Welcome to Billboard Pro Upward trend a column in which we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have captured the music industry’s attention. Some came out of nowhere, others took months to gain popularity, and all of them can become ubiquitous in the blink of an eye of a TikTok clip.
This week: Katy Perry’s recently viral and oddly placed live performance helps her 2019 single hit the big time, 30 Seconds to Mars’ first big single gets a boost from Chad Smith’s drumming, and Lay Bankz is on the verge of a TikTok boost. breakthrough hits.
Katy Perry kicks off new broadcasts with viral bathroom performance
When she was promoting her latest album of 2020. SmileKaty Perry launched a series she called Potty Jams, in which the hit-maker belted out her pop songs in the bathtub (celebrities are just like us!). “Never Really Over” and “Small Talk” also received Potty Jams versions, but over the past few weeks, a bathroom rendition of “Harleys in Hawaii” has gone viral, leading to renewed interest in the fan favorite with an island vibe. .
Part of the return of “Harleys” is due to the effect of performing in a Tiny Desk-style bathroom, where Perry croons a mid-tempo track while musicians and backing singers pop out of bathroom stalls and the acoustics affect the song’s sound. And Perry attacks the “you and me” lyric as “you and ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” the clip is a desperate melisma that belatedly became a meme and earned millions of plays on TikTok.
The revival began in earnest in late September, and as a result, Harleys’ weekly streams nearly doubled, with the track earning 1.11 million on-demand streams in the US in the week ending September. 28, according to Luminate, which is a 93% increase from the previous frame. Perry begins the final month of her Play Las Vegas residency on Wednesday night (October 4); “Harley” was not a regular part of the setlist, but may have been a late addition due to the Potty Jams revival. – JASON LIPSCHUTZ
Drum With Me, Drum With Me: 30 Seconds to Mars’ “The Kill” starts after Chad Smith plays along
While longtime Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith may not have been previously familiar with 30 Seconds to Mars’ 2006 breakout hit “The Kill,” by the time he finished his first listen, he had helped the song have one of its best weeks. in streaming mode. The guys behind the YouTube presence of online drum training program Drumeo correctly predicted Smith’s lack of prior knowledge of 30STM and tested him (on video) by having him listen to the song for the first time – without drums – and try his best to play. together with that.
Smith’s instinctive reading of the song’s drum pattern turned out to be pretty close to the real thing, resulting in a very cool look at how veteran musicians can feel a song from the inside, adjusting to changes in dynamics and structure on the fly and even anticipating them before they happen. . The video has been widely shared, with 4.5 million people viewing it since September. 22 reports – many of which were apparently set to return and stream “The Kill”, which was up 62% from the less than 1.4 million official VOD streams in the US in the week ending September 22nd. That number is expected to jump from 21 million to more than 2.2 million next week, according to Luminate.
Soon, other bands might be approaching Smith asking if their own song isn’t the next one he’s never heard before. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Lay Bankz turned her ‘unkindness’ into a livestream
In a year largely defined by the dominance of female rappers and hot dance trends in Jersey clubs, Lay Bankz comes out this month with “Ick,” a simultaneously edgy and danceable ode to all the things about guys that turn her off. From bad credit and foot fetishes to a part-time job at 7-Eleven and a “sassy male apocalypse,” Bankz spends the entire song she first teased back in June — criticizing men who simply don’t live up to her standards.
“Ick” earned 2.19 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. through September, according to Luminate. 22-28. This is 56.8% more than in September. 15-21, during which the song collected 1.39 million streams. Compared to two weeks ago, streams for “Ick” have jumped to a staggering 418.8% from just over 422,000 streams in the September period. 8-14. The official audio of “Ick” on TikTok boasts over 217,000 posts, most of which are people singing along until the second verse begins.
Meanwhile, the song’s official audio upload on YouTube has racked up just over half a million views in a month, while the six-day-old lyric music video has racked up nearly 135,000 views. As various clips of the song continue to go viral across all platforms, it seems that consumers are not enjoying “Ick”. – KYLE DENIS