By Anton Dedvukaj
One of my favorite things about looking at the music scene is seeing all of the new releases that hit the charts. Looking at the Top 40 always brings new, exciting hits to the table. Like that one song that’s hitting a new peak 20 weeks into its chart run. Or that other song that seemed like it already peaked but now seems like it’s getting a second wind thanks to a renewed radio push. Or that other song that hit it big on streaming services months ago and has stayed near the same position for months as its streaming declines and its radio slowly increases. Or that song that the radio still plays nonstop and has been for months. Or that song that’s been in the Top 40 since before the pandemic even hit.
Wait a minute, what?
You may think I’m joking when I mention these, but I can find examples of all of these different types of chart runs in recent months. I mean, after all, didn’t “Levitating” just hit a new peak after more than 30 weeks on the charts? Didn’t “Go Crazy” and “I Hope”, two big hits from 2020, stick around for chart runs of over 50 weeks each due to extended amounts of radio play? Isn’t “Blinding Lights” still comfortably in the Top 20, despite hitting its peak on the charts a year ago and already having been the biggest hit of 2020?
Why are all these songs sticking around for so long? Well the short answer is this. The music scene has been remarkably slow.
Think about it. How many legitimately huge smashes have we seen dominate the public’s attention? Loads of songs have debuted somewhat high, but crashed down relatively quickly. The only song we had that kind of fits this mold was “driver’s license” and it feels weird that in five months, only one song can even remotely claim to be a distinct 2021 massive smash.
Meanwhile, pop radio’s crop of replayables continues to see traction. It’s no coincidence that the few songs that have stuck around include songs like “drivers license”, “Levitating”, “Leave the Door Open”, and “Peaches”. The songs sound like something that radio stations will play. I’m not knocking any of these songs, as I like all four, but it’s becoming increasingly easier for radio’s crop of hits to linger for a very long time while other songs debut high and lose steam.
It begs the question, is the pandemic seriously still impacting release schedules? Maybe. Albums with big promotion cycles are fewer and further between these days, and we’re getting quarantine projects like Taylor Swift’s pair of albums and “Fearless” re-release, as albums like “After Hours”, “Shoot For the Stars, Aim For the Moon”, and “Future Nostalgia” remain among 2021’s best-selling albums despite them all being around a year old at this point. The only big-budget albums we’ve gotten lately from mainstream acts have been albums such as those from Justin Bieber and J. Cole. And with stand-alone singles becoming less of a thing in the mainstream, no album often means no single, which means no music.
Remember, albums often get paired with tours, and with the inability to tour still existing for a number of acts, this may be the best reason for why music rollout has been so slow. And this allowed radio and TikTok, as I alluded to in a Paw Print article many months ago, to run the music industry like neither had run it in a long, long time.
I feel like the music scene is bound to get more interesting as the second half of 2021 begins and restrictions are lifted, but for now, we will just have to wait and see.
