ACM and Eurovision winners (and one disqualified entrant) stream

Welcome to Billboard Pro's Upward trends newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the attention of the music industry. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all could become ubiquitous with the flash of a TikTok clip.

This week: Winners and other contestants post wins from both the ACMs and Eurovision, while a pair of new viral sensations make waves and an expected pop superstar sees a fitting song.

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

Last week's ACM Awards hosted by Reba McEntire (May 16) treated viewers to show-stopping performances and emotional acceptance speeches, leading to impressive streaming earnings for some of country music's biggest stars.

Chris Stapleton – who won three trophies, including male artist, artist-songwriter and album of the year – had the most intense performance of the night thanks to a surprise appearance from Dua Lipa. The pop star joined the legendary country singer 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 leading up to the ACMs (May 10-11), Stapleton's track drew 1.6 million official US on-demand streams, according to Luminate. That figure rose 15% to 1.86 million streams the following Friday-Saturday (May 18-19). Specifically, US digital sales for “Think I'm In Love With You” increased 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, which is expected to be released later this year.

Stapleton and Lainey Wilson are tied for the most awarded artists of the night, with the latter Advertising sign cover star reigning winner in the Entertainer, Female Artist and Music Event of the Year categories. Wilson opened the show with a medley of Little Texas' “God Blessed Texas” and her own “Hang Tight Honey,” the lead single from her upcoming single. Tornado LP.

“Hang Tight Honey,” released in the middle of its May 13 viewing week, earned just over 223,000 official US on-demand streams during the weekend leading up to the ACMs (May 15-16). The following weekend (May 18-19), that number jumped 333% to 968,000 streams, likely boosted by both her performance and New Music Friday's key playlist placements. Like Stapleton's track, “Honey” also saw significant 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. However, Ballerini scored a streaming win of her own thanks to the Noah-assisted mash-up Kahan of her own “Mountain With a View” and his smash hit “Stick Season”.

“Mountain With a View,” Ballerini's Grammy Award-winning opening track Rolling Up the Welcome Mat The EP earned 95,000 official US on-demand streams during the weekend leading up to the ACMs (May 11-12). After her beautiful hookup with Kahan, that figure jumped 21% to 115,000 streams the weekend after the awards show (May 18-19). – KYLE DENNIS

The winner of the song contest who was eliminated from Eurovision has more streams in the US

Although Eurovision, the long-running international song contest held each spring, has historically had a muted impact on the US charts, recent contests have produced some crossover stars (like 2021 winner Måneskin) and singles (like Duncan Laurence's “Arcade” , which became a top 40 hit on the Hot 100 after taking the Eurovision 2019 crown). Following the 2024 edition last week, several Eurovision singles are gaining significant weekly streams in the US — although the winning Eurovision single is actually won by a song that was not allowed to enter the competition.

'The Code', an operatic drum-n-bass track from Swiss act Nemo about self-acceptance as a non-binary artist, won the Eurovision final and streams have skyrocketed in the days following the contest . “The Code,” released in February, earned 86,000 on-demand streams in the U.S. during the week ending May 9, the day the song appeared in the second semifinal, according to Luminate. the following week (May 10–16), that number jumped to 868,000, effectively doubling his US weekly streams since winning the competition on May 11.

In a strange twist, however, “Europapa,” the Dutch Eurovision entry from Dutch artist and former YouTuber Joost, effectively doubles “The Code's” weekly streams in the US, earning 1.75 million streams during the week which expires on May 16. The rave track was banned from the Eurovision final “after threatening behavior towards a female member of the production crew” by Joost backstage at the contest, according to a official statement. And while 'Europapa' may be gaining more streams from US listeners, 'The Code' resonates with global listeners, debuting at No.18 in the UK Official Singles Chart this week, while “Europapa” bows at No. 37. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Dallas rapper Ian Flips is promoting his long-running marketing campaign on Breakout Streaming

As the dust surrounding the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef settled, the hip-hop world's attention turned to an enigmatic young rapper who exists both opposite and in conversation with this generational battle.

After making his recording debut with 2022's “G63,” the Dallas-born producer-rapper spent the next two years cultivating a following in various pockets of the underground rap scene with a string of stand-alone singles. This grind culminated in a 2024 breakout for the artist, with “Grand Slam” – along with a new Instagram account – further catapulting him into the mainstream.

Earlier this month (May 13), Ian released his music video “Understand it” via Lyrical Lemonade. The clip featured an appearance from former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, who the rapper name-checks on the song. Over the past weekend (May 10-12), Ian's catalog garnered just over 1.1 million official US on-demand streams. In the days following the release of the music video (May 13-15) that number increased by 63% to 1.83 million streams – but an even bigger boost was on the horizon.

Last Friday (May 17), Ian released his debut mixtape, Valedictorian, featuring vocals by DJ Holiday and production contributions by Sxprano and Tana. After the release, Ian effectively became one of them most talked about recording artists around the world, with the conversation surrounding his work dominating social media. During valedictorianIn its release weekend (May 16-18), streaming activity for Ian's catalog soared to 11.4 million official on-demand streams in the US, an impressive 525% increase.

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

Emerging artist Lithe Springs Forward With “Fall Back”

Australian singer-producer Lithe quickly turned major label heads with “Fall Back,” a slick, subdued R&B track released on March 21. His follower count on TikTok — where several “Fall Back” videos have garnered millions of views — began rising in the first week of April, according to Chartmetric. And its streaming numbers soon followed suit: U.S. plays more than doubled from about 834,000 during the week ending April 25 to 1.76 million in the week ending May 2. The number continued to climb, surpassing the 3 million mark for the week ending May 16. “I've been dancing with him since early 2023,” commented one excited fan on the as-yet-unsigned artist's TikTok. “Now he's finally getting the recognition he deserves!” – ILIAS LEFT

Season Earnings: Happy Mother's Day, Hailey Bieber

The pop world was overjoyed two Fridays ago (May 9) when they heard the news that pop star Justin Bieber and his wife, model and beauty influencer Hailey Bieber, were expecting their first child. The expecting couple enjoyed their first Mother's Day not long after (May 12) — and the combination of the holiday and the announcement apparently prompted Beliebers to get a little emotional with one of Bieber's (loosely) parentally-titled pop classics . “Baby,” the song that cemented The Bieb as one of the early '10s' big pop sensations, garnered 2.6 million official US on-demand streams for the week ending May 16 — up 13% from last week, according to Luminate. – ANDREW UNDERBERGER