of its catchy hook, groovy production, and focus on one of TikTok’s favorite pastimes: admiring a nice backside. – KD
Q&A: Todd Sherman, Director of Product Management at YouTube Shorts, on What’s Trending Up in His World
Can you walk us through the genesis of YouTube Shorts and how it’s become such a primary focus for the company?
In the early days of short-form video you could get the sense from Vine, Dubsmash and Musically that this format empowered new creators and also enabled viewers to watch video at times they might not have before. So to meet the needs of today’s increasingly mobile viewer and creator, four years ago we introduced YouTube Shorts, which make it easier to watch and create short-form content on the platform. And in just a few short years, we’ve seen creators and artists use them to drive fandom, subscribers and express themselves in new ways.
Today, YouTube Shorts is averaging over 70 billion daily views and the number of channels uploading Shorts has grown 50% year over year. That’s tremendous growth and something we’re really proud of. But we still consider ourselves at the beginning of this journey and we’re taking our learnings from nearly 20 years in the video business to make sure we do this right by our creators, artists, advertisers and fans.
You can now use Shorts to remix music videos. What have you noticed thus far with how users are playing around with these new tools?
It’s still early days, but one thing I’ve noticed is the sheer breadth of our music video library on YouTube for fans to play with and enjoy. Short-form video is often inherently creative, collaborative and interactive, so we knew the ability to Remix a Music Video would help fans unlock even more ways to connect and get creative with their favorite artists and their music on YouTube. Remix is available across all YouTube videos, not only Shorts. For the first time, fans can discover deep catalog cuts from their favorite artists and relive those moments by remixing them as their own.
Which songs/artists that are trending on Shorts are most intriguing to you?
So a few weeks back Karol G dropped her new single ”Contigo” — which of course, in itself is incredible — but she took it a step further and delivered her fans a special experience through Shorts and across the platform. The night started with the music video premiere, was followed by a Premium afterparty and then the first #KarolGContigo Short where she encouraged fans to celebrate and show LOVE. In the Short, participants show themselves alone, then as soon as “Contigo”’ sounds in the background, someone or something they love appears with them. We are really excited about the momentum we are seeing so far!
Now, I think what’s special here, and unique to YouTube, is that very real connection that lives on our platform between artists and their fans. This Short gave a way for her global fanbase to not only enjoy her new music video but also create something of their own to be part of her world and her moment. We always strive to build products that help people be their most creative so it’s amazing to see incredible artists like Karol G use them to connect with their fans.
Obviously YouTube is benefiting from having more licensed music available to use in clips, but what do you think is Shorts’ greatest strength as opposed to other short-form video platforms?
To me, the opportunity for artists on YouTube is clear: it’s the interconnected experience between all of the different video formats that allow them to connect with fans in bold new ways. This interplay between Shorts, longform, music and live immerses fans in the vibrant world across all formats. We want to bring fans along a journey of discovering music through Shorts, connecting them deeply to the artists’ music videos, official albums, and then turning them into engaged fans of your artists who lean in and participate. We’re still learning how best to deliver for artists and the industry, and this is an important area of focus for us this year, and we’re doing it in close collaboration with our partners.
What can we expect from the evolution of Shorts over the course of 2024?
We’re focused on making Shorts even more accessible and enjoyable to artists and their fans. YouTube is a place where people can come to build a business but also have fun, be creative, share and connect. So that means continuing to invest in creation tools that make that experience even more seamless, simple and delightful. We’re continuing to improve our recommendations including growing music trends that inspire people to participate. And when people are watching Shorts with music, we want to make it easier for them to connect with the song and artist they love.
We’re also working together with our partners to experiment with AI and its potential to make the creative process easier and more innovative. Overall we hope this work helps artists build a fanbase that feels connected to them in incredible ways. We believe that YouTube really is the best place for every music fan, and we want Shorts to be a part of that. – JL
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Beyoncé’s country crossover drives extra attention (and streams) to other Black female country artists, a Stranger Things star is on the verge of a major pop hit and a smash biopic results in a booming Bob Marley catalog.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Beyoncé’s New Country Era Is Already Lifting Up Other Black Women in the Genre
[embedded content]
When Queen Bey bet that she could break the internet (again) in her hilarious Verizon commercial during the 2024 Super Bowl on Feb. 11, that was a promise. Although Beyoncé has been in her country era for barely a week and a half, she’s already making history – and uplifting other Black women in the genre along the way.
Trending on Billboard
The music icons two new songs — “Texas Hold ‘Em” (No. 1) and “16 Carriages” (No. 9) — concurrently debuted in the top 10 on Hot Country Songs, making Beyoncé the first Black woman in history to top that chart. While those two songs continue to rack in streams and sales, they’re also serving as gateways for audiences to explore the catalogs of other Black women in country.
According to Luminate, Tanner Adell – who has scored a few minor hits such as “Buckle Bunny” and “Love You a Little Bit” — experienced a 188% increase in streaming activity from the period of Feb. 9-12 (230,000 official on-demand streams) to Feb. 16-19 (670,000 streams). On TikTok, Adell has seamlessly incorporated her love for Beyoncé and anticipation for her forthcoming LP into promotion of her own music. “If you’re waiting on Bey’s country album, you might like me,” she wrote in a Feb. 14 TikTok; the strategy has clearly paid off, as a Feb. 20 TikTok finds the young singer-songwriter celebrating “Buckle Bunny” (also released via Beyoncé’s home label Columbia) flying up the Shazam charts.
Reyna Roberts, perhaps best known for 2020’s “Stompin’ Grounds,” collected around 200,000 official on-demand streams during the period of Feb. 16-19, marking a whopping 250% increase from 57,000 streams during Feb. 9-12. There’s also Billboard chart-topping R&B artist K. Michelle, who is currently prepping a long-awaited debut country album. The Memphis-bred star has released some standalone country songs, including “Tennesse” from last year’s I’m the Problem. That track garnered around 32,000 official on-demand streams during the period of Feb. 9-15, a massive 185% increase from the week prior (11,000 streams, Feb. 2-8).
Of course, any discussion about “Texas Hold ‘Em” is incomplete without mentioning Rhiannon Giddens, the Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist who plays banjo on the track. During the period of Feb. 16-19, Giddens’ catalog collected over 108,000 official on-demand streams, up nearly 50% from 73,000 streams during Feb. 9-12. In the visualizer for “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé has her hair in a cross between a beehive and low ponytail, a style often sported by country music legend Linda Martell, the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry. During the period of Feb. 16-19, Martell’s catalog received just over 12,000 official on-demand streams, marking a 275% increase from 3,000 streams during Feb. 9-12. And notably, Martell’s debut album, Color Me Country, provided the name of Rissi Palmer’s Apple Music Country radio show. Palmer – whose “Country Girl” (2007) made her the first Black woman to hit Hot Country Songs since Dona Mason in 1987 – earned over 5,000 official on-demand streams across her discography during the period of Feb. 16-19, a 110% increase from those she amassed Feb. 9-12.
