Any discussion of recent chart trends has to begin with Sleep Token, rocketing out from the United Kingdom to a clean sweep across multiple companies’ rankings with their album Even In Arcadia. Though most neatly described as a metal outfit, part of the band’s broad appeal comes from their genre-bending quality. Instrumentally, the LP often plugs hallmarks of disparate aesthetics from electronic to jazz on top of their hard rock heartbeat. Vocally, their music can even venture close to nu-metal with rap-inspired cadences from their anonymous lead singer, Vessel1.
To that point, the masked visages of all the Sleep Token members make their rise so perplexing from an outside perspective and so compelling when looking from inside, part of a cult wave alongside Ghost, where ARG-like fan interaction and a mysterious origin story add depth to becoming part of their fandom.
There’s been plenty of think pieces explaining who Sleep Token are and how they’ve gone from a blip on most music fans’ radars into a dominant force, so we’ll pause our addition to that pile there. Tangibly, the band notches four entrants into our top 150: “Damocles” at #61, “Caramel” at #87, “Dangerous” at #110, and the album’s title track at #137. Though it ceded its #1 spot in other recent rankings back to commercial titan Morgan Wallen, expect a repeat appearance on Music Daily’s next week; our numbers only factor in the earliest impacts of Even In Arcadia’s run.
Benson Boone And Jessie Murph Join Sleep Token In High Placements
Speaking of commercial titans, continued success for Benson Boone’s latest, “Mystical Magical,” has us wondering if we’re seeing another one in the making. Of course, it’s impossible to evoke the indie star without making mention of “Beautiful Things,” remaining a force within our top 10 as it maintains serious rotation on the airwaves and streaming platforms.
The second single coming out of his sophomore album rollout may not have matched that totemic status. Still, by sliding into the #60 spot, it’s comfortably a factor in the mainstream, sticking at around the #50 aggregate spot in our four rankings since release. Dropping off “Mamma Song” in recent days could add a third contender to the American Idol alumni’s register—safe to say, all signs are pointing to a strong performance for American Heart come June 20th.
Our latest artist in the spotlight is Jessie Murph, earning her first real solo hit with “Blue Strips.” Having brushed shoulders with many of modern country’s most significant features in recent years (“Texas” with Maren Morris, “Wild Ones” with Jelly Roll), those reading the tea leaves could have foreseen a breakout for the Nashville native.
What you likely wouldn’t have predicted is exactly the tenor her breakout single would have, reversing the trendy rap-meets-country formula by co-opting the ever-present strip club imagery into a simplistic flex anthem. Throwing hip-hop feature de jour Sexyy Red into the mix was the final missing piece in securing high placement for the song, now sitting at an eye-opening #13 and potentially threatening the top 10.
As always, you’ll find all the music mentioned in this piece within our Trending Tracks playlist, updated weekly to reflect our latest rankings.
Elsewhere in our coverage, catch up on the Joey Badass Ray Vaughn spat with our timeline breakdown.
