Tommy Richman Scores 'Million Dollar' Debut (and Sees a Chart Boost) with Viral Breakout Hit

Welcome to Billboard Pro's Upward trends column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, oddities 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: Tommy Richman's sizzling new Internet hit looks on track to become a star breakthrough, Daya enjoys a renewed pop favorite from a decade ago, and musicians from Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Nigeria join forces for a new global success.

'Baby' It's You: Tommy Richman's Breakout Single Goes Viral, Boosts Catalog

If you weren't previously familiar with Virginia singer and rapper Tommy Richman, it's officially time to get acquainted. Signed Brent Faiyaz (at ISO Supremacy agency) and tour leader made his first impression as a guest at Faiyaz's Larger than life cut “Upset,” but now has one hit bigger than anything else in this famous set: “Million Dollar Baby,” which after generating buzz on TikTok, debuted as an instant viral streaming hit.

Upon its release on Friday (April 26), “Million Dollar Baby” racked up 4.6 million on-demand audio streams in the US, according to Luminate – an impressive number for a solo single from an artist with a relatively non-existent commercial track record. And after an inevitable dip in those totals for the rest of the weekend, the song soared again on Monday, logging nearly 4.8 million streams, with the song amassing 16.6 million total streams over a four-day period. (It also sold nearly 2,100 streams in that time, also a huge number for a new single from a younger artist.)

With these early numbers, Richman should have an impressive Hot 100 arc with his first crossover — and he's already seeing the benefits of newfound success in the rest of his catalog. For the four-day period April 26-29, his discography (excluding “Baby”) posted nearly 2.1 million audio-on-demand streams in the US, a 106% gain over the previous four-day period. – ANDREW UNDERBERGER

Daya's 'Hide Away' found by TikTok, almost a decade later

Back in 2015, Daya, a 16-year-old pop singer-songwriter from Pittsburgh, scored a surprise top 40 hit on the Hot 100 when her debut single “Hide Away” peaked at No. 23 on the chart. Daya has since followed up her lament about the lack of clearly visible high-quality men with a handful of other hits, most notably the Chainsmokers collaboration 'Don't Let Me Down' – but almost a decade after her debut 'Hide Away' is back , streaming continuously 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 following each member's respective moves. As the trend multiplied, “Hide Away” began earning seven-figure weekly streams: the song scored 3.13 million on-demand streams in the U.S. from April 19 to 25, according to Luminate, an increase of more than 600% from the totality of its three streams. weeks earlier (431,000 from March 29-April 4).

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

Rvssian, Rauw Alejandro & Ayra Starr Make Christmas In May With Fast Rising New Single 'Santa'

What happens when Jamaica, Nigeria and Puerto Rico join forces? Of course a streaming smash is born. As the song of the 2024 summer race continues to heat up, Jamaican producer Rvssian, Puerto Rican Latin Grammy winner Rauw Alejandro and Nigerian Grammy nominee Ayra Starr throw their collective hat into the ring with their new collaboration 'Santa'.

The seductive collaboration combines notes of Afrobeats and reggaeton, with Rauw and Ayra trading lyrics about steamy trials and undeniable sex appeal. According to Luminate, “Santa” earned more than 4.28 million official US streams on demand during the April 19-25 period. This figure marks a whopping 207% increase in streaming activity from two weeks ago (April 5-11), during which “Santa” garnered an estimated 1.39 million official streams.

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

Although both Rvssian and Rauw have already charted on the Billboard Hot 100, “Santa” could be Ayra Starr's first if its consumption continues to rise. To her credit, the “Bloody Samaritan” singer has already scored several top 10 hits on the US Afrobeats Songs chart, including 2022's “Rush,” which ended up at No. 7 on the US year-end chart 2023. — KYLE DENNIS