As Beyoncé’s new country era continues to unfold, expect to continue to see gains for Black women across country music. Looks like the Renaissance really isn’t over. — KYLE DENIS
‘Stranger Things’ Have Happened: Joe Keery’s Music Project Has a Burgeoning Smash
[embedded content]
Over the course of his run on the Netflix global hit Stranger Things as the well-coiffed heartthrob Steve Harrington, Joe Keery has simultaneously dabbled in the music space, first as a member of the psych-rock band Post Animal and more recently with the synth-pop solo project Djo. Decide, Keery’s second full-length under the Djo alias, was released independently in September 2022 and featured his strongest writing and song construction to date, albeit with little commercial footprint.
Yet that last part has changed over the past few weeks: “End of Beginning,” a blissed-out mid-tempo anthem from Decide that was never released as a single and hasn’t received any promotional push, has gone viral in early 2024 — and will likely become a breakthrough hit for Djo.
The uptick was started by a TikTok trend, in which users have taken the chorus lyric, “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it/ Another version of me, I was in it/ I wave goodbye to the end of beginning” to soundtrack travel clips, either of Chicago or whatever their version of hometown wistfulness might be. “End of Beginning” has fully crossed over from TikTok at this point, though: on Spotify, Djo’s track has entered the top 10 of the U.S. Daily Top 200 and U.S. viral 50, as well as creeping up to No. 16 on Billboard‘s Hot Alternative Songs.
“End of Beginning” was earning hundreds of thousands of weekly streams by mid-January, but the song is skyrocketing in February: from Feb. 16-19, the track earned 5.27 million official on-demand U.S. streams, up more than 200% from the previous four-day tracking period (1.66 million streams from Feb. 9-12), according to Luminate. Keery, who was a scene-stealer in the latest season of Fargo last fall, re-joined the Stranger Things crew in January as production on season 5 began; by the time filming wraps, Keery will likely have the first Hot 100 hit of his career. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
So Much Things to Stream: Bob Marley’s Catalog Explodes With Biopic Debut
[embedded content]
Following Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, this month’s Bob Marley: One Love becomes the latest biopic of a legendary artist to electrify audiences (even as it divides critics). The movie has already brought in more than $50 million at the box office, setting Valentine’s Day records and exceeding even the most optimistic pre-release projections. And as it brings Marley’s music to a new audience — and reminds older audiences of its greatness — it has also resulted in a massive increase in the reggae icon’s music consumption, particularly on streaming.
Marley’s catalog has actually been on the rise across streaming services for all of 2024, with anticipation for One Love perhaps helping to gradually boost his weekly official on-demand U.S. streaming numbers from around 15 million for the week ending Jan. 11 to nearly 27 million for the week ending Feb. 8, according to Luminate. But Marley’s numbers have of course exploded following the movie’s Feb. 14 release — the movie racked up over 30 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the five-day period following the movie’s release (Feb. 15-19), up 62% from the 19 million it amassed over the five days prior. (The catalog was also up 112% in digital song sales over the same time span, from over 4,000 to nearly 9,000.)
The songs currently doing the best in Marley’s catalog over that period are some of his most famous, including “Three Little Birds” (2.5 million streams, 1,500 sales), “Jamming” (1.9 million streams, 600 sales) and of course, “One Love / People Get Ready” (1.7 million streams, 1,300 sales). Legend, Marley’s RIAA Diamond-certified canonical hits collection, has even re-entered the top 30 of the Billboard 200 as a result of the increase in activity. But another song that continues to benefit from the bump in Marley exposure is from one of Bob’s descendants: “Praise Jah in the Moonlight,” breakout hit from grandson YG Marley, which falls at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. “Praise” garnered 6.5 million streams over that period, up 12% from 5.8 million the previous five-day period. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Tracy Chapman’s Grammy performance spurs massive gains for her signature song, The Greatest Night in Pop revives a charity classic, and BossMan Dlow gets in the viral mix.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Fast Car” Keeps on Driving After Grammys Performance
[embedded content]
Though she hasn’t been nominated at the awards since 2010, Tracy Chapman was unquestionably one of the biggest winners from the Grammys on Sunday night (Feb. 4). She made a rare public appearance at the ceremonies to perform her signature 1988 smash “Fast Car” alongside country superstar Luke Combs, whose cover version brought the song back into the mainstream in 2023. The much-buzzed-about performance has led to days of celebration of Chapman’s at times under-recognized legacy — and, of course, a whole lot of “Fast Car” consumption.
“Fast Car” racked up 949,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on Monday (Feb. 5), the day following the Grammys — up 241% from the 278,000 it notched the prior Monday (Jan. 29). That’s a big gain, though it’s nothing compared to how the song exploded in digital song sales, soaring 38,400% from a negligible amount to nearly 14,000. The Combs version also saw some huge gains over the same period, rising 37% in streams to nearly 1.6 million and nearly 3,900% in sales to just over 6,000.
Could it be enough for Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which originally peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 to return to the chart? It’s not impossible, though it will have to do well enough to make the top half of the chart to be eligible for a re-entrance, due to Billboard chart rules about catalog songs. If it keeps cruising through the week on its early momentum though, it may have a shot — and as of Wednesday, it was still No. 2 and No. 52 on the daily U.S. charts for iTunes and Spotify, respectively. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
“We Are the World” Streams Expand Over 300% Thanks to Netflix Doc
[embedded content]
On Jan. 29, the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which chronicled the 1985 creation of the all-star charity single “We Are the World,” was released on Netflix, and became instant fodder for music-history nerds. The doc combines new interviews with artists like Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper with dazzling archival footage — including Michael Jackson warbling the hook to himself in the studio, and Huey Lewis trying to reach his upper register in the wee hours of the morning — that shows the chaotic, communal creation of the No. 1 Hot 100 hit for humanitarian aid in Africa.
Naturally, the extended behind-the-scenes look at “We Are the World” has resulted in older fans revisiting the sing-along and new listeners checking it out on streaming services. In the three days preceding the release of The Greatest Night in Pop (Jan. 26-28), “We Are the World” earned 106,000 official U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate; during the following Friday-to-Monday tracking period (Feb. 2-4), that number jumped to 472,000 streams, an uptick of 342%. Meanwhile, digital song sales during that same three-day period exceeded 2,300, after earning a negligible amount the previous week.
Although those bumps will likely die down as more time elapses from the documentary release, who knows — maybe the renewed interest will spawn an all-star charity single for a new generation? (The song’s 40th anniversary is coming up next year.) – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Rick Ross-Adjacent Drama Helps Bossman Dlow Score a Viral Hit
[embedded content]
Public drama between an artist’s family members can sometimes turn salacious enough to provoke new interest in that artist’s music — but in the case of Rick Ross and the warring factions of his inner circle, the squabbling has benefited another artist entirely.
Rick Ross’ ex-partner, Tia Kemp, has recently been going back and forth with the rapper’s 21-year-old daughter, Toie Roberts, about (among other things) the veracity of her education and high school diploma. During the social media showdown, “Get in With Me” by rising Florida rapper BossMan Dlow has turned into an unofficial anthem of the feud, after being used in a post by Kemp that has since been adopted as a TikTok meme at the end of January.
