Carly Rae Jepsen now holds two spots in the top five (as does Alabama Shakes), with “I Really Like You” holding at #3 and “E·MO·TION” jumping to a new peak of #4. Kacey Musgraves, Grizfolk, and Demi Lovato make big moves in the chart’s upper half. Also in the top fifty is Hunter Hunted’s “Lucky Day,” the highest debut of the week at #48. Wildhood follows with the next entry, debut single “Psycho Jam,” at #60; in the lower rungs, R5 (who also re-enters “All Night”), Rob Thomas, ROMANS, and AIR BAG ONE all score with new songs.
AIR BAG ONE
The top ten stays mostly steady again, with AIR BAG ONE being the sole disruptor as “1992” jumps 15-10 in its fourteenth week on the chart. Duran Duran score the top debut with “Pressure Off,” featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers, in at #27. Beck is the week’s biggest mover as “Dreams” vaults from its #63 debut last week to a new peak of #42; MKTO also makes a large 20-position jump as “Bad Girls” moves from #56 to #36. Additional debuts include several tracks from Adam Lambert’s The Original High and a pair of Tori Kelly tracks, along with new songs from Josh Dorr, newcomer Cam, Leon Bridges, and Atlas Genius.
The chart takes a quiet week, with a stagnant top ten and few notable jumps. Worth noting, however, is a milestone at #1: Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up And Dance” notches its twentieth week at the top, one of the chart’s longest runs ever. The Weeknd makes the highest debut with his first solo song to chart, “Can’t Feel My Face,” in at #57. New songs from Beck, Maddie & Tae, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Joy Williams, Wrabel, and AIR BAG ONE also enter, as well as newcomer Scavenger Hunt.
The top ten is completely static this Easter Sunday – in fact, the only movement in the entire top twenty comes from Delta Rae, who debuts at #14 with new After It All album track “Dead End Road” and pushes every other song down one spot. Delta Rae scores another three debuts ahead of their album release on Tuesday. AIR BAG ONE is the week’s big mover, up 41 spots to #46 this week; Carly Rae Jepsen’s new track “All That” enters just below at #47 following her debut of the track on Saturday Night Live. Jennifer Lopez, Allen Stone, Joy Williams, and SXSW alums Indevotion provide the week’s other debuts.
While many people flocked south to Austin, Texas last week for this year’s South By Southwest festival, which showcases more than two thousand artist performances alongside label presentations, technology reveals, and discussion panels, some of us had to settle for attending Couch By Couchwest from home. I spent the past week digging through a spreadsheet of 2,121 artists who were slated to play during SXSW 2015, and after whittling down the list and listening to 622 of them, I have selected 76 independent acts that warrant further attention now that the festivities have ended. Read a short blurb on each artist below along with a prime track among their discography, or skip ahead to the full playlist on SoundCloud by clicking here. Continue reading “76 independent artists to watch following SXSW 2015”
It’s a quiet week as a whole on the chart, thanks mainly to my preoccupation of digging through artists who played at SXSW in Austin this week. Very little movement occurs within the top twenty, save two entries by Christine and the Queens and Kelly Clarkson. Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” makes a big jump of 36 positions to land at #40, and Sam Hunt (“Take Your Time,” 77-46) and The Veronicas (“You Ruin Me,” 95-64) each score 31-position jumps. The week’s highest debut belongs to Martin Luke Brown, who returns at #75 with “Take Out Of Me,” the title track from his upcoming EP. Delta Rae debuts another album preview track, as do AIR BAG ONE with their debut track “1992” and Of Monsters And Men with new single “Crystals;” Kelly Clarkson’s “Second Wind” also appropriately makes a re-entry at the bottom of the chart.