ten good songs 8/26

we’ve got a new #1, people

i really wish i knew why i cared so much about this, but ladies and gentlemen: we have a new top artist on Spotify. this is determined by calculating the number of individuals who have streamed the artist in the past 30 days.

now i’m sure many people are going to assume who it is, and let me be clear: it is not Taylor Swift, who currently sits at #3 with 95M monthly listeners. while her catalog is extensive and her fanbase is loyal (an understatement), her listeners aren’t as demographically/geographically diverse as other global stars.

so who is it then?

drum rollllll………

it’s Billie Eilish.

she takes the throne from The Weeknd, who to be quite honest, i have not been rooting for ever since he dropped the worst TV show i’ve had the schadenfreude-laced pleasure of watching. that being said, i get why he was up there for so long (which was for at least a year.) his global audience has skyrocketed over 10 of his songs to 1B+ streams. and i am not saying “global” lightly. his top 5 cities in terms of listenership, as of publish date, are Jakarta, Sao Paulo, London, Mexico City, and Sydney.

but Billie taking #1 makes a lot of sense to me as well for a number of reasons:

• she dropped her new album earlier this summer with her hit single BIRDS OF A FEATHER that has been sprinting to a billion streams

• she did a well timed collab with the comeback artist of the summer, Charli XCX

• her music is very suited for a number of environments, including parties, clubs, remixes, etc etc

• Gen Z is a more dominant cohort of listeners than ever, and they love them some Billie

so let’s enjoy Billie’s ascension…. at least until the Weeknd drops a new album and takes the spot back ☹️ 

for the full list of current top artists, click here

leave Chappell alone.

this week, Chappell posted an iconic TikTok voicing her frustrations about being a celebrity. more specifically, she voiced her frustrations about no longer being able to blend in with the crowd and be respected like a normal human being. see below:

@chappellroan

Do not assume this is directed at someone or a specific encounter. This is just my side of the story and my feelings.

and boy did commentary ensue!

all i can say is that this isn’t the least bit surprising and celebrities are often treated like shit, as highlighted by this man’s defense of Chappell’s statements. on a related note “Forming a Line for Jason Mamoa” is the name of my next band.

i think Chappell’s position is completely justified. and i’m sure this life has completely caught her off guard, seeing as her rise to stardom has happened over the course of one summer. imagine having privacy taken away from you that quickly.

to be honest, i’m so curious to see where this goes. on one hand, this is somewhat of an unavoidable reality of being a pop-star. on the other hand, Chappell rose to fame because of her radically honest persona, and this video is a celebrity voicing something that many do not. so the question becomes, will her fans respect her wishes?

i’m going to assume that not everyone will get the memo, but i’ll also assume that this will make things marginally better for her daily existence. only time will tell.

for a much more in-depth take on this, you can watch fantano’s video.