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: Winners and other participants post gains from both the ACMs and Eurovision, while a pair of new viral sensations make waves and an expecting pop superstar sees an appropriate song bump.

2024 ACM Awards Spur Streaming Gains for Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson & Kelsea Ballerini 

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Last week’s Reba McEntire-hosted ACM Awards (May 16) treated viewers to show-stopping performances and moving acceptance speeches, both of which resulted in impressive streaming gains for some of country music’s biggest stars. 

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Chris Stapleton – who took home three trophies, including male artist, artist-songwriter and album of the year – had the night’s buzziest performance thanks to a surprise appearance from Dua Lipa. The pop star joined the soulful country crooner on a duet version of “Think I’m in Love With You,” the second single from his 2023 album Higher. During the Friday and Saturday preceding the ACMs (May 10-11), Stapleton’s track pulled 1.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. That number grew by 15% to 1.86 million streams the following Friday-Saturday (May 18-19). Notably, U.S. digital sales for “Think I’m In Love With You” ballooned 908% from 114 copies sold (May 11-12) to 1,149 copies sold (May 18-19). This bodes well for the pair’s upcoming collaboration, slated for release later this year. 

Stapleton and Lainey Wilson tied as the night’s most-awarded artists, with the recent Billboard cover star reigning victorious in the categories of entertainer, female artist and music event of the year. Wilson opened the show with a medley of Little Texas’ “God Blessed Texas” and her own “Hang Tight Honey,” the lead single for her forthcoming Whirlwind LP.  

Released mid-tracking week on May 13, “Hang Tight Honey” earned just over 223,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the weekend preceding the ACMs (May 15-16). By the following weekend (May 18-19), that figure exploded by 333% to 968,000 streams, likely boosted by both her performance and key New Music Friday playlist placements. Like Stapleton’s track, “Honey” also posted sizable sales gains, more than doubling from 402 copies sold (May 15-16) to 851 copies sold (May 18-19). 

Wilson’s win for female artist of the year came at the expense of Kelsea Ballerini, who was recognized in that category at the 2024 ceremony. Nonetheless, Ballerini scored a streaming win of her own thanks to her Noah Kahan-assisted mash-up of her own “Mountain With a View” and his smash hit “Stick Season.” 

“Mountain With a View,” the opening track to Ballerini’s Grammy-nominated Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP, earned 95,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the weekend preceding the ACMs (May 11-12). Following her beautiful Kahan link-up, that figure rose by 21% to 115,000 streams the weekend following the awards show (May 18-19). – KYLE DENIS

Disqualified Eurovision Single Scores Bigger U.S. Streams Than Song Contest Winner

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Although Eurovision, the long-running international song contest held each spring, has historically had a muted impact on the U.S. charts, recent contests did produce some crossover stars (such as 2021 winners Måneskin) and singles (like Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade,” which became a top 40 hit on the Hot 100 after earning the 2019 Eurovision crown). Following the 2024 edition last week, multiple Eurovision singles are earning sizable weekly streams in the U.S. — although the winning Eurovision single is actually being out-gained by a song that wasn’t allowed to place in the contest.

“The Code,” an operatic drum-n-bass track by Swiss performer Nemo about their self-acceptance as a non-binary artist, emerged victorious in the Eurovision final, and its streams have skyrocketed in the days following the competition. Released in February, “The Code” earned 86,000 U.S. on-demand streams during the week ending May 9, the day the song was featured in the second semi-final, according to Luminate; the following week (May 10-16), that number jumped to 868,000, essentially multiplying its weekly U.S. streams tenfold after winning the competition on May 11.

In a bizarre twist, however, “Europapa,” the Netherlands’ Eurovision nominee by the Dutch artist and former YouTuber Joost, is practically doubling the U.S. weekly streams of “The Code,” earning 1.75 million streams during the week ending May 16. The rave track was disqualified from the Eurovision final “following threatening behaviour directed at a female member of the production crew” by Joost backstage at the contest, according to an official statement. And while “Europapa” may be earning more streams from American listeners, “The Code” is resonating with global listeners, debuting at No. 18 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart this week, while “Europapa” bows at No. 37. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Dallas Rapper Ian Flips Months-Long Marketing Campaign into Breakout Streaming Success 

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As the dust around the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef settled, the hip-hop world’s attention turned to an enigmatic young rapper that simultaneously exists opposite to and in conversation with that generational battle. 

After making his recording debut with 2022’s “G63,” the Dallas-bred producer-rapper spent the following two years nurturing fans in various pockets of the underground rap scene with a series of standalone singles. That grind culminated in a breakout 2024 for the artist, with “Grand Slam” — alongside a new Instagram account – launching him further into the mainstream. 

Earlier this month (May 13), Ian released the music video for “Figure It Out” via Lyrical Lemonade. The clip featured an appearance from former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, who the rapper namechecks in the song. During the preceding weekend (May 10-12), Ian’s catalog garnered just over 1.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams. In the days following the music video release (May 13-15) that number soared by 63% to 1.83 million streams – but an even bigger boost was on the horizon. 

Last Friday (May 17), Ian unleashed his debut mixtape, Valedictorian, featuring a voiceover intro from DJ Holiday and production contributions from Sxprano and Tana. Upon release, Ian effectively became one of the most talked about recording artists in the world, with discourse surrounding his project dominating social media. During Valedictorian’s release weekend (May 16-18), streaming activity for Ian’s catalog soared to 11.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams, posting a jaw-dropping 525% increase. 

With hip-hop heavyweights like Cole Bennett and DJ Holiday already in his corner, it looks like the Ian takeover is just getting started. – KD

Rising Artist Lithe Springs Forward With “Fall Back”

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The Australian singer and producer Lithe turned major label heads quickly with “Fall Back,” a slippery, subdued R&B track released on March 21st. His follower count on TikTok — where several “Fall Back” videos have earned millions of views — started to rocket upwards in the first week of April, according to Chartmetric. And his streaming numbers soon followed suit: Plays in the U.S. more than doubled from around 834,000 during the week ending April 25th to 1.76 million the week ending May 2nd. The count has continued to increase, topping the 3 million threshold for the week ending May 16th. “Been vibing with him since early 2023,” one excited fan commented on TikTok of the still-unsigned artist. “Now he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves!” – ELIAS LEIGHT

Season’s Gainings: Happy Mother’s Day, Hailey Bieber

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The pop world was overjoyed a couple Fridays ago (May 9) to hear the news that pop star Justin Bieber and his wife, model and beauty influencer Hailey Bieber, would be expecting their first child. The expecting couple enjoyed their first Mother’s Day just a couple few later (May 12) – and the combination of the holiday and the announcement evidently spurred Beliebers to get a little sentimental with one of Bieber’s (loosely) parentally titled pop classics. “Baby,” the song that confirmed The Bieb as one of the great pop sensations of the early ‘10s, racked up 2.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending May 16 – a 13% gain over the previous week, according to Luminate. – 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.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

This week: Post Malone and Morgan Wallen see their whole catalogs lifted by their massive new collab, Tinashe gets involved with a hilarious TikTok trend around her new hit and an ’80s Johnny Cash single gets an unlikely second life soundtracking a viral pet trend.

