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Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: Jung Kook’s Latto-assisted new single looks on its way to being another BTS solo smash, a couple very different singer-songwriters go viral, Rylo Rodriguez takes the next step to hip-hop stardom and more.
Jung Kook & Latto’s ‘Seven’ Sprints Out to Seven-Figure Daily Streams
After Jung Kook made a solo pop splash last year alongside Charlie Puth with “Left & Right,” which peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, early indications are that “Seven,” the BTS member’s new collaboration with Latto, will climb even higher. The rhythmic pop single got off to a scorching streaming start upon its release last Friday (July 14), with 5.11 million U.S. on-demand streams that day, according to Luminate.
That number dipped over the weekend, but was still comfortably clocking over 2.5 million daily streams through Monday, accruing 13.7 million total streams in its first four days of release. Meanwhile, “Seven” earned over 34,000 in digital sales on Friday, and added another 32,000 digital copies from Saturday to Monday – with more sales expected from the set’s CD single, which is currently listed as “sold out” on the official BTS webstore.
Produced by Watt and Cirkut, “Seven” sports a shuffling beat, surprisingly explicit hook (“You know night aftеr night / I’ll be f–kin’ you right / Seven days a week,” Jung Kook sings) and combination of pop and rap that could work well at top 40 radio (with the song’s clean edit, of course). We’ll know early next week just how high “Seven” can debut, but after his BTS group mate Jimin scored a solo No. 1 single earlier this year with “Like Crazy,” Jung Kook is probably just a few days away from having his highest-charting single as a lead artist. – JASON LISPHUTZ
Faye Webster Once Again the Definition of Indie Virality
Faye Webster has gone viral once again. Last summer, Billboard reported that two versions of the singer-songwriter’s “Kingston” were trending among TikTok viewers, giving her a 92% gain in streams over about a seven week period, according to Luminate.
Now, “I Know You,” a previously little-known song from Webster’s back catalog, is spiking on TikTok. Released on her self-titled 2017 album, “I Know You” is being used to accompany a myriad of different types of videos, but it has been particularly popular for creators to share photos juxtaposing themselves as children versus now, while typing out the lyrics on screen: “I’ll quiet down if it’s what you want / I understand I’m not the only one / for you.”
“I Know You” began picking up on TikTok slowly starting in late Spring and reached a boiling point at the top of July. Since June 30th, the track has seen a 279.1% gain in streams – while on top of the “I Know You” gains, Webster’s new single “But Not Kiss” is also faring well on the app. All of this has led to the Secretly Group signee re-entering and No. 26 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. Plus, her Spotify monthly listeners are now outpacing other indie heavy-hitters like boygenius, Wet Leg and Remi Wolf. – KRISTIN ROBINSON
Laufey’s ‘From the Start’ Speeds Up Into an Unlikely Hit
“From the Start,” the delicate, bossa nova-inspired new single from Laufey, is a modern take on a classic love triangle, as the Icelandic-Chinese jazz singer-songwriter waxes poetic about being in love with her best friend — who is, of course, in love with someone else. “Don’t you notice how/ I get quiet when there’s no one else around?/ Me and you and awkward silence,” she laments to open the song — and since the May release of “From The Start,” TikTok users have gradually picked up on Laufey’s yearning, with the song has starting to go viral.
The TikTok clips generally focus on those opening lines, and almost always use a sped-up version of “From the Start” — which Laufey herself has embraced, posting various clips of herself reacting to, and dancing along with, the new tempo of the track. Meanwhile, streams of the original “From the Start” are rapidly growing: the song earned 2.1 million U.S. on-demand streams in the week ending July 14, up 50% from the previous week’s total, and its daily streaming total this Monday (644,000) was up a whopping 146% from the previous Monday (261,000).