Now, “Get In With Me” is turning into a hit on his own — with some social media users suggesting that the rapper give Kemp a cut of his earnings from the crackling trap song. From Jan. 26-29, the track earned 1.93 million official U.S. on-demand streams; fast forward one week, and “Get In With Me” scored 4.26 million streams from Feb. 2-5, according to Luminate. Bossman Dlow may be on the verge of his first Hot 100 hit, and it’s largely thanks to some dirty laundry being aired online. – JL
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Britney Spears’ fans ensure Justin Timberlake isn’t by his “Selfish” lonesome on the charts this week, a Prime Video musical series seems to be on the verge of a major breakout, “Not the 1975” passes The 1975 on radio and much more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Britney Spears Fans ‘Selfish’-ly Troll Justin Timberlake’s New Single Release, Revive 13-Year-Old ‘Femme Fatale’ Bonus Track
[embedded content]
A little low-stakes trolling never hurt anybody, right? Last Friday (Jan. 25), Justin Timberlake kicked off the campaign for Everything I Thought It Was – his forthcoming sixth studio album – with lead single “Selfish.”
Of course, Timberlake’s name has been embroiled in controversy for the past few months following unsavory excerpts from Britney Spears’ The Woman In Me memoir, in which she reflects on him cheating on her, dumping her right before a music video shoot, and playing guitar as she cried on the bathroom floor after aborting their unborn child.
To troll Timberlake’s release, Britney’s fans started throwing their support behind a Spears single also titled “Selfish.” A bonus track from the deluxe edition of 2011’s Femme Fatale, “Selfish” had seen virtually no substantial commercial success before this weekend. At one point, Spears’ “Selfish” reached the top of the U.S. iTunes Chart, conquering a Tom McDonald-Ben Shapiro collab, Megan Thee Stallion’s much-talked-about “Hiss,” and Timberlake’s own “Selfish” in the process.
According to Luminate, during the period of Jan. 29-31, Spears’ “Selfish” garnered over 397,000 official on-demand streams, marking an unbelievable 14,978% increase from just over 2,600 streams during the period of Jan. 22-24. Notably, Spears’ “Selfish” also sold just under 10,000 digital copies during Jan. 29-31, a vast improvement from the negligible number of copies the song sold during Jan. 22-24.
For what it’s worth, Spears has since come out as a fan of Timberlake’s “Selfish,” writing on Instagram (which is now set to private), “I am so in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish.’ It is soo good.” Timberlake’s new single earned 4.8 million official on-demand streams during Jan. 29-31. – KYLE DENIS
Will ‘Hazbin Hotel’ Reserve the ‘Encanto’ Slot on the 2024 Charts?
[embedded content]
For all the film musicals that have been taking over the box office in recent months – Wonka, The Color Purple, Mean Girls – it might be an animated musical comedy series whose soundtrack has the most profound impact on the Billboard charts this year. Hazbin Hotel, created by Vivienne Medrano and featuring songs composed by Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg (no relation), has been taking off with viewers and critics since the first four episodes of its first season premiered on Amazon Prime two Thrusdays ago (Jan. 18). Now, with two more episodes out on Jan. 25, the show’ is starting to really make its presence felt in sales and streaming.
“Poison” (sung by cast member Blake Roman) and “Loser Baby” (by Roman and co-star Keith David), both featured in the season’s fourth episode (“Masquerade”) and available on DSPs via A24 Music, have been the two leading performers from the show thus far. “Poison” notched over 2.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Jan. 25 (following the episode’s premiere), according to Luminate, while “Loser” did even better, with over 2.7 million streams. What’s more, they’re both still gaining: “Poison” has infected over 1.8 million streams through the first four days of this tracking week (Jan. 26-29) – a 61% gain over the same period the previous week – while “Loser” has won nearly 2 million over the same period, a gain of 60%.
Neither song is threatening the Hot 100 just yet (“Poison” has made a couple Alternative charts) but as the show continues to build buzz – and as the final two songs of the first season arrive this Thursday (Feb. 1) – it’s hard not to get the same feeling Encanto generated when its songs started breaking the surface of the mainstream at the turn of 2022. Whether any of the songs can become a crossover hit on the level of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” remains to be seen, but karaoke rooms should probably start bracing themselves for impact just in case. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Michael Marcagi Off to Strong ‘Start’ With Second Single
[embedded content]
As both Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan have lodged their work into the upper reaches of the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts, a natural byproduct of their respective successes is the proliferation of their rustic, intimately drawn country-folk amalgamations. Fans of both singer-songwriters have certainly taken a shine to “Scared to Start,” the new single from Cincinnati singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi, who fronted the rock quartet The Heavy Hours before striking out on his own. Debut single “The Other Side” earned some attention upon its December release, but based on early streaming returns, its follow-up may be a bonafide breakthrough.
After Marcagi teased the single ahead of its Jan. 12 release, “Scared to Start” has started strong, with 2.54 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its first week of release and 3.64 million more in its second week — a 42% week-to-week jump, according to Luminate. The song has been added to Spotify’s Hot Hits USA and Pop Rising playlists, while Marcagi has continued promoting “Scared to Start” and re-posting fan covers on his TikTok page, which has 165,000 followers. The soft-glowing electric guitar and tenderly anthemic hooks of “Scared to Start” sound straight out of stick season — and Marcagi, a recent Warner Records signee, may be crashing the Hot 100 with it soon enough. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Rich Amiri Bags Burgeoning Streaming Smash In Only “One Call”
[embedded content]
“I don’t trust a soul, I don’t trust nobody / Threw up off some pills, I don’t trust my own body,” opens the chorus of Rich Amiri’s “One Call.” Those lines – which are paired with rattling pluggnb production – smartly call on social media’s self-destructive obsession with “haters,” thus providing two immediate gateways to TikTok virality for the single.
“One Call,” taken from Amiri’s Internet Money/10K Projects LP Ghetto Fabulous (2023), has posted a 289% increase in official on-demand U.S. streams over the past five weeks. During the week of Jan. 19-25, the track pulled in 4.69 million streams, up substantially from the 1.2 million it notched during Dec. 22-28. On TikTok – where users frequently use the song to soundtrack video game fan edits and lip-sync clips – the official “One Call” sound boasts 31,600 posts. On YouTube, the track’s official music video – which debuted on Nov. 8, 2023 – has collected over 2.9 million views.
Having debuted on both the Bubbling Under Hot 100 (No. 7) and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 45) this week (both charts dated Feb. 3, 2024), “One Call” is shaping up to be the first Billboard Hot 100 entry of Rich Amiri’s career. – KD
‘Not the 1975’ Is Becoming Bigger at Pop Radio Than… The 1975
[embedded content]
Last July, Atlantic-signed Nashville artist Knox built a kicky pop-rock track around the chorus lyric “She said ‘I like your confidence, but you’re not The 1975’”; then, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter wove in references to the British band’s songs “Chocolate,” “Looking for Somebody (to Love)” and “Oh Caroline,” and titled the track “Not The 1975.” Over the past month, the song has proven to be an unlikely hit for Knox — and most surprisingly, has continued to find an audience at U.S. pop radio.