‘Help’ Is on the Way: Post Malone & Morgan Wallen Earn Massive Streams Ahead of Hot 100 Debut

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Considering how Morgan Wallen dominated the charts in 2023, and how Post Malone has been an in-demand collaborator for music’s biggest superstars in recent months, it should come as no surprise that their new team-up “I Had Some Help” is off to a fast start at streaming. Yet the country duet is exceeding even the loftiest expectations out of the gate — not only challenging for a No. 1 debut on next week’s Hot 100, but also for one of the biggest streaming weeks of 2024, while also lifting up Posty and Wallen’s respective back catalogs.

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In its first four days of release (May 10-13), “Help” scored 44.8 million U.S. official audio streams, while also earning 59,000 in digital sales, according to Luminate. We’ll see where the single’s first-week streaming total finishes in a few days, but the number likely won’t be too far off from Taylor Swift and Post Malone’s “Fortnight,” which currently holds the 2024 one-week streaming belt with 76.2 million streams. Meanwhile, “Help” has boosted Post Malone’s streaming catalog outside of the new single by 10% — 34.4 million streams from May 10-13, up from 31.3 million from the previous Friday-to-Monday tracking period — and Wallen’s by a little under 7% (102.6 million streams, up from 96 million streams), as fans click from “Help” to both artists’ past hits on streaming platforms.

And don’t look now, but Wallen may have another hit spinning off from his 2023 blockbuster album, One Thing at a Time: “Cowgirls,” featuring ERNEST, has been steadily climbing in streams over the past six weeks, from 5.6 million streams during the chart week ending Apr. 4 to 9.6 million streams during the week ending May 10, while entering the top 20 on Country Airplay. “Cowgirls” also climbs to a new peak of No. 6 on Hot Country Songs this week, which means that Wallen could have a pair of collaborations, one old and one new, in the top 5 of next week’s tally. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Tinashe Courts Summer Streaming Hit with Meme-Assisted “Nasty” 

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Eight years after her last Billboard Hot 100 entry, Tinashe could be gearing up for another big pop moment, should her sultry new “Nasty” single continue its streaming ascent. 

According to Luminate, “Nasty” — a taste of her forthcoming BB/ANG3L Pt. 2 — Quantum Baby LP, collected over 705,000 U.S. on-demand audio streams during the period of May 10-13. That marks an impressive 48% increase from just over 475,000 streams the previous weekend (May 3-6). 

Tinashe’s core fans greeted “Nasty” with fervent enthusiasm when it arrived on April 12, but a recent meme – that comes with its own built-in choreography – has helped the grow the song’s profile across a wider range of listeners. On April 27, X user @grruessome posted a re-posted a 2023 TikTok from user @nate_di_winer, replacing his clip’s original music (Hey Choppi’s “Blind”) with Tinashe’s “Nasty.” That post garnered over 10 million views on X, setting the stage for a true viral moment. While other songs, including Kendrick Lamar’s Hot 100-topping “Not Like Us,” have been laid over the clip, social media users can’t get enough of the Tinashe version. 

On TikTok, Tinashe tried her hand at the dancehall-inspired choreography with her own three consecutive TikToks, featuring her donning Nate’s signature white t-shirt and black-rimmed glasses combo. “Me trying to convince everyone this is the song of the summer,” she captioned one post, with subsequent videos teasing a potential “Nasty” remix. The official “Nasty” sound boasts nearly 15,000 clips on TikTok, with most users recreating the dance moves executed by Nate and his dance partner, TikTok user @_sheekz. 

Having already climbed to No. 30 on Spotify’s Viral 50 USA ranking, things are certainly looking up for “Nasty.” – KYLE DENIS

Adorable Pet Trend Revives 40-Year-Old Johnny Cash Song 

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The timelessness of Johnny Cash’s music is practically a universal truth, but now we have proof that even his less-beloved works can still find ways to resonate anew. Thanks to an adorable TikTok trend, Cash’s “The Chicken in Black” — which the country icon once called “intentionally atrocious” — is experiencing a massive streaming boost. 

During the period of May 3-10, “Chicken” earned over 1.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams, posting an astronomical 5,656% increase from the 24,000 streams it pulled just a month earlier (April 5-11). The exponential week-over-week growth of “Chicken” is due to a TikTok trend in which users hold up their pet (or baby) and pretend to use them as a gun while acting out the lyrics to the song’s chorus. Cash sings, “I said, ‘Stick ’em up everybody, I’m robbing this place’/ Drop all of your money in my guitar case/ Don’t nobody move and don’t nobody reach for that door.” 

Cash released the amusing song as a single back in 1984 and it reached No. 45 on Hot Country Songs. The song’s streaming boost has also translated into an uptick in digital downloads, with 751 copies sold during May 3-10, a whopping 18,675% increase from just 4 copies sold during April 5-11. On TikTok, the official “Chicken in Black” sound boasts nearly 217,000 clips, with racoons, dogs, goats, cows, birds and babies all joining in on the fun. 

With Songwriter, his 72nd studio album and fifth posthumous studio LP, due next month (June 28), Cash is still collecting hits and blessing the world’s ears over 20 years after his tragic passing. – 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.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

This week: Drake and Kendrick Lamar see the catalog side effects of their recent beefing, a couple new hit movies impact streaming with their very different soundtracks, the calendar turns to *NSYNC season and more.

Kendrick Lamar’s Diss-Track Parade is Lifting His Entire Catalog – Drake’s, Not So Much

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“At least your fans are getting some raps out of you / I’m happy I could motivate you,” Drake declares near the end of “The Heart Part 6,” the most recent volley in his genre-consuming feud with Kendrick Lamar. Indeed, one of the by-products of this ongoing back-and-forth has been a new spate of material from a superstar who’s notoriously been stingy with his releases in between album cycles, as Lamar has already more than doubled his 2023 output with 2024 diss tracks alone. And while those shots at Drake have been doing boffo business on streaming services, Lamar’s entire catalog — even outside of his recent diss tracks — is up as well, as rap fans return to K. Dot’s discography for general appreciation (or to parse through subtle attacks against Aubrey Graham).

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“Euphoria,” the first of Lamar’s recent diss tracks, debuted at No. 11 on this week’s Hot 100 chart and could move up next week, as the song earned a whopping 27.6 million official U.S. on-demand streams from May 3-6, according to Luminate. “Not Like Us,” the most club-friendly diss track which dropped late on May 4, could debut even higher, with 21.1 million streams in its first three days of release, while the vicious “Meet the Grahams” earned 8.8 million streams from May 3-6. (“6:16 in LA,” another Lamar diss track, has yet to arrive on streaming services.)

Plus, listeners have been interested in perusing the classic songs that have served as samples in Lamar’s diss tracks. Teddy Pendergrass’ “You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration” was up 76% in streams from Apr. 26-29 (76,000) to May 3-6 (134,000) after being sampled at the beginning of “Euphoria,” while Al Green’s “What a Wonderful Thing Love Is” shot up 283% over the same time period once it was used on “6:16 in LA.” And “BBL Drizzy,” the King Willonius song that Metro Boomin sampled for his anti-Drake beat challenge, is naturally way up in streams, from a negligible amount at the end of April to 185,000 from May 5-6.