Laufey has spent plenty of time on jazz streaming playlists since her 2021 debut EP Typical of Me, but as of Wednesday, “From The Start” has brought her to Spotify’s Top 50 U.S. chart. In September, Laufey will perform a special showcase with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra — perhaps she’ll play “From The Start” in both its standard and sped-up versions, and be able to tout her first career Hot 100 hit by then. – JL
Rylo Rodriguez Rides Sophomore Album Success to Strong Streaming Gains
Last month (June 30), Rylo Rodriguez, a protégé of hip-hop superstar Lil Baby, released Been One, his sophomore studio album. The set debuted at No. 10, earning Rylo his first top ten album on the Billboard 200, and remained in the chart’s top fifteen in its second week. The album’s impressive stability has been bolstered by the breakout streaming success of two of its tracks: social media phenomenon “Equal Dirt” and the NoCap-featuring “Thang for You.”
“Equal Dirt” has quickly become a meme across social media with Rylo’s “B—h, who dis fah?” ad-lib soundtracking thousands of hilarious TikToks. On the social media app, the official “Equal Dirt” sound has collected nearly 60,000 videos in a little over two weeks. The most common use of the sound is to set the scene for a staged scenario in which one partner in a relationship is demanding clarity from their significant other regarding a found item, which sparks suspicions of infidelity. The line has even proven itself irresistible to Rylo’s peers — like Grammy-nominated rapper Latto, who recently tweeted the phrase. According to Luminate, “Equal Dirt” has earned 3.15 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of July 7-14, a nearly 40% increase from the period of June 30-July 6.
“Thang for You,” one of Been One’s pre-release singles, has also posted sizable streaming gains. While the song has gained relatively less fervent traction on TikTok — its official sound only boasts a little over 16,000 videos — it is still earning some of the album’s strongest streaming tallies. During the period of July 7-14, “Thang for You” collected just over 6 million official on-demand U.S. streams, a 4% increase from the week prior. Rylo’s collaboration with NoCap pulled a 33% increase streams following the release of the full album. Much of the song’s success can be attributed to its somber sample of Snoh Aalegra’s “Do 4 Love,” her rendition of the late Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love.” – KYLE DENIS
Warren Zeiders Gets Into the Bloodstream of DSPs With “Pretty Little Poison”
As Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Jelly Roll continue to flourish on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Hot 100, they are lifting an entire class of country stars with them. Warren Zeiders, a rising country star who has previously used TikTok snippets to secure single success, is already cementing himself as a standout of that rising class.
Released back in March, “Pretty Little Poison” has been gaining traction for months now, but the song has recently become a trending sound for country-adjacent TikTokers to flaunt their significant others. The official “Pretty Little Poison” sound currently boasts over 41,000 videos on TikTok. Zeiders himself has two TikToks of him performing the song that have amassed over one million views each. Buoyed by the song’s relatable lyrics and Zeiders’ sultry online persona, both his profile and “Pretty Little Poison” have been on the rise. “Pretty Little Poison” collected 3.5 million official on-demand U.S. steams during the period of July 7-14, a 26% increase from the period of June 30-July 6. As Zeiders preps the release of his sophomore album of the same name, slated for an Aug. 18 release, “Pretty Little Poison” should continue its ascent on streaming. – KD
Wham! Documentary Makes Duo Big Again on Streaming
The documentary Wham!, telling the story of the ‘80s U.K. chart-topping pop duo of the same name (largely via rare archive footage), debuted on July 5 on Netflix to mostly rave reviews. Fans seem to have responded to it as well, as consumption for the duo has increased greatly in the two weeks since its release: Their weekly U.S. on-demand audio streams rose from just over 4.6 million for the tracking week ending June 29 to nearly 6.6 million for the week ending July 14, according to Luminate (a 41% increase), while their digital sales have rocketed from around 1,100 to over 7,000 over that same timespan (a 537% boom). The doc has also boosted George Michael’s solo numbers, as his streams over that period have climbed from 3.4 million to 4.4 million (up 30%), while his sales hiking from 1,500 to 4,300 (up 187%). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
