First of all, I hope that everyone is staying well and safe. It’s so important to self-enforce social distancing, as difficult as it may be. Fortunately for me, I have a day job that continues to be busy working from home, and a music hobby that also keeps me busy outside of work hours. And that’s why there’s only been one – albeit larger than usual – blog post these past few weeks. I’ve been jumping on every opportunity to watch performers online I’ve never seen in concert and enjoy very much. This weekend was chock full with Beatport’s electronic online dance festival, Melissa Manchester, Charlie Puth, and Brandyn Burnette! Music is a tremendous distraction that can cheer you up in minutes, so lean on it if you have to!!
There’s so much wonderful music on the chart that I wish I could write about all of it, but I have to be selective. There’s a new #1 and four debuts. So what succeeded “Adore You” by Harry Styles at the top?
Moving up from #11 two weeks ago, the Fastest Riser on the chart belongs to Chicago’s Whethan, who acquires his first #1 here with the dance/alt.rock of “All In My Head” and its distinct, ear-grabbing vocal by Toronto’s own grandson. I’m hoping other young producers will look to this song as an outside-of-the-box effort that really gets underneath your skin. It’s from Whethan’s upcoming album called Fantasy.
Italy’s Deep Chills wrote “Backfire” on an airplane trip to L.A. where he was to meet up with vocalist and songwriter Not Famous. By the time he got there, all of the music was written and they came up with such an inviting story. “Backfire” moves up 4-2. You can see both artists in the video above.
UK producer Gareth Emery with fellow producer Nash soars 12-5 with the pensive “Yesterday” (above) featuring vocals by L.A.’s Linney. Last week, Gareth announced his upcoming album The Lasers, which I assume will be accompanied by a tour. He also makes another entry into the chart, with “You’ll Be OK” (featuring Annabel, video below) arriving at #29. The man is on a roll with great, thoughtful songs with engaging melodies!
The third new song in the Top 10 moves 13-10 and it’s “Fall-Out” by Emirati producers Revelries with fellow producers Boyboyboy and vocalist Will Church. It’s Revelries second Top 10 on this chart, following last year’s #2 “Don’t Think Twice” (featuring Oktavian).
Quick! Check out and engage yourself in Porter Robinson’s amazing new site to support his upcoming album http://nurtu.re! “Get Your Wish” climbs 17-11.
One of the performers in this past weekend’s Beatport online festival was A-Trak. My fellow Canadian performed an amazing, interactive set – complete with his masterful scratching – from his NYC apartment. His release “Blaze”, with UK’s Friend Within, rises 14-12.
The Highest Debut of the week belongs to new L.A. producer The Prizm with “I Don’t Wanna Go Home” at #13, featuring co-producer/songwriter and vocalist ARTFCAL. This is a joyous pop/dance song with some underlying vulnerability that totally works. Plus it’s carried by a heavy beat throughout which is guaranteed to make you move. Self-isolating be damned, just dance!!
Toronto electronic-rock duo Homestead continues to inch its way up the chart with the potent “Lifeline” rising 15-14.
UK singer/songwriter Sam Dickinson dropped his faithful and soulful cover of Everything But The Girl’s classic “Missing” (below) recently, to accompany his recent single “Diamond Skin” (above), which climbs 21-18. “Diamond Skin” is from his forthcoming album Off Script, due in the Fall but available for pre-order on all platforms.
Watch for L.A.’s Mahalo online for some shows too! He’s back on the chart with his 8th entry “Tongue Tied” at #25 in its Danny Quest remix. Mahalo created this song with fellow producers Disco Killerz and vocalist/songwriter Brandyn Burnette (aka EMAN8). This is Brandyn’s 15th appearance on the chart as a lead artist, whether it’s under his name or EMAN8. Then there are his other entries as featured artist or as one half of Cosmos & Creature too!
The fourth debut on the chart is “Lost Boy” by German producer Levi featuring NYC-based singer/songwriter Victor Perry. Victor’s recent entry with ZEROBADDAYS called “Starlight” slides to #21, but look for the earnest, winning “Lost Boy” to take off in the coming weeks. It’s Levi and Victor’s second charting collaboration, following 2017’s #3 “Sail”.
The BILLCS Viral Weekly is back 🙂 and will indeed be a weekly feature despite not appearing last week. Some of the songs will change every week, particularly those by bigger name artists, and it will always include a mix of newer and independent artists with those who are more popular. Check it out below!
A reminder that the music from my chart and blog are featured regularly on the new online radio station Radio GTA. You can hear their Big 20 on Wednesday evenings with ‘The Musicman’ James Rogers and listen for songs from the chart too 🙂 Scroll down the station’s main page to listen to lots of variety from across the decades! I’m the new music consultant for the station so you can expect even more in 2020 🙂 You can start by joining our new interactive Facebook group too!!
View the full BILLCS Top 30 right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify: BILLCS Top 30 Songs
Check out and ‘like’ the BILLCS Music Projects Facebook page 🙂
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