Even if you remove all of the diss tracks from Lamar’s overall catalog, however, the rapper’s streams have still significantly increased since the simmering feud reached its recent boiling point. From May 3-6, Lamar’s discography earned 50.62 million streams — up 49% from the previous Friday-to-Monday tracking period (33.98 million from Apr. 26-29). Meanwhile, Drake’s overall catalog is actually down when you similarly compare his streams from that weekend (105.86 million from Apr. 26-29) to last weekend (100.69 million from May 3-6) and remove his two streaming-available response tracks, “Push Ups” and “Family Matters.” Of course, even with that 4.9% dip in catalog plays, Drake’s streaming numbers remain roughly twice as many as Lamar’s, which can be a minor source of comfort as his adversary’s diss tracks make the bigger splash on the charts. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

New Anne Hathaway Rom-Com Has the Right ‘Idea’ With Maggie Rogers, St. Vincent & More on Soundtrack

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The much-anticipated film adaptation of Robinne Lee’s hit novel The Idea of You made its Amazon Prime debut over the weekend – starring Anne Hathaway as a divorcee who takes her daughter to Coachella and ends up in an unlikely romance with the younger Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), singer from the One Direction-ish fictional boy band August Moon. Unsurprisingly for a movie where music plays such a big part, the well-received film has a number of prominent synchs – more from the alternative end of the dial than the top 40 one – which have led to big streaming gains for those songs. 

Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers (who did play Coachella in 2019 and 2022) gets the movie’s opening credits song – also repeated in a flash-forward towards the end of the film – with her Heard It in a Past Life single “Light On.” The rousing song collected 354,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the first four days of the film’s release (May 3-6), up 71% from the equivalent period the prior week, according to Luminate. Veteran art-rock star St. Vincent (a Coachella four-timer, most recently in 2018) also has three different songs appear in the movie, the most prominent being her Daddy’s Home highlight “Pay Your Way in Pain,” which plays on the radio (and is sung along to by Hathaway and her daughter, played by Ella Rubin) during a car ride. “Pain” racked up 32,000 streams from May 3-6, a 124% gain over the same period the week before. 

And of course, you can’t have a movie about a fictional band without some fictional songs – and August Moon has a half-dozen of ‘em, appropriately co-penned/produced by go-to One Direction collaborator Savan Kotecha, most of which were released before the film. Those songs racked up a combined 1.3 million streams over May 3-6, led by “Dance Before We Walk,” which Campbell writes and records over the course of the movie. (And perhaps at least a couple viewers were also inspired to revisit the real thing over the weekend, as 1D’s U.S. on-demand audio streams were also up 5% over May 3-5 from the same three-day period the week before.) – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ Challengers Score Is An Ace on Streaming 

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Two weekends ago (April 26), Challengers, Luca Guadagnino’s acclaimed romantic tennis drama, hit theaters, bringing the electric throuple of Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist to the silver screen. To soundtrack the stylish, sexy film, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provided a hypnotic techno-rooted score to track the intertwined fates of the film’s three characters. 

According to Luminate, the Challengers score soundtrack collected 1.09 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the film’s opening weekend (April 26-28). In the following three-day period (April 29-May 1), streaming activity jumped 66% to 1.83 million streams. In its first week of release, (April 26-May 2), Challengers (Original Score) pulled 3.44 million streams. 

While original songs remain big draws for tentpole movies – who can forget the multi-format dominance of last year’s Barbie soundtrack – score soundtracks tend to cater to markedly smaller audiences. With the danceable score and the star power of the film’s cast, younger artists have been particularly drawn to the Challengers score, which they’ve continuously expressed on TikTok. (The score also appeared in a Challengers-inspired SNL skit over the weekend.) 

And who knows? Maybe the success of Challengers – in addition to her Labrinth-assisted Euphoria singles – could jumpstart Zendaya’s return to music. After all, she notched a Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit with “Replay” (No. 40) 10 years ago! – KYLE DENIS

Online Edit Community Lifts Yëat to Another Viral Hit 

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Whether you call them edits or fancams, you can always count on one of those video montages to catapult a song from obscurity to virality. While Yëat is no stranger to the Billboard charts — he’s already earned ten Hot 100 entries — “If We Bëing Real” could become his biggest solo hit yet. 

Taken from 2093, his fourth studio album (which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in March), “If We Bëing Real” pulled over six million official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of April 26-May 2. That marks a whopping 214% increase in streaming activity from four weeks ago (March 29-April 4) when it earned 1.92 million streams. 

Over the past month, streams for “If We Being Real” have increased at least 13% each week – thanks, in no small part, to its TikTok virality. An ominous, slowed-down version of “If We Bëing Real” has gained traction on the app as a soundtrack to edits of various fictional characters and real-life people, including Outer Banks’ Rafe Cameron (played by Drew Starkey), Kingdom of Heaven’s King Baldwin IV (played by Edward Norton) and Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards. There are several unofficial “If We Bëing Real” TikTok sounds with upwards of 20,000 posts, including one with nearly 100,000 clips. 

After hitting No. 2 on the Hot 100 by way of Drake’s “IDGAF” last year, Yeat could soon be revisiting the chart’s upper regions if “If We Being Real” continues to grow at this rate. – KD

Q&A: Josh Norek and Ernesto Lechner, Co-Hosts of The Latin Alternative Radio Show & Podcast, on What’s Trending Up in Their World

The Latin Alternative recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. What has it been like witnessing the evolving size and makeup of Latin music during that time?

Norek: In some ways, the evolving popularity and demographics of Latin music consumption has mirrored the growth of our show The Latin Alternative over the years. When we launched the program in 2009, we were airing in one single market (our parent station WEXT in Albany, NY). Today we are in 55 markets, including obvious ones like Los Angeles, Dallas and Orlando but also places you wouldn’t expect like Tulsa and Duluth where public radio stations reached out and asked for the show because they had real listener interest for Latin rock, hip-hop and left of center sounds.  Latin music’s various subgenres have far more mainstream acceptance in all markets than when our program started, and that’s largely due to the ease in accessing the music via streaming.  When I was a teenager growing up in Upstate NY back in the day, it was not exactly easy to find a Los Fabulosos Cadillacs import CD at the local record store, but a kid living in the boonies today would have no such problem finding the musical equivalent. 

What has been the most surprising aspect of Latin music’s expansion over the past few years to you?

Norek: What I find surprising and couldn’t have anticipated when we began the show 15 years ago is how digital music distribution has leveled geographic barriers. For example, Uruguay is a tiny middle class country with just three million people, and its music seldom traveled very far in the CD era. But today we play more Uruguayan music on the show than the country’s size would indicate because we have lots of Uruguayan artists submitting music to us. 

Another surprise is how regional Mexican music is finally “cool” and accepted in places like Miami and Spain where there was a lot of hostility – and not-so-subtle racism – directed at the genre. That’s really great to see, especially when over seventy percent of the U.S. Latino population is of Mexican origin. 

 Which trend in current Latin music fascinates you the most?

Lechner: I’m particularly obsessed with the way in which young artists in the reggaetón and Latin trap genres are questioning the very essence of what a pop song is supposed to be – and sound like. Their constant desire to experiment with form and content reminds me of impressionism in 19th century Paris, when Monet, Sisley and Pissarro reinvented the rules of painting. Some of the neo-reggaetón songs ignore the basics of song structure, and instead create vivid impressions, cinematic moods in the shape of song. I’m fascinated by the collaboration between Colombian producer Ovy on the Drums and KAROL G, as well as the latest works by Ozuna, Bizarrap, Rosalía, Arcángel, Rafa Pabön and Young Miko.

Fill in the blank: the Latin artist that not enough people are talking about yet is _______.

