After seven weeks at the top, Adele’s “Hello” leaves the pole position for Cam’s “Burning House” to take over. Taking the top in its 27th week on the chart, it becomes the song with the longest ascent to #1 in chart history. Adele holds positions 2-4, with Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away With Me” rounding out the top five. Another version of “Burning House,” by EZA and Aaron Krause, leaps 36-7 in its second week. “Can’t Let Go” becomes the fourth song from 25 to reach the top ten, while Sophia Somajo and Fleur East both enter the top twenty. The highest debut of the week is “80’s Mercedes,” the first of three entries this week from Maren Morris’s self-titled debut EP; Majid Jordan, American Authors, another song from Cam’s Untamed, and Pony Pony Run Run also debut.

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The contents of the top ten remain unchanged, while former two-time chart-topper Lianne La Havas moves into the top twenty with “Unstoppable.” New Warner Bros. signing PHASES scores the highest entry with debut single “I’m In Love With My Life,” along with another debut, “Cooler,” further down the list. Allen Stone is the greatest gainer, reaching #51 with “Freedom” ahead of additional debuts that include new singles from Maroon 5, Tori Kelly, and American Authors. New cuts from Adam Lambert, Rachel Platten, and Kendrick Lamar also log their first week, along with American Idol coronation songs from winner Nick Fradiani and runner-up Clark Beckham.

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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”