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.
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This week: A pair of Camp Rock songs re-enter the public discourse, a folk song gets boosted by being declared as the “worst song ever made,” and a dance troupe helps ignite a new TikTok trend.
Demi Lovato’s Surprise Jonas Brothers Reunion Sends Streams Soaring for ‘Camp Rock’ Singles
For those who grew up glued to the Disney Channel, Sunday night (Aug. 10) marked a momentous occasion: during the Jonas Brothers’ homecoming concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., which served as a super-sized kickoff to their 20th anniversary tour, the trio was joined by Demi Lovato, who shared the stage with her ex Joe Jonas for the first time in over a decade. The stadium shrieked along to “This Is Me” and “Wouldn’t Change a Thing,” a pair of songs from their Camp Rock days — and as news about the surprise performance traveled beyond New Jersey, both songs experienced a sizable uptick in streams from JoBros faithful and longtime Lovatics.
On the day after the MetLife performance (Monday, Aug. 11), “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” earned 167,000 U.S. on-demand streams — more than 7 times its streaming total from the day before (22,000 streams on Sunday), according to Luminate. “This Is Me” started from a slightly higher baseline prior to the performance (41,000 streams on Aug. 10), but experienced a major bump as well (167,000 streams the following day).
Interestingly, daily streams for both songs actually increased the following day — 180,000 streams for “Wouldn’t Change a Change” on Tuesday, and 179,000 streams for “This Is Me” — suggesting that, even after the shock of the Demi/JoBros reunion wore off, listeners still wanted to relive the glory days of Camp Rock.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ ‘Home’: Does Making the ‘Worst Song Ever’ Yield More Listeners?
“Worst song ever made,” X user Justin Boldaji posted on Aug. 4, with a clip of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros performing their 2010 indie-folk hit “Home.” The don’t-call-it-a-tweet quickly went viral — the embedded “Home” clip now has over 92 million views — with some users defending the song, others re-litigating the stomp-clap era of folk-rock and several others offering their own suggestion for the “worst song ever made.” Meanwhile, Edward Sharpe leader Alex Ebert seems to be having fun with the discourse, recently describing the viral moment to Stereogum as “a good little cathartic moment, and I love the discussion around it.”
All of the chatter boosted daily streams for “Home,” but only slightly. On Aug. 3, the day before Boldaji’s post, the song earned 175,000 U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate; by the end of the “Home”-filled week (Aug. 8), that daily streaming total crept above 200,000. A 14% bump is nothing to sneeze at, although, depending on how many “Home” discussions you’ve had this month, it’s a little short of making you exclaim, “Well, holy moly, me oh my.”
Lecrae x 1K Phew’s ‘Move’ Does Just That, Thanks to Viral Dance Performance
In late July, the Brotherhood dance crew emerged victorious at the International Dance League competition with a mesmerizing performance set to Lecrae x 1K Phew’s song “Move.” The crackling track was featured on No Church In a While, the 2021 collaborative project from the Christian rappers — and while “Move” wasn’t a major hit upon its release four years ago, the Brotherhood routine, and the many choreography homages it’s inspired on TikTok over the past two weeks, are elevating the track in both artists’ respective streaming catalogs.
“Move” earned 23,000 U.S. on-demand streams during the week ending July 24, according to Luminate — but following the IDL performance, that total increased to 47,000 streams the following week (up 104%), and to 104,000 streams the week after that (up 122%). Lecrae himself might have something to do with that latest total — on Aug. 3, he got in on the TikTok fun by dancing to “Move” himself.