Lechner: I believe the prodigiously talented Chilean singer/songwriter Francisca Valenzuela should be an international superstar. – JL

Season’s Gainings: It’s Gonna Be *NSYNC Season

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Justin Timberlake might not have made quite the lasting impact on 2024 that he’d hoped to with his new Everything I Thought It Was album – and hey, it’s been a crowded year in pop, plenty hitmakers much younger and hipper than JT are struggling too – but at least one day out of the year is still guaranteed to be his. May 1 came and went a week ago, and with it, the biggest day for his old *NSYNC group’s lone Hot 100 No. 1 hit, “It’s Gonna Be Me” (with Timberlake of course delivering the last word of the title more like “May.”) The song first spiked 107% to 277,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on April 30, according to Luminate, and then another 60% the following day to 444,000 – before dropping 45% to 247,000 on May 2, as the song goes back into semi-hibernation for the next 363 days. – 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: Tommy Richman’s new internet-conquering smash looks on its way to being a star-making breakthrough, Daya enjoys a revived pop favorite from a decade ago and hitmakers from Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Nigeria join forces for a new global hit.

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“Baby” It’s You: Tommy Richman’s Breakout Single Goes Viral, Boosts Back Catalog

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If you weren’t previously familiar with Virginia singer-rapper Tommy Richman, it’s officially time to get acquainted. The Brent Faiyaz signee (to his ISO Supremacy agency) and tour opener first made impressions as a guest on Faiyaz’s Larger Than Life cut “Upset,” but now he’s got a breakout hit bigger than even anything on that acclaimed set: “Million Dollar Baby,” which after building buzz on TikTok, has debuted as an instantly viral streaming hit. 

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Upon its release on Friday (Apr. 26), “Million Dollar Baby” racked up 4.6 million on-demand U.S. audio streams, according to Luminate – an eye-popping number for a solo single by an artist with relatively unestablished commercial history. And after an inevitable decline in those totals for the rest of the weekend, the song surged again on Monday, capturing nearly 4.8 million streams, with the song racking up 16.6 million streams in total over a four-day period. (It also sold nearly 2,100 streams over that period, also a tremendous number for a new single from a newer artist.) 

With these early numbers, Richman should be due for an impressive Hot 100 bow with his first crossover hit – and he’s already seeing the benefits from the new smash across the rest of his catalog, as well. For the four day period of Apr. 26-29, his discography (not including “Baby”) posted nearly 2.1 million on-demand U.S. audio streams, a gain of 106% from the four-day period before. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Daya’s ‘Hide Away’ Gets Found by TikTok, Nearly a Decade Later

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Back in 2015, Daya, a 16-year-old pop singer-songwriter out of Pittsburgh, scored a surprise top 40 hit on the Hot 100 when debut single “Hide Away” reached No. 23 on the chart. Daya has since followed her lamentation over the lack of clearly visible high-quality guys with a handful of other hits, most notably the smash Chainsmokers collaboration “Don’t Let Me Down” — but nearly a decade after getting her start, “Hide Away” is back, picking up in streams thanks to (what else?) a TikTok trend.

In April, TikTok users began posting videos of themselves performing a three-person dance routine, with each of the first three lines of the “Hide Away” chorus soundtracking each member’s respective moves. As the trend proliferated, “Hide Away” started earning seven-figure weekly streams: the song scored 3.13 million U.S. on-demand streams from Apr. 19-25, according to Luminate, an increase of more than 600% from its streaming total three weeks earlier (431,000 from Mar. 29-Apr. 4).

Meanwhile, Daya, who released a string of new singles last year, seems to be enjoying the revival of her first: “Never saw the second life of this song coming 9 years in but here we are lol,” she wrote last week on Instagram. “‘Hide Away’ forever.” – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Rvssian, Rauw Alejandro & Ayra Starr Make It Christmas in May with Fast-Rising New Single ‘Santa’ 

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What happens when Jamaica, Nigeria and Puerto Rico join forces? A streaming smash is born, of course. As the 2024 song of the summer race continues to heat up, Jamaican producer Rvssian, Puerto Rican Latin Grammy winner Rauw Alejandro and Nigerian Grammy nomineee Ayra Starr are throwing their collective hat in the ring with their new “Santa” collaboration. 

The seductive collaboration combines notes of Afrobeats and reggaeton, with Rauw and Ayra trading verses about steamy trysts and undeniable sexual attraction. According to Luminate, “Santa” earned over 4.28 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of April 19-25. That figure marks a whopping 207% increase in streaming activity from two weeks prior (April 5-11), during which “Santa” collected around 1.39 million official streams. 

After hitting DSPs early last month (April 4), “Santa” quickly exploded on TikTok, with an unofficial sound uploaded by Rvssian’s official account amassing over 378,000 posts. Much of the song’s TikTok traction has been sourced from a viral dance trend created by user @cornbreadjapan. The simple-yet-infectious choreography has been mimicked by hundreds of thousands of users since it first hit the algorithm on April 11. Several musicians have also participated in the trend, including members of K-Pop girl group ITZY and Rauw Alejandro and Ayra Starr themselves. On YouTube, the official “Santa” music video has been viewed over 10 million times in less than a month. 

Although both Rvssian and Rauw have already notched Billboard Hot 100 entries, “Santa” could be the first for Ayra Starr, should its consumption continue to grow. To her credit, the “Bloody Samaritan” singer has already scored several top 10 hits on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs Chart, including 2022’s “Rush,” which finished at No. 7 on the 2023 Year-End U.S. Afrobeats Songs ranking. — 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: Artists and songs mentioned across the 31 tracks of Taylor Swift’s new double album see spikes, while Bossman Dlow and Tyla both score follow-up hits, Kate Bush is killing it on TikTok again and more.

Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Makes Charlie Puth a (Slightly) Bigger Artist

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Along with meditations on past relationships featuring thinly veiled lyrical subjects, Taylor Swift’s blockbuster new album The Tortured Poets Department includes multiple tips of the cap to other recording artists, with Swift either expressing admiration or remembering a pivotal musical exchange. The most memorable name-check arrives on the title track, on which Swift sings, “You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.”

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As The Tortured Poets Department barrels its way toward the biggest debut sales of the year — and one of the biggest of all time — it’s worth wondering: is Swift’s Puth shout-out actually about to make the “Attention” singer a bigger artist? Yes and no, based on the early streaming returns. In the first three days of release of The Tortured Poets Department (Apr. 19-21), Puth’s catalog earned 3.26 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. That’s an increase from the previous weekend’s streaming total for Puth, but only slightly: from Apr. 12-14, his catalog earned 3.13 million streams, meaning that Swift’s stamp of approval bumped his streams a little under 4%.

While Puth was already scoring seven-figure streams prior to the lyrical reference, two artists that also received nods on the album saw their smaller streaming totals skyrocket. The veteran Philly pop-punk group The Starting Line enjoyed a hefty catalog bump after getting shouted out on “The Black Dog,” with 234,000 streams from Friday to Sunday representing a 55% uptick from the previous weekend (151,000 streams).

And when a Swift song starts out with the lines “Drowning in the Blue Nile / He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’ / I hadn’t heard it in a while,” as “Guilty as Sin?” does, chances are that streams for “Downtown Lights” are going to explode. Indeed, the Scottish pop-rock group the Blue Nile’s 1989 single “The Downtown Lights” rose from 3,000 streams from Apr. 12-15 to over 48,000 streams from Apr. 19-22 — a whopping 1,400% increase from one four-day tracking period to the next. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Bossman Dlow Tees Up Latest Hit With “Talk My Shit” 

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Just under two months after “Get In With Me” reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 (chart dated March 9) – becoming the Florida rapper’s first entry on Billboard’s all-genre singles chart – Bossman Dlow is already gearing up for another viral hit. 

