Welcome to Billboard ProTrending Up's newsletter, 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: a big new remix and bigger new video help a bonus Brat The cut became the biggest song of the era to date, while a 2010 pop classic takes a hit from an unexpected fan and MinionsThe esteemed music representative strikes again.
Charli XCX's 'Guess' Aims for Big Hot 100 Bow After Streaming Boom
Among the many Brat Summer news was Charli XCX's return to the Billboard Hot 100, a full decade after she helped spawn top 10 hits like Iggy Azalea's “Fancy,” Icona Pop's “I Love It” and hers. “Boom Claps”. Brat Hits like “360” (No. 44) and “Apple” (No. 66) have climbed the chart after achieving various states of virality, while the Lorde-assisted remix of “Girl, So Confusing” took the song to No. 63 on June release.
These tracks have yet to enter the top 40 on the chart – but “Guess”, which appears on the deluxe edition of Brat, it will almost certainly be next week. That's largely due to Billie Eilish hitting the track to remix the bonus cut — grabbing the internet's attention with lyrics like “Charli likes boys, but she knows I'd hit it,” as well as Eilish joining Charli in a mountain of underwear in the new release's official music video (10,000 pairs of which were donated to the I Support The Girls charity after the video was filmed).
Following the release of the song and video last Thursday (Aug. 1), streams for “Guess” exploded: in its first four full days of tracking (Aug. 2-5), the song scored 12.27 million official streams in the U.S. ' claim , according to Luminate, after earning just 651,000 streams during the same period the previous week (July 26-29) prior to the remix's release. Meanwhile, Eilish's 'Guess' look ups the ante Brat songs around it, with the album (minus “Guess”) up 12% in streams over the same period (from 23.3 million streams to 26.2 million). Don't be shocked if “Guess” crashes into the Hot 100's top 20 next week — and if Brat remains strong in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Kodak Black brings back the 'bulletproof' La Roux Singalong clip
Not many people would have guessed Florida rapper Kodak Black as the artist who would spark La Roux's surprise crossover revival in 2010 titled 'Bulletproof'. But perhaps that's why it's sparked such renewed interest in the now-decade-and-a-half-old pop classic, as footage from Kodak (who has previously shown his love for the song and its video on a live IG) singing and pounding his bare chest along the cathartic chorus (while standing on top of his car brushing his teeth) went viral on social media. Videographer Don James' clip of the singalong, posted on July 21, has garnered 2.6 million likes on TikTokwith countless fans praising the artist's genre-crossing aura.
Many of those fans couldn't seem to get the song out of their heads since, as evidenced by its ballooning streaming numbers over the past two weeks. After “Bulletproof” garnered just under 700,000 official US on-demand streams for the viewing week ending July 18, that number jumped 147% to 1.7 million for the following week, according to Luminate — and another 101% for the following period, with the song garnering nearly 3.5 million spins for the week ending August 1. Now that Kodak Black Bump is real, maybe other '10s alt-pop favorites will seek out his help – Kate Nash , perhaps? Neon trees? – ANDREW UNDERBERGER
Pharrell Eyes Another 'Despicable Me' Hit With 'Double Life'
Pharrell Williams has been a reliable hitmaker for decades – and one of the Minions' lyrics from his “Happy” (from Despicable Me 2) became one of the biggest pop hits of the 2010s. Both streaks continue for Pharrell with “Double Life,” his breakthrough from The despicable me 4 soundtrack.
Originally released on June 14 — about a month before the movie hits theaters — “Double Life” gained some early traction because some listeners interpreted the track as a low-key take on Drake (who took shots at Skateboard P with his verse on Travis Scott's song ” Meltdown” last summer).During the week of the film's release (July 5-11), “Double Life” saw a staggering 141% increase in streams compared to the previous week (June 28 – July 4), recording 2.57 million official US on-demand streams, according to Luminate .
A few micro-trends have helped the song continue to grow in streams every week, including a dance trend courtesy of Dossan Bell & Oliver Hincy, and another little trend based on the lyric “I know you listened the rumours/ You must get over to it now now”. During the week of July 26 – August 1, the song received its biggest streaming boost since the film's release, jumping nearly 40% to 5.2 million official on-demand streams. That push was largely due to yet another trend built around the song's lyrics: In essence, users are playfully pretending to live a double life by sharing a screenshot that appears to confirm that they're using both their personal TikTok account and that of a celebrity or brand, such as Kamala Headquarters the Mr. Katharos. As the set of photos transitions from either a stock image of a question mark or a selfie of the user to the 'running' accounts, Pharrell croons, “Who you gonna be tonight? That's the question.”
On TikTok, the official “Double Life” sounds have a combined 486,000 clips, while two additional unofficial sounds were built around the “that's the question” soundtrack clip and another 282,7000 clips. And on Tuesday (August 7), just before she announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walsh as her running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris' official TikTok campaign (@kamalahq) was posted a teaser of her announcement using the “that's the question” trend – with the clip gaining 2.2 million views. – KYLE DENNIS
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/charli-xcx-guess-remix-billie-eilish-hot-100-trending-up-1235748600/