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: Hit film Project Hail Mary boosts soundtrack cuts and Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times,” Pooh Shiesty’s shocking arrest lifts his comeback song and Baton Rouge MC Fredo Bang eyes a new hit thanks to TikTok.
Harry Styles’ Debut Single & Other Soundtrack Cuts Achieve Liftoff Following ‘Project Hail Mary’ Box Office Success
The Ryan Gosling-starring space adventure flick Project Hail Mary has quickly established itself as one of the year’s biggest blockbusters, drawing strong reviews and already grossing over $420 million at the global box office. Much of the movie’s charm comes from its smartly chosen soundtrack selections — a couple of which took much time and effort to get cleared — which have resulted in big gains for some of the bigger songs featured in the hit film.
“Two of Us,” The Beatles’ 1970 Let It Be-opening ode to friendship, is featured in a key late scene in the movie between Gosling’s Ryland Grace accidental-astronaut character and his film companion, and resulted in the song drawing 461,000 official on-demand streams for the tracking week ending Apr. 2 — a 234% gain from two weeks earlier, before the film’s debut, according to Luminate. “Pata Pata,” a top 15 Billboard Hot 100 hit for legendary South African singer-songwriter Miriam Makeba in 1967, was also up 197% to 89,000 streams over the same period after being featured in a supplies-shopping montage in the movie, while Dennis Wilson’s cult-pop favorite “Rainbows” was up 4,230% to 78,000 streams after its own spotlight moment in the movie.
But the most significant gains from the movie have been enjoyed by someone who’s already had a good deal of chart success in 2026: Harry Styles. While the pop superstar’s March LP, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. remains in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart, his solo debut single, “Sign of the Times,” is experiencing a major streaming revival after being featured in a PHM karaoke scene, where it’s unexpectedly performed by a buttoned-up scientist character played by Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller. After “Sign” amassed 2.8 million streams for the tracking week ending Mar. 19, that number was up 87% to 5.2 million streams two weeks later — a higher number than every Disco track outside of the latest single “American Girls.” — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
New Legal Troubles Boost Pooh Shiesty’s ‘FDO’ Just Six Months After His Release from Prison
Last week (April 1), Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty, alongside dad Lontrell Williams Sr. and fellow MC BIG30, was among eight individuals arrested on robbery and kidnapping charges tied to a violent dispute over his recording contract with Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records. Those headlines made major waves, particularly because Shiesty just came home from a three-year stint in federal prison last October. He celebrated his release by joining the storied hip-hop tradition of “first day out” songs with the aptly titled “FDO,” which initially reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January, marking his highest-peaking entry on the all-genre ranking.
Though the song has since exited the Hot 100, it could be gearing up for a return. According to Luminate, “FDO” doubled in weekly on-demand U.S. streams in the three-day period following Shiesty’s arrest. Across March 30-April 1, “FDO” collected 2.02 million official on-demand U.S. streams. After the Department of Justice confirmed Shiesty’s arrest on April 2, that figure vaulted 104% to 4.13 million official on-demand U.S. streams collected during the period of April 3-5.
As he gears up to fight yet another case, expect fans to keep revisiting “FDO.” — KYLE DENIS
Yearning TikTok Trend Revives Fredo Bang’s ‘Say Please’
Everyone’s obsessed with yearning to the point where it feels like the performance of that obsession has replaced the actual action of yearning. Still, that hasn’t stopped TikTok from spinning out yet another yearning-inspired trend.
On March 11, user @/mikaylasaccountt shared a video of herself crying and lip-syncing to the final two lines of the chorus of Pooh Shiesty’s “Say Please,” a cut from his 2022 UNLV album. That clip went incredibly viral, amassing nearly one million likes and over six million views, setting into motion a trend of people replicating her video and “saying please” for (relatively) romance-related requests. There are currently nearly 50,000 posts attached to the unofficial “Say Please” TikTok sound, while the official audio is used in nearly 70,000 posts. Fredo Bang himself also hopped on the trend, sharing several TikToks set to “Say Please,” including one in which he seemingly shoots his shot at Cardi B. People have also been returning to Fredo’s 2022 “Shootin’ Outside” performance of the track, which had its own quasi-viral moment a few years ago.
From Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, “Say Please” earned just 198,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. Over the following eight weeks, that figure ballooned by 867% to over 1.9 million official streams during the period of March 27-April 2.
As the song continues to grow beyond the initial TikTok trend, Fredo Bang could be looking at a legitimate springtime hit. — K.D.