The all-format radio audience for “Not the 1975” has ballooned from 141,000 impressions during the week ending Jan. 4 to 1.1 million during the most recent tracking week, according to Luminate. That’s good enough to get Knox’s single to No. 35 on this week’s Pop Airplay chart — a format that has yet to fully embrace the actual 1975, even as they’ve headlined arenas across America in recent years. The 1975’s biggest Pop Airplay hit to date is the aforementioned “Chocolate,” which peaked at No. 25 on the chart in 2014, and the band hasn’t graced the listing at all since “The Sound” in 2016. That means, depending on how many spins Knox keeps collecting over the next few months, “Not the 1975” could climb higher on this chart than the 1975 ever have. – JL
Season’s Gainings: Travis Kelce Continues Fighting the Good ‘Fight’
[embedded content]
It may have confused those not versed in recent Kansas City Chiefs lore when start tight end (and Taylor Swift beau) Travis Kelce paused his postgame interview after his team’s AFC Championship victory to shout the chorus to the Beastie Boys’ 1986 classic “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party).”But the song has been a rallying cry for the Chiefs since Kelce first yelled it at the AFC Championship post-game a half-decade ago, and the team’s faithful knew it was time to get ill once Kelce again sounded the call: “Fight for Your Right” was up 15% in combined official on-demand U.S. streams (193,000 to 221,000) over this Sunday and Monday (Jan. 27-28) from the same period the previous week. If the Chiefs win their third Super Bowl in the past six years two Sundays from now, maybe Mike D and Ad Rock can at least get some free championship shirts out of it. – AU
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Streaming audiences are, like, in love with the breakout hit from the Mean Girls musical adaptation, while a new hit may break singer-songwriter Benson Boone to his widest audience yet, and internet personality Honestav is on his way to an unusual hybrid of a viral hit.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Reneé Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion Parlay ‘Mean Girls’ Success into Streaming Hit
[embedded content]
It looks like Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion have made fetch happen. “Not My Fault” — a frothy pop-rap link-up between the movie musical Regina George and the self-proclaimed “Black Regina George” – is making major waves at streaming thanks to the box office success of the new Mean Girls musical and the duo’s pitch-perfect Saturday Night Live performance (Jan. 20).
According to Luminate, “Not My Fault” earned just over three million official on-demand streams during the week of Jan. 12-18, marking a whopping 96% increase from 1.5 million streams during the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4. “Not My Fault” arrived on DSPs on Dec. 15, about a month before the movie hit theaters on Jan. 12, so the film’s premiere accounts for a significant chunk of that streaming bump.
That bump looks poised to continue growing, based on some of the most recent streaming tallies for the soundtrack single. Last Sunday (Jan. 14), “Not My Fault” garnered just over 380,000 streams. Following that SNL performance – which featured choreography from the music video and an introduction from the OG Regina George, Rachel McAdams – that figure jumped by 33% to over 510,000 streams on Sunday, Jan. 21.
The official music video for “Not My Fault” currently boasts over 6.5 million views on YouTube, and the official TikTok sound plays in over 22,700 posts on the platform. With a box office-topping film and a viral performance in its corner, “Not My Fault” could very well be the first Billboard Hot 100 entry of Reneé Rapp’s career. — KYLE DENIS
A “Beautiful” Breakthrough for Benson Boone
[embedded content]
Washington singer-songwriter Benson Boone has flirted with crossover success a couple times already in his career, cameoing in the lower stretches of the Hot 100 with “Ghost Town” (No. 100) in 2021 and “In the Stars” (No. 82) in 2022. But this year, Boone looks to be well on his way to the fastest-starting hit of his still-young career, thanks to the power ballad “Beautiful Things.”
The yearning ballad was one that Boone teased extensively for a month and a half on his TikTok page before its release on Friday (Jan. 19), with snippets that previewed the song’s explosive climax. It built heavy anticipation for the song, which blew up almost immediately upon its debut, as the song bounded to the top of the iTunes chart and finished towards the top of both Spotify’s and Apple Music’s daily charts for its day of release.
In all, the song has amassed over 8.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams through its first four days (Jan. 19-22) of its release, according to early reports from Luminate, as well as nearly 4,800 digital song sales. Those are both phenomenal numbers for half a debut week — particularly for an artist without extensive commercial history behind them — and they suggest a Hot 100 debut that should pretty easily outpace Boone’s first two entries on the chart, and one with the potential to grow into one of the biggest breakout hits of the new year if it can keep up its early momentum. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Honestav Pulls On TikTok’s Heartstrings With Fast-Rising “I’d Rather Overdose”
[embedded content]
Honestav & Z’s “I’d Rather Overdose” growing into a streaming hit by way of a TikTok trend – and there’s no dancing involved this time.
Known by many on the app for his portrayal of the “broke boyfriend” character, Honestav tapped into something a bit more serious for “I’d Rather Overdose.” Somewhere between Post Malone and Noah Kahan with a dash of The Kid LAROI, “I’d Rather Overdose” explores the complexities of being in a codependent relationship with an addict. “When you’re fucked up on them pills you can’t hear me cry/ Without them you’re sick and we both know why/ Pint after pint ‘till the well runs dry/ If only you loved me like you love gettin’ high,” Honestav sings. The song has quickly been embraced by TikTok users on their own sobriety journeys, those grieving loved ones they’ve lost to substance abuse and those who are children of parents who suffered from various addictions.
“I’d Rather Overdose” garnered 1.1 million official on-demand streams during the three-day period of Jan. 20-22, according to Luminate. That marks an eye-popping 345% increase from the period of Jan. 13-15, during which the song collected just over 248,000 streams. Honestav first previewed the song – which he wrote based on his own experiences living with his parents’ addictions — in a Jan. 9 TikTok and fans quickly launched onto the song’s raw lyrics and sound. Now, the song’s official TikTok sound boasts over 16,800 posts, and its official music video has garnered over 65,000 views in just five days. It may be early in the song’s journey, but its growth is already explosive. — KD
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: YG Marley becomes the latest artist in his legendary family with a breakout single (with an assist from Mom), Rich Gang’s signature smash makes the viral rounds yet again, social media’s Jacob Elordi obsession results in another revived hit and more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Praise Jah!”: YG Marley Adds Yet Another Hit to the Marley Family Legacy
[embedded content]
Just one month out from the theatrical release of Bob Marley: One Love (Feb. 14), the forthcoming Reinaldo Marcus Green-helmed biopic of the late reggae legend, the Marley family is adding yet another hit to their already sprawling cross-generational collection. “Praise Jah in the Moonlight,” the debut single from YG Marley, is currently exploding at streaming, garnering 1.28 million official on-demand streams during the period of Jan. 12-16, according to Luminate. That marks a whopping 176.4% increase in streams from the previous period (Jan. 5-9).
Marley’s debut track is experiencing a perfect storm of pre-release promotion and viral facts related to the song’s credits. Last winter, Marley performed “Praise Jah” at several of his mother’s tour stops. His mother? None other than Ms. Lauryn Hill. Naturally, footage from those shows gained lots of traction on socials, with fans kickstarting a grassroots campaign for an official release of the song. “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” eventually hit DSPs shortly after Christmas (Dec. 27, 2023), and once fans perused the credits, another viral element was added to the song’s run.