Produced by DJ Jam305 and housed on Mr. Beat the Road, which reached No. 20 on the Billboard 200 (chart dated March 30), “Talk My Shit” follows a similar blueprint to “Get In With Me,” riding high on Dlow’s off-kilter flow, South Florida twang and a slightly ominous trap beat. According to Luminate, “Talk My Shit” earned 5.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of April 12-18. That marks a jaw-dropping 434% increase in streaming activity from three weeks earlier (March 22-28), when the song collected just over one million streams. 

The explosive growth of “Talk My Shit” is due, in large part, to the cheeky TikTok dance trend choreographed to the chorus, specifically beginning with the line “Wrist piece on bling-blaow, neck piece on blizzard, bae.” The dance essentially converts the second half of the chorus into an instructional song through which users act out the lyrics – e.g., pointing to their wrist for “wrist piece on bling-blaow” — through popular dance moves. On TikTok, the official “Talk My Shit” sound boasts a whopping 466,000 posts, with several clips surpassing one million likes, including one featuring Paige Bueckers of the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team. On YouTube, the official “Talk My Shit” audio clip has earned nearly three million hits in about a month and half, far outpacing the other Mr. Beat the Road audio clips. 

With its streams rising this quickly, “Talk My Shit” could gift Bossman Dlow his third Hot 100 entry of the year. – KYLE DENIS

Get Ready for Another Viral Kate Bush Moment

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Kate Bush has been one of the patron saints of TikTok and virality in general since at least 2022, when her “Running Up That Hill” became a resurrected hit – initially boosted by a big Stranger Things synch – thanks largely to the app. The last couple months, she’s had another revived single to her credit, albeit one probably significantly less familiar even to stateside fans who were around for “Hill” on the first go-round: “Army Dreamers,” third single from Bush’s 1980 album Never for Ever. 

While “Dreamers” was a top 20 hit in the U.K., it was likely a little too challenging for U.S. top 40 audiences of the time, with its austere waltz arrangement, anti-war lyrics and piercing Bush vocal. Nonetheless, clips of the song – and in particular, its war-themed music video, featuring the singer-songwriter running through the jungle in military fatigues and full makeup – have been racking up views by the millions the past couple months. As a result, weekly official on-demand U.S. streams of the song have risen from under 80,000 for the tracking week ending Mar. 14 to nearly 1.1 million the week ending Apr. 18, according to Luminate – a cumulative gain of 1291%. 

“Dreamers” still has a ways to grow before it’s a threat to run back up the charts the way Bush’s signature hit did a couple years ago. Then again, we do hear there’s a new season of Stranger Things coming our way shortly… – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Tyla Seeks to Slay Second Consecutive Summer With Steamy “Jump” Single 

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Last summer, “Water” catapulted Tyla into global pop stardom. This year, she’s looking to maintain that momentum with “Jump,” a breakout hit from her recently released self-titled debut studio album. 

Alongside Grammy-nominated rapper Gunna and Jamaican dancehall star Skillibeng, Tyla spends “Jump” seductively cooing of the singularity of her sex appeal. Despite the album campaign focusing on “Truth or Dare” and “ART,” “Jump” has received considerable traction across both streaming and socials. During the period of April 12-18, “Jump” received 2.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, continuing the steady growth it has displayed for the past month. For the past four works, “Jump” has remained over two million streams, increasing by an average of nearly 10% per week. 

On TikTok, the official “Jump” audio boasts over 326,000 posts, bolstered, in large part, by a viral dance trend created by Zoe Baptiste (@zoebaptistee). Her infectious original choreography garnered 25 million views, sparking the song’s initial virality. Of course, many listeners noted “Jump” as an album highlight upon the release of Tyla due to its myriad earworm elements. 

Just as the dance trend started to taper off, a second trend emerged, playing on the “They never had a pretty girl from Joburg / See me now, and that’s what they prefer” lines that opens Tyla’s verse. From replacing “Joburg” with their actual place of origin to gushing over the idiosyncratic way the South African singer pronounces “prefer,” TikTok users cannot get enough of the beginning of “Jump.” One user, Kelsey Maggott (@kelseymaggott), has gone viral for creating nearly 50 videos replacing “Joburg” with other countries and cities users have requested in her comment section. Even Kehlani has gotten in on the action. 

With streams steadily gaining and a music video and live performances still on the table, be sure to keep an eye on “Jump” as the 2024 Song of the Summer race begins to heat up. 

Q&A: Jim Selby, Chief Publishing Officer at Concord, on What’s Trending Up in His World

In late 2022, Concord purchased the publishing and recorded music catalog of Phil Collins and Genesis. Can you speak to the motivation behind the purchase?

I think it speaks for itself. Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks are incredible talents who wrote some of the most influential songs, both together and individually. We have a long-standing relationship working with them since the days of Imagem – they’ve entrusted us with their work, and we’re honored to continue that.

We’ve already seen multiple revivals of “In the Air Tonight” across popular culture, including for Monday Night Football last fall. Why do you think the song has resonated with multiple generations of listeners?

It’s just iconic. I think everyone has a core memory that they can attach to that song. The combination of the power drumline with Phil’s vocals is so masterful and demands your attention, which I think is why it resonates so well when set to the screen. “In The Air Tonight” is so recognizably 80’s but it’s also dynamic. Phil even has a country radio No.1 single – with Kane Brown’s interpolation [“I Can Feel It”], it was exciting to see such a different use. It’s incredible how artists continue to be inspired by the song and get creative with it. 

– What can we expect in the near future for “In the Air Tonight” and Collins’ catalog in general?

We expect more. New generations continue to discover Phil and his music and it’s exciting to see that connection. No Jacket Required turns 40 next year, maybe we’ll figure out what “Sussudio” means – get it added to the dictionary. 

– Fill in the blank: a personal favorite Collins/Genesis song that deserves its own revival is ______.

Besides “In The Air Tonight,” of course, I think “I Can’t Dance” or “Follow You Follow Me” – these songs are both great but very different. They really show the versatility of Genesis and how the group adapted through the decades. – J.L.

Season’s Gainings: Death, Taxes and The Beatles

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Tax day was upon us two Mondays ago, and if this is the first you’re hearing about it, it might be time to close out of this article and start drafting an email to the IRS. If you were on it, though, then maybe you were also one of the thousands that chose a particular Beatles deep cut for your soundtrack while kicking a percentage of your annual income up to Uncle Sam. The Fab Four’s Revolver-opening “Taxman” – inspired by an eye-popping 95% supertax the band was suddenly facing following the 1966 re-election of U.K. prime minister Harold Wilson (as in “ha ha, Mr. Wilson”) – received nearly 24,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on April 15, according to Luminate, a 31% gain from the day before. – A.U.

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: Future and Metro Boomin’s latest smash comes courtesy of an incendiary Kendrick Lamar verse, Hozier is on his way to his biggest hit in a decade, March Madness commercials have viewers flocking to Shazam and more.

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‘Like That’ is Boomin — For Future, Metro, Kendrick and Older Drake Songs, Too

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A quick rule of thumb for current hip-hop artists: when your track contains an out-of-nowhere, earth-scorching Kendrick Lamar verse dissing two other rap giants, a lot of people are going to want to hear that track!

