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.
This week: Lady Gaga, Green Day and more Coachella acts see streaming gains after weekend one, Jack Black is on his way to his second super-viral (and super-short) film soundtrack hit, a dancehall legend takes a victory lap in Brooklyn and more.
Coachella Streaming Bumps: Which Headliner (Or ‘Should Be Headliner’) Enjoyed the Greatest Gains?
The first weekend of Coachella 2025 is in the books, and along with the surprise guests, song debuts and celebrity sightings that take place in the deserts of Indio, Calif. each year, we also had a mini-controversy surrounding the Saturday night headliner. Green Day topped the Saturday bill (although Travis Scott closed out the main stage that night), while Charli XCX played ahead of the pop-punk veterans; over the weekend, however, Charli was spotted wearing a sash that read “Miss Should Be Headliner,” and whether that sash was worn in earnest or as a tongue-in-cheek statement, the social-media discourse was fast and furious.
Yet Charli defenders can rejoice: the chatter, along with the British pop star’s actual performance (which featured guest stars Lorde and Billie Eilish), resulted in one of the biggest streaming upticks across the major Coachella acts, with Charli’s catalog earning 12.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams from Saturday (Apr. 12) through Monday (Apr. 14) — a 27% increase compared to the same period during the previous week, according to Luminate. Green Day, in turn, scored a 17% jump thanks to their headlining set, with their catalog up to 10 million streams from Apr. 12-14.
While Sunday headliner Post Malone scored a 5% bump from Saturday to Monday (albeit with a much larger catalog total of 30.3 million streams), Friday headliner Lady Gaga earned an almost identical streaming bump to Charli XCX — up 27%, from 20.6 million between Apr. 5-7 to 26.3 million between Apr. 12-14. In particular, Little Monsters were putting their paws up to Mayhem single “Abracadabra” (up 34% in streams) and Born This Way throwback “Judas” (up 66%), with an ultra-cool transition between the two songs in Gaga’s Coachella set list. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Jack Black’s ‘Lava Chicken’ Song for ‘Minecraft’ Movie Erupting on Streaming
Remember “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros. Movie – the 95-second piano ballad that film voice actor Jack Black sung in the blockbuster as the villainous Bowser, which became an improbable Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2023? That song may have been abbreviated, but it’s basically “Bohemian Rhapsody” compared to the Jack Black song now taking off from the similarly successful A Minecraft Movie: “Steve’s Lava Chicken.”
Co-penned with film director Jared Hess, the one-verse, no-chorus song finds the actor-rocker’s Steve character singing about his delicious lava chicken for its :34 second runtime. Though the would-be jingle’s lack of catchiness is immediately pointed out by Jason Mamoa’s protagonist character Garrett in the movie, the song is apparently sticking pretty firmly in the heads of those who’ve seen it – $283.9 million’s worth of viewers and counting. The song racked up 2.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending Apr. 10, according to Luminate – up 1,973% from the week before, prior to the film’s release.
It’s not alone on the soundtrack, either – Jack Black’s “I Feel Alive,” penned by hitmaker Andrew Wyatt and released as the set’s official lead single, was also up 261% to 584,000 streams, while the total soundtrack rose 838% to just over 5 million total streams. But it’s “Steve’s Lava Chicken” – which has continued to rise so far this week – which is currently threatening to give Jack Black his second sub-two-minute Hot 100 hit of the 2020s. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Vybz Kartel’s Stateside Comeback Sparks Strong Streaming Gains
Last weekend (April 11-12), King of Dancehall Vybz Kartel played his first U.S. headlining shows in over 20 years with two sold-out nights at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Jamaican icon played over two hours of hits, including “Benz Punany,” “Fever,” “Clarks,” “Summertime” and “Brooklyn Anthem,” with special guests like Busta Rhymes and Spice surprising the rowdy crowd.
According to Luminate, Kartel’s three-decade-spanning catalog — which is still in the process of being properly tagged and organized on DSPs — earned over 1.43 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the weekend preceding his Reggae Fest-presented concert (April 5-7). During the weekend immediately following the shows (April 12-14), however, streaming activity for Kartel’s discography leapt 62%, to over 2.32 million official on-demand streams, according to Luminate
Earlier this year, the Billboard cover star earned his ninth top 10 entry on the Reggae Albums chart with Viking: 10 Year Anniversary, an expanded edition of 2015’s Viking (Vybz Is King), which previously reached No. 3. With more new music and additional performances – including a forthcoming Wireless set in London – on the way, Kartel’s comeback just keeps on giving. – KYLE DENIS
Moliy’s ‘Shake It to the Max’ Slowly Plots Worldwide Takeover
In late 2024 (Dec. 3), after weeks of teasing the track on social media, Ghanaian-American singer Moliy unleashed her team-up with Jamaican producer Silent Addy: an infectious afro-dancehall track called “Shake It to the Max.” Two months later (Feb. 21), Moliy — who previously reached the Hot 100 as a feature on Amaarae’s “Sad Gurlz Luv Money” (No. 80) — tapped Jamaican dancehall superstars Shenseea and Skillibeng for the remix, further boosting the track’s virality and easing its crossover into Caribbean and Caribbean-American markets. If the track’s steady streaming increases are anything to go by, Moliy has been handling her rising hit perfectly.
During the period of Feb. 28 to March 6, “Shake” earned just over 385,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. Five weeks later, that figure rose 212% to over 1.2 million official streams logged during the week of April 4-10, according to Luminate. The song has risen steadily each of those five weeks, aided in large part by a trending, hip-rolling dance that’s been performed by the likes of Davido, Shenseea and Victoria Monét, Tiwa Savage and Afro B. The official “Shake” TikTok sound currently boasts over 666,000 posts, while the official “Shake (Remix)” sound plays in an additional 195,000 clips.
On the World Digital Song Sales chart dated April 19, “Shake” reached No. 3, a new peak that could soar even higher as more fans get acquainted with the song. And during Vybz Kartel’s aforementioned sold-out April 12 Brooklyn Show, he brought out Moliy, Shenseea, Silent Addy and Skillibeng for a “Shake” performance that should only further amplify the song in the States. – KD