“Praise Jah” is co-written by Marley and Hill and includes elements of Bob Marely & The Wailers’ “Crisis,” earning the music icon composer and lyricist credits. This information has quickly made the rounds on socials, with fans praising the musical lineage of YG Marley and embracing the song’s focus on traditional reggae stylings. Having already hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Global and U.S. Viral 50 charts, “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” is looking to grow into a true breakout hit for YG Marley. – KYLE DENIS
Back to the Top for Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle,” Thanks to Very Different Viral Videos
[embedded content]
Rich Gang’s 2010s anthem “Lifestyle,” a No. 16 Hot 100 hit in 2014, has been gaining on streaming this week thanks to a few viral videos. The song first re-entered the cultural zeitgeist when model Alex Consani posted a video of herself dancing to the track at brunch. Since its posting, the video has been liked 4.6 million times with one commenter calling it the “video of the year” (that comment has been liked 110.4K times).
The ”Lifestyle” hype grew even further last week when it was played in the court room during Young Thug’s trial and later clips of the moment went viral on social media. All this has led to a 307% jump in streams in the last week, according to Luminate — with the song rising from 723,000 U.S. on-demand streams for the four-day period of Jan. 5-8 to over 2.2 million for the same period the following week. – KRISTIN ROBINSON
Jacob Elordi’s Sex Appeal Revives Near-Decade-Old Flume Hit
[embedded content]
Between his starring turns in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, Jacob Elordi has become the Internet’s latest obsession. Of course, the 6’5” Australian actor has long been a star for younger audiences thanks to The Kissing Booth trilogy and Euphoria, but he’s hit a new level in the past few months.
Case in point: A fan-created montage gawking over Elordi’s good looks has sparked a streaming revival for the nearly decade-old song that plays in the background. The fan-cam, which is comprised entirely of shots of Elordi’s Saltburn character, is set to Flume and Kai’s “Never Be Like You,” an era-defining dance track that reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2016. During the week of Jan. 5-11, the Grammy-nominated track pulled in 2.12 million official on-demand U.S. streams, marking a 75% increase from the previous week.
The Jan. 3 TikTok that kickstarted the “Never Be Like You” surge has since collected a jaw-dropping 42.1 million views and 6.5 million likes on the platform in just two weeks. The sound attached to the post – which is logged as separate from the official “Never Be Like You” sound – has already been used in over 18,000 posts – nearly all of which are about Elordi or Saltburn in some way. Between Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” and now “Never Be Like You,” it looks like Saltburn has the Midas Touch when it comes to minting new-old hits. – KD
Let the Man Go Through: ‘Reacher’ Surrender Spurs Soul Coughing Bump
[embedded content]
Amazon’s action-crime series Reacher, based on the popular Jack Reacher book series, has become one of the streaming service’s biggest serial hits. With episodes of its second season now being released weekly, individual episodes are proving to have a pronounced streaming impact with some of their higher-profile synchs.
Most recently, Soul Coughing’s late-’90s left-field alt-rock hit “Super Bon Bon” was used extensively in the climax to the season’s Jan. 12-debuting penultimate episode, where the title character (played by Alan Ritchson) gives himself up to antagonist Shane Langston (Robert Patrick) as part of a thusfar-unseen plan to rescue his team members from capture. The song’s warped bass line and sung-spoken “Move a-siiiiide and let the man go through” commands perfectly matched the tension of the scene, and captured the interest of viewers – many of whom were likely unfamiliar with the song previously, as evidenced by the song ranking in the top 10 of Shazam’s U.S. Top 200 this week.
That interest also extended to DSPs, as “Super Bon Bon” notched over 118,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the first four days of this tracking week (Jan. 12-15), according to Luminate – a 342% gain from the 27,000 streams it posted over a similar period in the previous week. If that’s what a second-to-last episode synch can do, you can bet music supervisors will be paying attention to the performance of any synchs in the upcoming season finale, airing tomorrow (Jan. 19). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Muni Long’s “Made for Me” Turns Viral ‘Blue Pajama’ Trend Into Big Streaming Gains
[embedded content]
Soul singer-songwriter Muni Long’s “Made for Me” already had radio on its side – the track has reached No. 2 on Adult R&B Airplay and No. 14 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay – and now it’s turning into a sizable streaming hit thanks, in part, to a hilarious TikTok trend.
TikTok creator @peezyp – better known as “girl with the blue pajamas” — jump-started a simple trend that has captivated the app’s users and sparked new interest in Long’s latest single. The trend is simple: Decked out in blue pajamas, users walk toward the camera (lots of head-bobbing and playing to the camera as if you’re in a ‘90s R&B music video are highly encouraged) while lip-syncing the chorus of the song. The trend’s specifics draw some inspiration from Muni Long’s performance of the track at the 2023 Soul Train Music Awards.
“Made for Me” has been logging over 500,000 official on-demand streams per week for the past month and a half, but the song has shown remarkable growth over the past two weeks. During the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4, “Made for Me” earned 1.22 million streams, increasing by 25% the following week to 1.53 million streams. Long herself has got in on the fun; On Wednesday (Jan. 17), she posted a TikTok of her jumping on the trend with the caption, “Lemme go buy some blue pajamas rq.” The official “Made for Me” sound currently plays in over 44,500 TikTok posts, while its official music video – which stars fellow R&B fixture Luke James – has garnered over 200,000 views in less than 24 hours.
Should streams continue to rise alongside its airplay numbers, “Made for Me” could very well become Muni Long’s third career entry on the Hot 100. – KD
Season’s Gainings: MLK Day Bumps for ‘60s Protest Anthems
[embedded content]
We don’t typically see huge streaming spikes related to the January commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day – it’s not really the kind of holiday most folks feel needs a soundtrack, for obvious reasons. That said, there were a few period anthems that understandably saw bumps in streaming on Monday (Jan. 15) for their topical relevance – including James Brown’s “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” (up 117% in official on-demand U.S. streams from the previous Monday to nearly 7,000, according to Luminate), Dion’s “Abraham, Martin & John” (up 46%, also to nearly 7,000) and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” (up 14% to over 89,000). And of course, there were also gains for U2’s hit MLK tribute, the classic rock staple “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which rose 12% to over 46,000. – AU
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Myriad ’00s jams take off on streaming thanks to their Saltburn usage, He Is We sparks the early year’s most unlikely viral dance trend and a former president’s co-sign helps out an indie staple.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Pop and Indie Favorites From Two Decades Ago ‘Saltburn’ing Up on Streaming
[embedded content]
By now, you may have heard about one of the most fun Billboard Hot 100 success stories of the new year: veteran U.K. pop hitmaker Sophie Ellis-Bextor scoring a debut on the chart with the 22-year-old Gregg Alexander co-penned disco-pop gem “Murder on the Dancefloor.” Thanks to virality ensuing from its usage in the Emerald Fennell-directed 2023 film Saltburn, the song bows at No. 98 on the Hot 100 this week — the first-ever appearance on the chart for Ellis-Bextor, who reached the top 10 of the U.K.’s Official Songs Chart six times in the early 21st century.
But while “Murder” has gotten the biggest bump from the ’00s-set viral black comedy, it’s far from the only song to benefit from its usage in the film, as pretty much every other period favorite used in the movie is also way up in streams following its Dec. 22 bow on Amazon Prime. Mason vs. Princess Superstar’s 2007 U.K. smash “Perfect (Exceeder)” is another of the biggest Saltburn gainers, up 289% in official on-demand U.S. streams to over 1.4 million from the week ending Dec. 21 to the week ending Jan. 4, according to Luminate. Over the same period, MGMT’s psych-pop classic “Time to Pretend” is up 96% to 1.1 million streams, Bloc Party’s swooning rock gem “This Modern Love” is up 166% to 177,000 streams and Tomcraft’s barnstorming dancefloor anthem “Loneliness” is up 569% to 173,000 streams.
