In its 23rd week at the top, Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up And Dance” sets a record for the highest number of chart weeks at #1, surpassing the previous 22-week record set by Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep.” (In the earliest days of my personal chart, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera’s “Nobody Wants To Be Lonely” reigned for a total of 41 weeks at #1 in 2002, though only over five charts, as I was not yet compiling them on a weekly basis.) Meanwhile, Carly Rae Jepsen moves into the top ten with “E·MO·TION.”

The week’s highest debut comes from former chart-topper Martin Luke Brown, whose new song “Scars On Scars” enters at #68. New singles from Grizfolk, Demi Lovato, Hunter Hayes featuring Lady Antebellum, and Jess Glynne also enter, as does newcomer FLETCHER and a new album cut from both Kacey Musgraves and Tori Kelly.

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As the music industry wakes up from its holiday slumber and begins the new year, attention shifts to developing new artists whose careers are beginning to build. Below are forty hand-picked artists of varying genres and current levels of success. Some are completely independent, while others have already topped charts. Regardless, all of them show potential to be even bigger names, particularly in America, in the coming year. Listen to the artists through this SoundCloud playlist, and check back later in the year to see how these predictions turned out. Continue reading “Class Of 2015: 40 promising artists to watch this year”