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“Like That,” the standout track from Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborative project We Don’t Trust You featuring K. Dot’s Internet-shattering takedown of Drake and J. Cole, has (not surprisingly) exploded on streaming services following the album’s release last Friday (Mar. 22). After earning a whopping 10.26 million U.S. on-demand streams on Friday alone (according to Luminate), thanks to both hardcore supporters and casual fans who simply had to hear Lamar’s fire-breathing, “Like That” kept racking up high seven-figure streaming totals over the weekend, ending up with 25.62 million streams in its first three days of release.

That’ll be enough for a big bow on next week’s Hot 100 — but along the way, “Like That” also has rap obsessives re-exploring a pair of Drake tracks that may have inspired the sneak attack. “First Person Shooter,” Drake’s own Hot 100 chart-topper featuring J. Cole that Lamar directly references on “Like That,” was up 10% in streams this past weekend (1.69 million streams between Mar. 23-24) compared to the previous weekend (1.53 million streams). Meanwhile, as listeners ponder what “Like That” means for the relationship between Drake and Future, “What Would Pluto Do?” — in which Drizzy questions what his (former?) pal would do in similar situations — experienced an even greater streaming bump, up 34% in streams to 413,000 over the weekend. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Hozier’s New Runaway Streaming Smash Is Just “Too Sweet” 

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It’s been a little over a decade since Hozier saw the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 – who can forget “Take Me to Church” (No. 2)? — and he’s poised to make a splashy return to the region with a funky new track titled “Too Sweet.” Housed on the Irish rocker’s Unheard EP, which serves as epilogue of sorts to 2023’s sprawling Dante-inspired Unreal Unearth, “Too Sweet” has amassed over 11.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams in just three days (March 23-25), according to Luminate. The song earned its biggest daily tally upon release (March 23), raking in 4.7 million streams and over 1,000 U.S. digital sales. 

Although Unreal Unearth – which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 – spawned a pair of Adult Alternative Airplay chart-toppers in “Eat Your Young” and “Francesca,” none of the album’s official singles cracked the top half of the Hot 100. Then again, none of those singles had the pre-release hype of “Too Sweet.” Hozier first teased a snippet of the track during a March 6 appearance on the How Long Gone podcast hosted by Chris Black & Jason Stewart. That snippet quickly went viral amongst Hozier’s fanbase, with a popular TikTok account uploading the “Too Sweet” tease as a sound. In less than a month, that sound has collected nearly 50,000 posts on the app, and Hozier even used it TikToks officially announcing the new EP and debuting what appears to be clips of a visualizer for the song. 

Having already hit No. 2 on US Spotify upon release, “Too Sweet” is already shaping up to be a runaway hit for Hozier – and potentially his biggest one since “Church.” 

Yahir Saldivar Wields Quirky 4batz-Esque Video to Score Viral Hit in “SC-9” 

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Just as 4batz took off with music videos that paired brooding shiesty mask-accented shots with delicate R&B odes to relationship woes, Yahir Saldivar is employing a similar trick with his new viral hit “SC-9.” 

Over a jaunty cumbia arrangement, Saldivar croons of his guns, his gangster nickname (Scorpion 9) and gang life in general. The track’s accompanying music video features him and his buddies dancing along to infectious instrumental while toting guns, bottles of liquor and bulletproof vests. Released last month (Feb. 1), “SC-9” has enjoyed a slow burn that started to speed up once the music video started making the rounds on TikTok. During the week of Feb. 23-29, “SC-9” pulled just over 370,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. That marks a whopping 769% jump to over 3.2 million streams four weeks later (March 15-21). 

On TikTok, “SC-9”soundtracks over 30,000 posts, most of which feature girls flaunting their quinceañera gowns, users showing off what makes them Mexican, TikTokers dancing along. One especially viral video – which does not use the official “SC-9” — sound amassed over 4.6 million views. In the video, the user captions a clip of the “SC-9” music video with “POV: the song and video [don’t] match.” Needless to say, Spanish speakers corrected the user in the comment, explaining that video and lyrics are perfect in sync with one another. 

Already at No. 2 on Spotify USA’s Viral 50 chart, “SC-9” could very well find some Billboard chart success should its momentum continue. 

March Synch Madness Lifts Terrance Martin & Ludacris Songs

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Speaking of Future: His favorite season, March Madness, is in full swing across roughly 40% of the channels on your cable dial. For those who are still watching the NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments the old-school way – and not, say, through an app or web browser you’re barely disguising from your co-workers and/or college professors – you’ve likely seen a couple commercials (maybe more often by now than you’d prefer) that have had fans Shazaming and streaming the songs that soundtrack them by the thousands. 

Apple’s recent iPhone 15 Storage ad features a man browsing through pictures of people his phone, all of which are singing to him in the heavily vocodered voice of Terrace Martin’s “Don’t Let Go” – essentially begging him not to delete them. The slightly disconcerting spot has sent official on-demand U.S. streams soaring for Martin’s song, with it lifting from a negligible number of streams over the March 16-18 period to over 32,000 streams in the same period the following week (March 23-25), according to Luminate, following incessant airing of the ads during tourney games. Similarly, Ludacris’ 2004 rager “Get Back” is also up, thanks to a much-played Nissan ad featuring several college mascots blasting it in their Rogue – lifting 21% to 188,000 streams over that same period. 

One NCAA-featured commercial song that isn’t way up this week? Christina Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants.” Perhaps listening to Oklahoma City Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren warbling AT&T-sloganfied versions of that pop classic’s chorus isn’t exactly doing the original version any favors for viewers. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Q&A: Chissy Nkemere, Rock, Alternative & Catalog Artist Partnerships at Spotify, on What’s Trending Up in Her World

What led to the rebranding of Spotify’s flagship rock playlist?

In recent years, rock music and the culture that surrounds it has experienced a revival that spans generations, subgenres and disparate music cultures alike. In rebranding Spotify’s global rock flagship playlist, we sought to reinvest in and more accurately reflect the genre’s progression. It’s an exciting time for rock listeners of course, but also for pop culture as a whole, which is experiencing rock’s influence in a new way!

Over time, rock has evolved beyond its previous definitions and MARROW is Spotify’s response: it mirrors what connects with and drives alternative youth culture. It is a reflection of the limitless trajectory of the genre and community as well as the vibrancy and diversity of the music.

Searches for phrases like “rock music” and “alt/rock” have recently exploded on Spotify. What do you think is causing that increased interest?

What I love about this resurgence in rock is the curiosity around it. Rock has always existed as an outlet of emotion — a place where we can put and express the full range of our emotions without seeking approval from society at large. There’s a general angst in our culture right now that’s starting to reach younger generations as well, and with that, a large part of youth culture is searching for what else is out there. In those searches, they’re finding and building communities that they haven’t experienced before. It hasn’t mattered when certain songs or albums were released, or what artists are current or legacy — we as a collective, are consuming and creating sounds that can be reminiscent of past generations or entirely new.

Which trend in new rock music is most interesting to you, and that you hope MARROW highlights?

The resurgence in nu metal is so exciting for me personally. I grew up in the golden age of this era, and seeing Gen Z consume & create what feels like an aural homebase for me has been fun to say the least. MARROW will definitely continue to follow this trend!

Which rock song or artist will have surprising growth over the next six months?