Even a couple absolutely unkillable ’00s staples see noticeable Saltburn bumps: Flo Rida’s Hot 100-topping “Low” is up 16% to 2.5 million, and the daddy of all ’00s indie anthems, The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” is up 15% to 5.2 million. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
He Is We’s “I Wouldn’t Mind” Merrily Falls into Streaming Success Following Viral TikTok Trend
[embedded content]
Indie pop act He Is We has yet to impact a single Billboard chart, but that could very well change thanks to the viral TikTok trend powering their 2017 track “I Wouldn’t Mind.”
According to Luminate, “I Wouldn’t Mind” logged 1.08 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Dec. 29-Jan. 4. That marks a staggering 294% increase in streaming activity from just four weeks prior, when the track collected a little over 275,000 streams during the period of Dec. 8-14. For each of the past three weeks, streams for “I Wouldn’t Mind” have increased by approximately 57%.
These massive week-over-week gains are due to a TikTok trend in which users execute Jersey club-inspired choreography to the song’s opening lines (“Merrily we fall / Out of line, out of line / I’d fall anywhere with you / I’m by your side”), yet another example for the TikTok generation’s penchant for stark sonic/visual juxtapositions. TikTok user @zaebriel first paired the dance with “I Wouldn’t Mind” in a Dec. 11 post that has since amassed over 2.4 million views. Four days later, TikTok creator @jerseyyjoe – who recently appeared in ScarLip’s “Blick” music video – posted his spin on the dance, garnering a whopping 16.2 million views and 2.3 million likes. The official “I Wouldn’t Mind” TikTok sound currently boasts over 130,7000 posts.
While He Is We has yet to acknowledge the viral trend on any of their official social media pages, new fans of “I Wouldn’t Mind” have already flooded the comments of their most recent Instagram post with lots of love for the surprise hit. – KYLE DENIS
Big Thief Gets the Obama Bump
[embedded content]
Indie rock stalwarts Big Thief‘s 2023 single “Vampire Empire” has experienced a sharp rise in streams in the past few weeks, thanks to an unlikely fan: Barack Obama.
The former president’s end-of-year playlists always spark internet chatter when they are posted — often because of the former President’s usually unnervingly hip, eclectic taste — and this holiday season was no different. Big Thief’s “Vampire Empire” was slated alongside other surprising indie rock gems like “Joiner” by Blondshell and “Younger and Dumber” by Indigo De Souza as well as more mainstream hits like Zach Bryan’s Hot 100-topping Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything,” Victoria Monet’s Grammy-nominated banger “On My Mama,” and Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’s iconic team-up “America Has a Problem.”
For Big Thief, this surprising spotlight amounted to new listenership for the song, which was released on July 19 and had already seen some viral growth on TikTok. The week before Obama’s post, the track earned 825,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, but the following week it rose 193% to 1.59 million streams, according to Luminate. – KRISTIN ROBINSON
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: A new hit rom-com revives an ’00s pop-rock classic, a musical Apple commercial pulls on the heartstrings, Zeddy Will “Cha Cha”s back to virality and more.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” Soars on Streaming Thanks to Anyone But You
[embedded content]
During the holidays (Dec. 22), Anyone But You – which stars Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell – delighted rom-com fans across movie theatres. In the Shakespeare-inspired story, Natasha Bedingfield’s pop classic “Unwritten” plays a pivotal role in the narrative of Powell’s character. The song plays and is sung by multiple characters throughout the film, easily making it the defining musical characteristic of the Will Gluck-helmed movie.
According to Luminate, “Unwritten” earned over 1.3 million official on-demand streams during the period of Dec. 29-Jan. 1, marking an eye-popping 156.3% increase from just over 511,000 streams the weekend prior (Dec. 22-25). Since the film hit theatres, TikTok has seen a wave of videos using the official “Unwritten” sound to soundtrack viewers leaving Anyone But You screenings in high spirits. That sound boasts over 39,400 posts on TikTok. Bedingfield has since posted a pair of TikToks celebrating the song’s resurgence. “A rom com has got girls falling out of cinemas singing my song — and now it’s trending!!!” she wrote in an intro to a compilation of post-Anyone But You “Unwritten” TikToks. — KYLE DENIS
A Singing Outlet Electrifies Doe Boy’s “Way Too Long”
[embedded content]
It was certainly one of the more attention-capturing new commercials you might’ve seen in a week of sports and holiday TV coverage at the end of 2023: an Apple ad for the iPhone 15 Plus starring a heartbroken electrical outlet. In the spot, the outlet painedly croons to the new iPhone about why it’s being so distant: ““We had pure energy/ We had that chemistry/ We were inseparable… I feel like it’s been way too long and I’m missing you.” Though it’s mostly just meant to trumpet the long battery life of the 15 Plus, the commercial tugged enough heartstrings this emotional holiday season to lead listeners to the real song behind it.
“Way Too Long,” released earlier in December by Cleveland rapper Doe Boy, is the song featured in the commercial, and the track has seen a boom in streams following the commercial’s Christmas Eve debut. For the first four days of this current tracking week (Dec. 29 – Jan. 1), the track pulled in over 98,000 official on-demand U.S. streams – up 115% from the under 46,000 it posted over an equivalent period (Dec. 22 – 25) the week before, according to Luminate – while also landing in the top 10 of Shazam’s U.S. top 200, as folks were gratified too learn “Way Too Long” was a real song, not just an inspired invention of Apple’s marketing team. (“Dem damn Electrical Sockets cooked!” reads one characteristic comment on the song’s official YouTube.) – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
4Batz Rides Ironic Music Video to Massive Streaming Gains
[embedded content]
With SZA, Victoria Monét and Coco Jones leading the charge, R&B had a banner year in 2023. This year seeks to be a continuation of that momentum, but this time with a rising star named 4batz at the forefront. His “Act II: Date @ 8,” has exploded at streaming, pulling in over 2.4 million official on-demand streams during the period of Dec. 22-28, according to Luminate. That’s a whopping 385% increase in streaming activity from just under 500,000 streams the week prior (Dec. 15-21).
The massive streaming growth of “Act II” is mostly due to its viral From The Block live performance music video. In the clip, which finds him surrounded by a crew decked out in ski masks and hoodies, 4 Batz plays on the TikTok generation’s penchant for visual and sonic irony. While he’s singing a Brent Faiyaz-adjacent R&B track, the video’s aesthetic lends itself more towards drill rappers than R&B crooners. That juxtaposition helped make the video a viral sensation on social media, even drawing a reaction from record-breaking Twitch streamer Kai Cenat. Several excerpts from his reaction have earned over 50,000 likes on TikTok alone, and the excerpt he posted to his own YouTube Shorts page received 49,000 views in just 22 hours. The song’s official visualizer has garnered 700,000 views in two weeks, while the official TikTok sound boasts over 13,500 posts.
