The point I am trying to make is that if you check out various websites and social media pages for new music, like digging for gold, you with unearth some gems. While this might include many acts from around the country and around the world, perhaps some of these talents are right under your nose--or perhaps a friend's nose. Perhaps it's just going to your local club, and checking out their gig, and buying their CD that they have to offer. Maybe it's just watching a performance on Facebook, or a friend telling you about someone they've known since they were in diapers and that they've grown and are now playing music worth raving about.
So you follow them. You hope they have that big breakthrough, but also there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of artists out there looking for their big break. Of course, many get lost among thousands of other hopeful acts. Until then, you finally find one that finally hits the big time.
This week, on the Billboard Hot 100, "All We Know" by The Chainsmokers debuts at #18. The song features Phoebe Ryan, becoming the Jersey native's first appearance on the big chart--and the first of my "up-and-comers" to make that chart as well.
If you've been following my blog, you'll know that Ryan has been a fixture on my SNS 100 list for over a year now, hitting my top 20 three times: "Mine" (#6), "Ignition/Do You" (#12), and most recently "Chronic" (#5). Before that, she was in the New York-based alternative band Town Hall, which, in 2012 made my top 20 with "Good Boy" (#17).
While, technically, Ryan was already on the charts when I found out about her solo career, courtesy of her longtime friend and my classmate Merrill Kenny Butler, as she was on a chart of up-and-coming artists with the songs I mentioned, her stint in Town Hall was well before anyone else had heard of her; hence she becomes the first. In the last several months, she has been getting buzz from many sources. Superstar Taylor Swift listed "Mine" as among a list of songs by new artists to check out. There was an awesome write-up about her in Rolling Stone, and she has her own Wikipedia page as well.
Keep in mind, however, that she is just the featured vocalist on The Chainsmokers' record, a duo which has been dominating the charts lately. The act is a duo based in New York City and specializes in electro-house dance music, but has crossed over to the pop charts in a big way. Consisting of Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, they have been nominated for various pop music awards. They have also cited Pharrell Williams as an influence, among other artists. Their first big hit came in 2014, with "Selfie", but their breakthrough successes have come since the end of 2015. "Roses" (#6), "Don't Let Me Down" (#3), "Closer" (9 weeks at #1 as of this writing, and counting) have made them red hot. This new effort with Ryan debuts at #18 on the Hot 100 this week. What a way for Phoebe to break into the charts, as featured vocalist with this duo.
It has been taking me a bit longer to warm up to The Chainsmokers on my playlist, but I have found with repeated listens, they are quite good. "Roses" peaked here at #88, and "Don't Let Me Down", after hanging around the bottom of the chart and on the Tremors list, is finally making a move, from 75 to 54 this week. Normally, I wait for one song to peak and recede before adding the follow-up, and although I still have "Closer", the long running chart topper on Billboard to get to, I've decided to jump ahead and add "All We Know" to my list this week; it debuts at an impressive #64 on my list, due to the excitement of seeing her on the national charts.
I still intend on adding "Closer" when "Don't Let Me Down" runs its course, and I still have to add some Phoebe solo songs as well: Among her single releases that I hadn't gotten to yet are "Dead", her official follow-up to "Mine", and "Boyz n Poiz", her follow to "Chronic".
I still await the day that she'll finally enter the charts as a solo act or lead performer. With a resume that includes writing songs for Britney Spears and others, how could she not. Again, wishing the best of luck for a long successful career.
And who could be next? There are many worthy artists that I know about that deserve to be on the charts as well. Rachel Allyn, Hegazy, Christina Taylor (formerly Taylor Centers), and Matt Weiss are just some of the talented singer/songwriters hoping for a break. If Phoebe can do it.......
ON MY CHARTS: The Hounds of Winter maintains their slim lead at #1 with "Oh Paige", staying ahead of Santana's "Blues Magic", still in a fierce competition. Although a bit behind those two, Michael Kiwanuka's "One More Night" is also breaking away from the pack, holding at #3 bullet. In fact, the top 8, and 12 of the top 14 are all bulleting, indicating a substantial increase in fave points. The two newcomers to the top 20 are hardly newbies: Leon Bridges has his second top 20 in "Better Man", while Paul Czekaj earns his ninth top 20 with "A Place I Once Called Home".
FITZ ROLLS ON: Jets quarterback Ryan "Fitz" Fitzpatrick may be having a rough season with his football team, but Michael "Fitz" Fitzpatrick is still red hot, with his band Fitz and the Tantrums. Their new single, the second off their eponymous third album, and the third track that I am featuring from it, "Roll Up", beats out The Chainsmokers and Phoebe for Top Debut honors, coming in at #57 this week. Once again, the song is rhythmic and up tempo, but this time, much of the soul from their prior two sets is more apparent than on "HandClap" or "Complicated". It is very hard to stop liking this band even though they've gone more pop and strayed from the retro-soul that put them on the map in the first place. With the prior two songs still on my list, this would be a safe bet for their tenth #1 song here, and to keep their well-over-three-and-a-half-year present on my SNS 100.
JERSEY BOY: Also debuting on the SNS 100 is Charlie Puth, with his first entry as lead performer, with "We Don't Talk Anymore" with features Selena Gomez. Puth, who hails from Rumson, NJ, has been making his mark lately. He appeared as featured vocalist on Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" which reached #19 on my list last summer, but more importantly was Billboard's "Song of the Summer" for 2015 (an honor that went on my list to "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran, an artist Puth has frequently been compared to. "We Don't Talk Anymore" is already top ten on the Hot 100. You can also catch Puth as an advisor on The Voice. Also debuting this week are the latest from The Struts, The Veils and Ra Ra Riot, plus the first SNS song by July Talk, a five-piece indie rock band from Toronto, with "Push + Pull".
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
October 9,
2016
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBE ONE:
"Oh
Paige"
(Single Only)
(2 weeks at #1)
|
6 |
| 2 | 2 | Santana - Blues Magic | 10 |
| 3 | 3 | Michael Kiwanuka - One More Night | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Us Commoners - Fallin' | 5 |
| 5 | 10 | Dinosaur Jr - Tiny | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | Coldplay - Hymn For the Weekend | 13 |
| 7 | 11 | Rachel Allyn - For What It's Worth | 7 |
| 8 | 13 | DMA's - Too Soon | 11 |
| 9 | 8 | Charles Kelley- Lonely Girl | 20 |
| 10 | 18 | Two Door Cinema Club - Are We Ready (Wreck) | 10 |
| 11 | 17 | Foals - What Went Down | 12 |
| 12 | 23 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Better Man"
Album: Coming Home
|
10 |
| 13 | 5 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Complicated | 12 |
| 14 | 24 | Paul Czekaj - A Place I Once Called Home | 7 |
| 15 | 20 | Zac Brown Band - Castaway | 9 |
| 16 | 6 | M83 - Go | 13 |
| 17 | 16 | The Strokes - Oblivius | 12 |
| 18 | 7 | Finish Ticket - Color | 14 |
| 19 | 9 | Billy Spanton Band - Shake Your Soul | 12 |
| 20 | 14 | Barns Courtney - Fire | 12 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod. 