Amira Elfeky is one of my favorite new artists. She released her first song last summer and has steadily gained a following that we’ve been keeping an eye on. I’m keen to watch what she does with the release of her first EP and her upcoming tour schedule this spring and summer! – J.L.

Season’s Gainings: A St. Patrick’s Day Bump for Irish Artists

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Feels a lot longer ago at this point, but St. Patrick’s Day came and went just a week and a half ago, with the annual March 17 holiday falling on a Sunday this year. Perhaps the weekend inspired even greater revelry than usual for those celebrating, as it inspired some major bumps in listening for Irish artists compared to the prior Sunday, including for Sinéad O’Connor (up 73% in official on-demand streams to 306,000), Van Morrison (up 22% to 1.9 million), U2 (up 43% to 1.8 million) and The Cranberries (up 45% to just over 2 million). And then of course, there was a particularly massive gain for the St. Patrick’s anthem to end ‘em all: the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” which posted over 960,000 St. Patrick’s Day streams – even entering the top 50 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart. – A.U.

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: Sexyy Red is once again the “Get-It” girl for the early year, while a risng Justin Timberlake tide lifts all *NSYNC and a Milwaukee rap phenom scores his first viral TikTok hit.

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Sexyy Red Continues to ‘Get It’ Into 2024

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There was little question that Sexyy Red was one of the breakout rappers of 2023, with her “Pound Town,” “SkeeYee” and “Lookin’ for the Hoes” all proving viral sensations and her Hood’s Hottest Princess album demonstrating that she could keep up that single-level excitement for a full LP. But for all her success last year, Sexyy still hasn’t reached the top half of the Hot 100 with any of her own singles; her lone appearance in that region of the chart to date has come with her appearance (along with SZA) on Drake’s “Rich Baby Daddy,” a No. 11-peaking hit that spent 22 weeks on the listing before finally falling off this week.

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That might change next week with the debut of Sexyy Red’s new single, “Get It Sexyy,” released through Open Shift/gamma. The song, another collab with “Pound Town” producer Tay Keith, had been teased extensively on TikTok before its release on Friday (March 15), and also benefitted from the rapper’s internet-conquering performance at Rolling Loud over the weekend. With its riotous beat and shout-along hook, the song immediately took off on streaming, even rising to the No. 1 spot on Apple Music’s realtime chart on Saturday. The song racked up 8.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its first four days of release (March 15-18), according to Luminate, while climbing in streams from Sunday to Monday, implying that it may still only be gathering steam as a hit.

The song will likely make its debut on next week’s Hot 100 (dated March 30), and seems all but certain to pass the No. 62-peaking “SkeeYee” for the rapper’s biggest hit on the chart date — suggesting that even after her impressive 2023, things are only going to get Sexyy-er in hip-hop in 2024. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

*NSYNC’s Surprise Reunion (And New Song) Boost Boy Band’s Back Catalog

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If “Better Place,” last year’s *NSYNC single for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack, was a delightful new treat after more than two decades without any music from the best-selling boy band, fans of the quintet are downright feasting this week. Not only do *NSYNC diehards have a sprawling new album from Justin Timberlake, Everything I Thought It Was, but that 77-minute opus also includes another new *NSYNC track, the heartfelt ballad “Paradise.” Plus, Timberlake brought out JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick at his pre-release Los Angeles show last Wednesday night (Mar. 13), for a surprise mini-set of *NSYNC hits like “Girlfriend” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.”

Naturally, the combination of the new track on Timberlake’s album and unexpected reunion gave *NSYNC’s full discography a healthy boost on streaming services last week. In the three days following the Los Angeles performance (Mar. 14-16), *NSYNC’s catalog earned 3.9 million on-demand U.S. streams — a figure that’s nearly 25% higher than the same period during the prior three days (3.1 million streams from Mar. 11-13), according to Luminate. No word on *NSYNC’s future from here, but with Timberlake beginning a world tour next month, let’s hope the boy band makes a few more appearances together before saying “Bye Bye Bye” for a while. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Milwaukee Rapper J.P. Puts on for the Midwest With Viral Hit “Bad Bitty” 

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Milwaukee has something to say. As hip-hop continues its love fest with the danceable bounce of Jersey club and later iterations of New York drill, Milwaukee rapper J.P. is injecting some Midwest flair into the conversation. His breakout single, “Bad Bitty,” collected 1.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of March 8-14, according to Luminate. That’s a whopping 170% increase in streaming activity from the 440,000 streams the song earned three weeks earlier, during the period of Feb. 16-22. “Bad Bitty” has increased in streams every week for the past three weeks, jumping nearly 75% between Feb. 16-22 and Feb. 23-29, and increasing a further 38% between March 8-14 and March 1-7. 

The Milwaukee rapper’s song has been exploding on TikTok for the past two weeks thanks to an aggressive campaign from the artist that includes intense fan engagement, simple head-bobbing choreography, and a meme involving the “noooo” ad-libs in the song’s chorus. In an interview with DJ Jerry, JP explained that he laid the foundation for “Bad Bitty” by beating the algorithm at its own game. As fellow Milwaukee emcee 414BigFrank scored his own viral hit with “Eat Her Up,” J.P. would make videos to that song while slowly trickling in videos featuring snippets of the then-unreleased “Bad Bitty.” Eventually, TikTok users flooded his comment section begging him to drop the full song, resulting in the track’s Feb. 9 street date. 

To further stoke the flames of virality, J.P.’s sexuality also became a hot topic on TikTok following a resurfaced picture of what appears to be him cozied up in matching pajamas with another man. Unsurprisingly, in typical Gen Z fashion, a majority of users could not care less and J.P.’s sexuality, taking the time to make separate TikTok posts pledging their allegiance to the rapper. Furthermore, J.P. himself commented on the situation during a TikTok live, saying, “I don’t like n—as, I just tapped that n—a.” The “controversy” has proven to be nothing but good press for both J.P. and “Bad Bitty,” underscoring a changing tide in younger generation’s attitude towards male rappers exploring their sexuality — and racking up a viral hit in the process. – 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.  This week: Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine rises on streaming, the Oscars give new life to a pair of Barbie hits, a Masego favorite gets the TikTok fancam treatment and more.

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Ariana Grande’s ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Is Brightening Up on Streaming — And Helping Another ‘Boy Is Mine’

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Ariana Grande is in for a big upcoming week on the Billboard charts, as the pop superstar is aiming for her sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Eternal Sunshine, as well as a splashy Billboard Hot 100 debut for the album’s second single, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).” 

Eternal Sunshine rebounded on streaming platforms on Monday (Mar. 11) following its release on the previous Friday and a slight dip over the weekend: the full-length earned 29.32 million official U.S. on-demand streams on Monday, up 17% from the previous day’s total, according to Luminate. And “We Can’t Be Friends” — which Grande is trying to guide to the top of the Hot 100, after lead single “Yes, And?” debuted there in January — is a big part of that streaming uptick, with 4.93 million streams on Monday (up 23% from Sunday).

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Speaking of Hot 100 chart-toppers, Brandy and Monica’s iconic 1998 R&B smash “The Boy Is Mine” is benefitting from Grande’s song of the same name, which references the original, on Eternal Sunshine. Grande has talked about how she has “always wanted to re-imagine” the Brandy-Monica back-and-forth, and now, the song that inspired her own “The Boy Is Mine” is enjoying a little streaming revival of its own.

