Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: The country world mourns the passing of one of its greats on streaming, while NLE Choppa helps take Brooklyn rap crew 41 viral nationally and RAYE gets ready for awards season.
A Star Is Mourned: Kris Kristofferson Streams Up 2,292% Following His Death
The great Kris Kristofferson — singer/songwriter, actor, Highwayman, country lifer — died at age 88 on Sunday (Sept. 30), wrapping up a career that lasted over half a century and included myriad hits, many recorded on his own, nearly as many penned for others. News of his passing of course left the country world and beyond in mourning, as fans headed to streaming services to commemorate one of the unforgettable musical careers of the second half of the 20th century.
Kristofferson’s official on-demand U.S. streams reached nearly 1.9 million in total for his catalog on Monday, a jump of 2,292% from the 79,000 total his discography had amassed the prior Monday (Sept. 23), according to Luminate. A big chunk of that number of course went to “Why Me,” Kristofferson’s lone No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart and his biggest crossover hit (No. 16) on the Billboard Hot 100, with the song rising 1,442% over the same timespan. Meanwhile, The Highwaymen — the outlaw country supergroup which counted Kristofferson among its members — also saw a serious spike in listening, gaining 229% to 725,000 streams.
And though they were performed by other artists, a couple of the most famous hits he wrote also saw more modest gains: Janis Joplin’s Hot 100-topping “Me and Bobby McGee” was up 19% to 110,000 streams, and Sammi Smith’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night” was up 56% to 11,000 streams. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
NLE Choppa & 41 Follow Up Their 2023 Breakout Hits With Fast-Rising New Collab
After scoring viral hits like “Bent” and “Slut Me Out” last year, Brooklyn rap collective 41 and Memphis MC NLE Choppa have teamed up for a new banger called “Or What.” Built around one simple question (“B—h, is we f—-n’ or what?”), the collaboration combines Choppa’s tongue-in-cheek, sex-crazed aesthetic with the sultry Jersey beats and drill flourishes of 41’s primary sound. After a bit of teasing on Instagram Live, the track finally arrived on Sept. 6, and thanks to listeners’ infatuation with Kyle Ricch’s delivery on the bridge (“Yes, I love pills and Percocets, yes, yes”), it has steadily grown in streaming activity.
According to Luminate, “Or What” pulled over 3.17 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its third week of release (Sept. 20-26), marking a 75% increase from the 1.82 million streams the song collected the week prior (Sept. 13-19). Last weekend (Sept. 27-30), the track earned 2.77 million streams, posting a 76% rise from the 1.57 million streams it garnered the previous weekend (Sept. 20-23). On TikTok, the official “Or What” sound boasts nearly 125,000 posts, while other viral sounds using the track boast post totals 20-50,000 range. Already at No. 17 on Spotify’s Viral 50 USA chart, “Or What” could soon become another Billboard hit for both Choppa and 41 should its streams continue to rise. – KYLE DENIS
RAYE Dries Her “Oscar Winning Tears” With Eye-Popping Streaming Gains
Between her historic BRITs sweep and a recently released live album recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2024 has been a banner year for RAYE. Though “Oscar Winning Tears” serves as the opening full-length track for her debut album – 2023’s My 21st Century Blues – the track is earning some impressive streaming increases near two years post-release.
TikTok is obsessed with the song’s bridge – either praising its construction or using it to soundtrack hilariously histrionic scenarios – and it’s resulting in some big moves on streaming. “Oscar Winning Tears” pulled over 240,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of Sept. 20-26, which is a whopping 150% increase from the 96,000 streams the song pulled the week prior (Sept. 13-19). Last weekend (Sept. 27-30), the track garnered 346,000 streams, marking a gargantuan 350% rise from the 77,000 streams it earned the previous weekend (Sept. 20-23). On TikTok, the most popular “Oscar Winning Tears” sound plays in nearly 4,000 videos, two of which include RAYE herself both hopping on the running-away-in-tears trend and cracking jokes about how long she’s been promoting My 21st Century Blues.
This year, RAYE has performed around the world, including the final Wembley Stadium show of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and the 2024 Global Citizen Festival in New York. Based on these streaming gains, it looks like RAYE’s persistence and dedication is finally starting to pay off for her album’s deep cuts. – KD
