The top ten gets a pair of new entries: Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” vaults from #36 to #8 in its second week, while just below at #9, Kelly Clarkson scores the week’s highest debut with “Heartbeat Song.” Three more of last week’s debuts are the week’s biggest movers — Echosmith’s “Bright” ties Goulding with a 28-position jump for “Bright” (up 82-54), Bea Miller’s “Fire N Gold” jumps from #50 to #26, and Taylor Swift scores her highest-charting 1989 single yet with “Style” (up 42-23). XOV, who just missed the top 100 last fall with Hunger Games track “Animal,” scores three debuts this week from his Lucifer EP: the title track at #41, “Chaos” at #88, and “Blood Honey” at #100. Mickey Guyton’s “Better Than You Left Me” re-enters the chart, while Charli XCX featuring Rita Ora, HISTORY, and Zac Brown Band all make their way onto the chart.

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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”

Though the top four positions on the chart are unchanged, Walk The Moon scores a second spot in the top five as “Aquaman” leaps from 8 to 5. Meanwhile, Montaigne scores her second top twenty hit with “Pontius Of The Past” moving 22-20. With the music industry revived in the new year, new music begins entering the chart, led by Ellie Goulding’s new Fifty Shades Of Grey soundtrack song, “Love Me Like You Do,” launching at #36. Taylor Swift’s newest 1989 single, “Style,” begins at #42, immediately matching the peak of album cut “Out Of The Woods.” Also in the top fifty is newcomer Bea Miller, whose “Fire N Gold” enters right at #50. Additional debuts come from new artist Fancy and new singles for Echosmith, Madonna, and Sia, while Jason French, Ryn Weaver, and Maroon 5 all make re-entries.

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Jamie Scott leads debuts for the second time in three weeks with new preview single “Carry You Home” bowing at #22, just above Elle King’s “Ex’s & Oh’s” at #27. Big Data re-enters the chart with “Dangerous,” which debuted at #80 earlier this year before my chart went on hiatus; Echosmith, Sheppard, Vance Joy, and MKTO also return after a few weeks off. New entries from Ella Henderson, Alex & Sierra, Jamestown Revival, and others dot the bottom reaches of the chart.

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Jamie Scott makes a #7 debut with “Unbreakable” as Usher and Nicki Minaj join him in the top ten with “She Came To Give It To You.” Maroon 5 and Kimbra also score debuts within the top forty with new preorder singles from each of their upcoming albums. Additional debuts include Hunter Hayes, Sir Sly, a pair of songs from Bernhoft, and Echosmith.

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