“Act II: Date @ 8” has already hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 and No. 2 on the platform’s Viral 50 – USA ranking. It’s only up from here as 4Batz’s career and profile continue to grow. — KD
Zeddy Will Scores Another TikTok-Feuled Streaming Smash With On the Radar “Cha Cha” Freestyle
[embedded content]
Last year, Billboard covered Zeddy Will’s last TikTok-fueled streaming hit, “Freak You.” Now, just three days into the new year, the social media personality and rapper has another smash on his hands. According to Luminate, “Cha Cha” has collected over 1.24 million official on-demand streams during the period of Dec. 22-28. That’s a humongous 257.4% increase from just under 350,000 streams two weeks prior (Dec. 8-14).
“Cha Cha” — a remix of the iconic “Cha Cha Slide” — is one-half of Zeddy’s On The Radar Freestyle, which hit YouTube on Dec. 1, 2023. The clip has since earned over one million views, with a standalone “Cha Cha” clip earning an additional 151,000 views. Beyond the initial live performance video, “Cha Cha” sources its virality from a viral TikTok dance courtesy of TikTok creator @jerseyyjoe; his initial dance clip has earned nearly 24 million TikTok views. The hip-rocking, slipper-smacking dance quickly gained steam on the app from major creators and everyday users alike, resulting in over 84,400 posts to On The Radar Radio’s “Cha Cha” sound.
With Zeddy Will always being one step ahead of the social media curve – he’s already teamed up for collaborative TikToks with @jerseyyjoe – there’s no telling just how much “Cha Cha” will continue to rise. — KD
Season’s Gainings: New Year, Same Taylor
[embedded content]
For hundreds of thousands of music listeners, 2024 appears to be starting off about the same way all of 2023 went: listening to Taylor Swift. There seemed to be a Swift song for just about every occasion in ‘23, and for Jan. 1 of 2024, there was a particularly obvious pick: Reputation closer and fan favorite “New Year’s Day,” which saw a 333% gain (from the prior Dec. 30) to 361,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the first day of last year as well. But following Swift’s historic 2023, the total bump was even bigger: “Day” skyrocketed 327% to 738,000 streams over the same two-day period this year, even cracking the top 40 of Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart on Jan. 1. Within a few years, there might not be a day on the calendar you won’t be able to pencil in some automatic Swift megabump for. — AU
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 release sends fans to some of its sampled hits — and to the sequel album’s predecessor — while Netflix’s Leave the World Behind takes over the Shazam charts, and we haven’t heard the last from HBO‘s The Idol yet.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday 2′ Brings Billie Eilish & Junior Senior to Gag City with Big Streaming Gains
[embedded content]
Not even the holiday season can stop a queen. As Brenda Lee and Mariah Carey solidify their stronghold atop the Billboard Hot 100, Nicki Minaj looks primed for a few splashy debuts on next week’s ranking thanks to her brand new fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2.
Serving as the sequel to her Billboard 200-topping 2010 debut studio album, Pink Friday 2 features collaborations with Drake, J. Cole, Future, Skeng, Skillibeng, 50 Cent, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and more, as well as the Hot 100 hits “Super Freaky Girl” (No. 1), “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” (No. 13) and “Last Time I Saw You” (No. 23).
Upon release, the 22-track album, which Minaj is expected to expand each day this week, made a splashy streaming debut, with two new songs earning considerable early traction: “Everybody” (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) and album opener “Are You Gone Already.” Both tracks heavily incorporate samples, and those sampled tracks have already shown a spike in streams since Minaj dropped us off at Gag City.
“Everybody” heavily samples Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet,” a 2002 dance track from the Danish pop duo’s debut album. According to Luminate, during the period Dec. 8-10, “Move Your Feet” collected a little over 130,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, a 40.9% increase from just over 92,000 steams the prior weekend (Dec. 1-3). As for “Are You Gone Already,” Minaj’s emotional album opener pulls from Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over.” Eilish’s track has always been a consistent streamer, but it did see a 15% jump in streams this weekend (1.074 million on-demand U.S. streams during Dec. 8-10) versus last weekend (934,000 streams during Dec. 1-3).
Naturally, the release of Pink Friday 2 also spurred notable gains for the OG Pink Friday album. Minaj’s debut racked up 4.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams during its sequel’s release weekend. That’s a 16.9% jump in streams from the previous weekend (3.6 million) for the Grammy-nominated LP, which features hits such as “Super Bass,” “Your Love” and the Drake-featuring “Moment 4 Life.” As for Pink Friday 2, the long-awaited record clocked 90.8 million streams during Dec. 8-10. — KYLE DENIS
‘Leave the World Behind’ Needle Drops Spur Gains for Joey Bada$$, Blackstreet & More
Last Friday (Dec. 8), director Sam Esmail’s film adaptation of the acclaimed Rumaan Alam novel Leave the World Behind hit Netflix, with the story of a chance encounter during an ominous technological breakdown brought to life by a star-studded cast headlined by Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la. The psychological thriller finds some levity within its music synchs, as Esmail has peppered the film with hip-hop and rhythmic pop hits — all of which are enjoying significant streaming upticks since the film hit the streaming service, and landing near the top of Shazam’s U.S. Top 200 chart.
The Joey Bada$$ song “The Rev3nge,” which opens the film, has earned the biggest bump so far: from Dec. 8-11, the track earned 153,000 U.S. on-demand streams, a 267% gain from its streaming total from the previous Friday-to-Monday period (41,000 streams), according to Luminate. Meanwhile, Next’s Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Too Close,” which Roberts’ character dances to in the film, is up 12% to 474,000 streams from Dec. 8-11; Blackstreet’s “Never Gonna Let You Go” soars 214%, to 60,000 streams over that period; and Kool + The Gang’s ’80s smash “Misled” is up 263%, to 66,000 streams. One month after David Fincher’s The Killer sent Netflix viewers searching for The Smiths’ discography, Esmail’s Leave the World Behind has a more wide-ranging set of needle drops, and it’s proven equally effective at yielding streaming gains. — JASON LIPSHUTZ
The Idol Gives Us “One of” 2023’s Latest-Breaking Viral Hits
[embedded content]
We may be through with The Idol, but The Idol isn’t through with us. HBO may have pulled the plug on the Sam Levinson-directed controversial music-biz melodrama — starring and co-created by real-life pop superstar The Weeknd — but one of the songs released for the series continues to grow months later. “One of The Girls,” performed by The Weeknd along with BLACKPINK’s Jennie and Lily Rose-Depp (both of whom also star in the series), has long been one of the best-performing songs from the show’s extensive soundtrack, and has doubled in streams over the past six weeks.
According to Luminate, the track has grown from 1.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Nov. 2 to 4.1 million for the week ending Dec. 7. Much of the track’s growth is likely due to continued TikTok virality for the song, largely stemming from BLINK support for the Jennie-sung parts of the song, with fans praising her enchanting vocals. If “One of the Girls” continues growing at the rate it has, it could very well become her first Hot 100 hit in the months to come — it even debuts at No. 17 on the Bubbling Under chart this week. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
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: Late rock legends Tom Petty and Shane McGowan see huge gains for a pair of late-’80s favorites, a turn-of-the-century U.K. pop smash gets some U.S. love for a cheeky film synch and much more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
‘GTA’ Trailer Leads to ‘Long’ Season for Tom Petty on Streaming
[embedded content]
1989’s Full Moon Fever album was a career apex for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty. His first LP recorded without usual backing band the Heartbreakers, the set was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA in the U.S., and spawned the massive radio and MTV hits “Free Fallin’,” “I Won’t Back Down” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” But it’s one of the album’s deeper cuts that’s lighting up streaming services this week: the hi-octane synth-rocker “Love Is a Long Road.”
