Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Presenting a brand-new HITS
feature you never asked for, which focuses on a single key development in the biz. As usual, we apologize in advance.
It’s worth noting, as the majors continue to locate and break hit records in the new ecosystem, that
Ron Perry’s
Columbia has broken three
acts. What do we mean by “broken?” The answer isn’t entirely quantitative; it’s also
qualitative, our sense that the perception of the act is bigger than any single project.
The first was
Lil Nas X, who came out of nowhere with the biggest record on earth, “Old Town Road” (now the most-certified record in history, per the
RIAA). Next came a second hit, “Panini,” along with a slew of
Grammy noms (and two wins) for “Road.” EP
7 is now nearing 2.4m. This year, Lil Nas came roaring back with the personal, provocative “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” which flew to #1 at
Spotify U.S. and the Top 10 at
Apple Music and earned a billion
YouTube views; it’s now at 541k in song activity. The song and controversial video found the artist revealing more of himself, clearly inspiring many in the LGBTQ+ community. We get the feeling Lil Nas is just getting started.
Similarly, the initial breakout of
Polo G has turned into consistent success and that rare young rapper who can toggle easily between street tracks and melodic, radio-friendly singles. His debut set,
Die a Legend, instantly established him as both album artist and storyteller. Much fanfare then greeted 2020 album
The Goat (now at 1.3m+), which hit #2 on our chart; that set gave heft and context to the Chicago rapper’s powerful personal story. His latest, “RAPSTAR,” has usurped the #1 position at Spotify U.S. from “MONTERO,” and the cut debuted at #3 worldwide; it also sits at #1 on Apple Music and is a strong contender for #1 in song activity this week. Meanwhile,
Rod Wave's "Richer," on which he's featured, is #3. Thanks to social-media saturation (he boasts 7.2m
Instagram followers) and
TikTok, “RAPSTAR” got a big launch that underscored how Polo G's profile has grown.
Aussie rapper/singer/songwriter and
Juice WRLD protégé
The Kid LAROI is just 17 but has already scored with a mixtape and album (
F*UCK LOVE, which lingers in the Top 20 and is now at 867k in activity) and multiple tracks, including “So Done” (189m Spotify U.S. streams), “Go” f/Juice WRLD (228m Spot U.S.) and current streamer “Without You” (351m). Meanwhile, he’s getting a huge look as a feature on
Justin Bieber’s “Unstable” (from the latter’s giant new set,
Justice). Like late mentor Juice or
Post Malone, LAROI is steeped in hip-hop but tailor-made for pop success.
We are convinced that these three artists will continue to make big noise; stay tuned.
Next 1: Doja Cat.