From Mar. 8-10, Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” earned 587,000 streams — up 18% from the previous week’s Friday-to-Sunday tracking period, according to Luminate. Of course, Grande’s new “The Boy Is Mine” is collecting far more plays (8.3 million from Mar. 8-10), but for a new generation of rhythmic pop fans, it’s not hard to see that “The Boy” is still fine. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

‘Barbie’ Hits Are “Made For” Oscar Bumps 

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It’s been a long awards season for Billie Eilish and brother Finneas, with the O’Connell duo picking up trophies at the Golden Globes (best original song), the Grammys (song of the year and best song written for visual media) and now also the Oscars (best original song) for their hit Barbie ballad “What Was I Made For?” The song, which Billie and Finneas also performed at the Sunday ceremonies – and which was also featured in a Saturday Night Live sketch the night before the Academy Awards – got one final victory lap bump from its big Sunday win. It notched 2.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams and over 5,300 digital song sales across Sunday and Monday (Mar. 10-11), according to Luminate – gains of 27% and 704%, respectively, over the equivalent periods the previous week. 

It wasn’t the only Barbie song to get some post-Oscars love. “I’m Just Ken,” which brought film co-star Ryan Gosling to the Hot 100 for the first time last summer, was also nominated at the awards, and received an elaborately staged, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes-referencing live performance that was very well received by viewers. Streams and sales of the song unsurprisingly exploded afterwards, with “Ken” scoring over nearly 417,000 streams and over 900 digital song sales over Mar. 10-11, gains of 176% and over 2,000%, respectively. 

The other three songs nominated for best original song and performed at the Academy Awards also saw bumps over the same periods – although to still relatively modest totals. Becky G’s “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot earned 23,000 streams (up 491% from the previous week), while Jon Batiste’s “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony earned 28,000 (up 213%) and the Osage Tribal Singers’ “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon earned 14,000 (up 702%). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Fancam Phenomenon Lifts Masego’s “Tadow” to New Streaming Heights 

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In the same way Jacob Elordi fancams – video montages made in appreciation of a given subject – helped give Flume and Kai’s “Never Be Like You” a streaming bump, an even wider selection of fancams is doing the same for Masego and FJK’s “Tadow.” 

Originally released in 2017 as the lead single to his debut studio album, Lady Lady, “Tadow” collected 1.75 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of Feb. 23-29, according to Luminate. That marked a 93.6% increase from just over 900,000 srteams during the week of Feb. 16-22. In the first week of March, streaming activity for “Tadow” jumped a further 35% from the week prior to a total of 2.37 million streams. 

Despite the standoff between UMG and TikTok, users are still finding ways to circulate their favorite songs on the platform. Several individual fan-uploaded sounds that contain the first verse of “Tadow” soundtrack viral clips on the platform. A “Tadow”-backed fancam of Tom Holland earned seven million views, one for Rodrick from Diary of a Wimpy Kid pulled over two million, one dedicated to Scarlett Johansson pulled 12.2 million views, and one inspired by Jujutsu Kaisen character Satoru Goju received a whopping 25.5 million views. 

Although it’s been out for over half a decade, “Tadow” has appeared on just one Billboard chart: In 2020, the track peaked at No. 19 on Adult R&B Airplay (chart dated Nov. 14, 2020). Should these fancams continue to spur streaming gains, “Tadow” could experience a renaissance on the charts. – KD

Twitch Streamer Sketch Boosts King Hendrick$ Breakout Hit 

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From Kai Cenat to Adin Ross, Twitch streamers have been having a slow-burning but considerable impact on the music scene in recent years. Twitch streamer Sketch (aka user @thesketchreal) — who boasts 368,000 followers on the platform – is the latest example of this trend. 

After playing (and turning up to) Houston rapper King Hendrick$’s “Leaving the Lot” on a Feb. 14 stream, the swaggering trap-indebted single pulled just under 500,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of Feb. 16-22, its first week on streaming platforms. The following week (Feb. 23-29), stream activity for “Leaving the Lot” ballooned by 175% to 1.37 million streams. For the first week of March, the track continued to rise, growing a further 32% to over 1.8 million streams. 

Since that initial stream, Sketch – who specializes in streaming himself chatting and playing video games like Madden and Fortnite – has continued to bump “Leaving the Lot,” resulting in more viral clips featuring the track across other social media platforms such as TikTok and Twitter. Hendrick$ even shared a clip of Sketch playing the track to his official YouTube page. That clip has already amassed over 43,000 views in three weeks, eclipsing the view count of four of Hendrick$’s five most recent music videos. 

With just one month of availability under its belt, King Hendrick$ just might have a serious hit on his hands – and its success might legitimize Sketch as a tastemaker in the process. In the meantime, Hendrick$ has already put out a new song, “Special Teams Anthem,” that shouts out Sketch: “Yeah, I could probably play for the Texans, but I still’d be on jets/ Catch a plane and never take my jersey off, I feel like Sketch,” he spits. – KD

Q&A: Emily Cohen Belote, Principal Music Programmer at Amazon Music, on What’s Trending Up In Her World

The past 12 months have been gigantic for country music’s growth. What do you think is the leading cause for this boom?

The 2023 end-of-year Luminate study said it — and I totally agree. Younger fans are helping country to grow at streaming, and artists like Morgan Wallen, Amazon Music 2023 Breakthrough artist Bailey Zimmerman, and Zach Bryan are leading this streaming charge. Gen Z country listeners are 48% more likely to discover music via music and video streaming than the average Gen Z listener. That just shows the true power in country music fandom, and why having that direct-to-fan connection for artists is so powerful and meaningful for our business.

Which in country music is most interesting to you?

I am enjoying this really raw and authentic era in country music. Artists like Sam Barber, Mae Estes, Dylan Gossett and Wyatt Flores are creating music that is emotional and emotive, and speaks to real-life experiences that fans want to hear and devour right now. These artists are not beholden to being a specific kind of country musician or making a specific kind of country music that fits into a box. They’re inspired by different sounds and artists, and that inspiration creates a unique country sound all their own.

As more non-country artists like Beyoncé and Post Malone dabble with country projects and collaborations, how is curation of Amazon Music’s country properties affected?

Beyoncé and Post Malone have a history of expressing their love for country music, so it’s totally understandable that they would be creating country projects. My job is to find and play the best in country music, and if Beyoncé and Post Malone are creating country music our customers love, then they’ll make it into the programming that I oversee.

Which country song or artist will have surprising growth over the next six months?

I really feel that Dylan Gossett is going to make a major mark on 2024. There’s a big reason why he’s one of our 2024 Breakthrough Artists to Watch. He’s got the songs, the musicianship, and he’s done a pretty incredible job of connecting with his fans in a truly organic way. I also think he has a unique and fresh lyrical perspective. I mean, the line, “pressure makes diamonds, how the hell am I still coal?” is pretty unforgettable. I am genuinely excited to hear any and all new music from Dylan, and can’t wait to see him on the road this year.

Season’s Gainings: The Notorious B.I.G. Up 100,000s in Streams on Death Anniversary

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The date of March 9 is burned into the brain of most longtime hip-hop fans, as the date in 1997 when Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G., was tragically murdered in Los Angeles. While tributes pour in annually to the all-time great on the day every year since, so too do fans head to streaming services for their own personal remembrances: Biggie’s catalog was up nearly 300,000 official on-demand U.S. streams from the previous Saturday to over 2.8 million on March 9, according to Luminate – an 11% gain in total. – AU