The song is taking off due to its use in the recently released trailer for the highly anticipated upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, which set viewership records in its first 24 hours of release on YouTube. Though “Long Road” was only drawing between 4,000-5,000 daily official on-demand U.S. streams before over the weekend, that number was up to 78,000 on Monday (Dec. 4) – when the trailer first leaked on social media – and rocketed to 376,000 on Tuesday after the trailer’s proper release, according to preliminary numbers from Luminate: a gain of 8,421% from the prior Sunday. (The song also sold nearly 1,000 digital copies over those two days, after a negligible number the days before.)
Those numbers may only continue to increase as the GTA trailer spreads around the internet, possibly making “Long Road” a contender on some of Billboard’s rock charts next week. It wouldn’t be the first time the song made a chart impact – back in 1989, it made it to No. 7 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, despite never being released as an A-side in the U.S. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Fans Mourn the Late Shane MacGowan by Reliving a “Fairytale of New York”
[embedded content]
Last Thursday (Nov. 30), Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan died from pneumonia after a monthslong ICU stint earlier this year. In the days since his passing — which painfully coincided with the beginning of December, a.k.a. the height of Christmas music season – fans have rallied around the Pogues’ holiday-themed Kirsty MacColl duet “Fairytale of New York” to soundtrack their collective mourning.
On TikTok, the four official “Fairytale” sounds have a combined total of just over 10,000 posts, but that only tells half of the story. In the wake of MacGowan’s passing, several celebrity covers of the song have garnered renewed traction on TikTok – including clips of Ed Sheeran, Saoirse Ronan, and, of course, Travis Kelce, who recently earned his first Billboard chart-topper with “Fairytale of Philadelphia,” a spoof on the Pogues’ original featuring his brother Jason Kelce. The general Christmas spirit has also bolstered the song’s circulation on the app, and a microtrend of British creators highlighting the different regional uses of the F-slur between the U.S. and U.K. did the same.
According to Luminate, “Fairytale of New York” earned just under 400,000 on-demand U.S. streams the day MacGowan passed (Nov. 30), marking a 227.2% increase in streams from the day prior. During the first four days of this tracking week (Nov. 30-Dec. 3), “Fairytale” logged 1.19 million streams, a 146.1% increase from around 483,000 streams during the period of Nov. 26-29.
“Fairytale of New York” served as a single from the Pogues’ 1988 If I Should Fall From Grace With God album, which became their highest-peaking entry on the Billboard 200 (No. 88). Although none of their songs have entered the Billboard Hot 100, “Fairytale” — which is a certified Christmas classic in the U.K. — recently reached a new peak of No. 16 on Holiday Digital Song Sales (chart dated Dec. 9, 2023). Should streams continue to remain up, “Fairytale” might get within striking distance of becoming the Celtic band’s very first Hot 100 hit. – KYLE DENIS
Barry Keoghan’s Cheeky NSFW Saltburn Scene Revives a Sophie Ellis-Bextor Classic on Streaming
[embedded content]
Barry Keoghan’s lengthy full-frontal scene in Emerald Fennell’s much-discussed Saltburn has become an inescapable part of day-to-day social media discourse, but it’s not just the swoon-worthy actor people are fawning over. In the scene – which features the nude Oscar nominee dancing through a seemingly empty mansion – Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” booms in the background, making it a prime selection for TikTok’s latest musical obsession.
On TikTok, the most popular “Murder on the Dancefloor” sound – which originated from a June post by a Sophie Ellis-Bextor fan-page – has garnered over 99,600 posts, with the official sounds boasting a combined 2,109 posts. The vast majority of recent “Murder on the Dancefloor” posts are split between users lauding the song’s greatness outside of Saltburn and users expressing admiration and shock for Keoghan’s daring performance. “Just found out in this scene of [Saltburn], Barry Keoghan didn’t use a prosthetic,” reads one cheeky caption, while another proclaims, “Barry Keoghan twirling around a mansion naked lives rent free in my head.”
According to Luminate, “Murder” earned over 670,000 on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Nov. 24-30. That marks an enormous 362.3% increase from just under 145,000 streams during the period of Nov. 17-23. From Dec. 1-4, “Murder” had already pulled 547,000 streams, signaling an even faster rate of growth than the week prior.
“Murder on the Dancefloor” may have never reached the Hot 100, but the track did top out at No. 9 on Dance Singles Sales back in 2002. The song fared much better in Ellis-Bextor’s home of the U.K., reaching No. 2 in late 2001. With Saltburn headed to on-demand streaming later this month, “Murder on the Dancefloor” has plenty of room to keep growing. – KD
‘Little Life,’ Big Streams: Cordelia Scores Celebratory TikTok Hit
[embedded content]
“I think I like this little life.” So goes a refrain that’s becoming increasingly popular on TikTok, with users soundtracking sentimental moments alongside friends, as well as glistening nature shots, with “Little Life” – the gentle and emotionally arresting song by independent singer-songwriter Cordelia. “Little Life” was released as the final song on Cordelia’s four-track Caramel EP in October, and since then, the song has steadily ballooned in weekly streams to become a potential breakthrough for the rising artist.
During the week ending Nov. 9, “Little Life” earned 2,500 U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate; that number grew by a factor of 100 (265,000 weekly streams) by the week ending Nov. 30, and looks to keep swelling in December, as the song earned 216,000 streams in the first three days of the month. For her part, Cordelia is reveling in the TikTok explosion: “People are using my song ‘Little Life’ to soundtrack their own wonderful little lives,” she wrote last month. “It’s TOO CUTE.” – Jason Lipshutz
Q&A: Alex Tear, VP music programming at SiriusXM + Pandora, on What’s Trending Up in His World
What’s the number one trend that you think we’ll remember when we look back at 2023 in popular music?
The art and controversy of the sped-up single peaking at a new high. Although sped-up versions have been present since the 2000s, 2023 feels to have been a breakthrough year with mass appeal acceptance, charting, radio airplay and totally normalized consumption.
What was the year’s most surprising trend to you?
Music’s reset to innovate and push boundaries again vs. being predictable and formulaic. The growing mass acceptance and appetite to blur genre lines and era boundaries has allowed artists to really shine with strong audience reaction. The resurgence of retro-inspired pop that embraces the sounds of previous decades has also been very welcomed.
The charts are currently being dominated by holiday music, but do you think there are any songs from late 2023 that will carry over as big hits in early 2024?
I feel there are several that will continue to melt the snow, from Tate McRae with her new album Think Later, to Jack Harlow to Dua Lipa, and let’s keep our eye on Noah Kahan. Noah’s creeping momentum is poised to roll into 2024 with a presence.
Fill in the blank: the major artist I’m hoping has a big 2024 is ______.
Teddy Swims and Tyla. These are two artists first embraced by SiriusXM + Pandora to amazing audience reaction. We’re excited to be a part of their rise and will continue spreading the word across North America as they become major artists. – J.L.
