10 First-Timers on Billboard’s Charts This Week: Cut Worms, Malakai, Parannoul, Bandmanrill & More

Billboard has more than 200 different weekly charts in its menu, encompassing numerous genres and formats.

While established artists often compete for a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums ranking, which track the most popular songs and albums of the week, respectively, up-and-coming talents typically start off on genre-specific lists.

Here’s a look at 10 acts who appear on surveys for the first time on the Aug. 5-dated charts.

Cut Worms

Cut Worms, the solo project of singer-songwriter Max Clarke, scores his first entry on Billboard’s charts with his third LP Cut Worms. Released July 21 via Jagjaguwar, the set debuts at No. 69 on Top Current Album Sales with 1,000 copies sold in its opening week, according to Luminate. Cut Worms also debuts at No. 40 on the Emerging Artists chart. Clarke, based in Brooklyn via Strongsville, Ohio, has opened in concert for the Lemon Twigs, Jenny Lewis and Kevin Morby, among others. The new release is Cut Worms’ third studio album, after 2018’s Hollow Ground and 2020’s Nobody Lives Here Anymore (both also released on Jagjaguwar). Clarke has a string of North American tour dates lined up through October.

Malakai

The 14-year-old south London-based opera singer (full name: Malakai Bayoh) arrives on Billboard’s charts with his new album Golden. The set, released July 21 on Classic FM/Decca/VLG, debuts at No. 1 on the Traditional Classical Albums chart. The treble rose to prominence through his appearance on the latest season of Britain’s Got Talent in June, when he sang “Pie Jesu,” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem. “One of the best voices I think I’ve ever heard,” judge Simon Cowell said after his rendition. His performance earned him the competition’s Golden Buzzer, which placed him automatically in the semi-finals. He later finished fourth overall. Golden features collaboration with Webber, who has praised Malakai’s singing, plus Sir Karl Jenkins and more.

Parannoul

The South Korean shoegaze artist, which performs and releases music anonymously from its home in Seoul, reaches Billboard’s charts for the first time with After the Magic. The set, released Jan. 28 via POCLANOS/Topshelf Records, debuts at No. 76 on Top Current Album Sales with 1,000 sold, while Parannoul opens at No. 45 on Emerging Artists. After the Magic is the third album released by Parannoul, after 2020’s Let’s Walk on the Path of a Blue Cat and 2021’s To See the Next Part of the Dream. In 2017-19, he released over a dozen albums under the pseudonym laststar. Last year, he also released Rough and Beautiful Place under the name Mydreamfever.

Bandmanrill

The Newark, N.J.-based rapper (real name: Siril Pettus) makes his Billboard chart debut thanks to his new collaboration with DJ Sliink, “Real Hips 2.” The song, released July 21 on Defiant/Warner Records, debuts at No. 2 on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, No. 3 on Rap Digital Song Sales and No. 17 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart with 3,000 downloads sold. Bandmanrill has been influential in the Jersey club and drill scenes. He released his debut studio album, Club Godfather, last October.

Christopher Shayne

The Southern hard rocker lands his first Billboard chart appearance with “One More Round.” The song, released last September via NRG Recordings, debuts at No. 37 on Mainstream Rock Airplay (up 8% in plays). The Phoenix native has released one studio album, 2016’s Turning Stones, and two EPs (Broken / Scarred in 2019 and Ten High this May). Shayne’s band comprises Mark Blades (bass guitar), Eric Bongiorno (drums), Zachary Hughes (organ, guitar) and Dave Lansing (lead guitar).

MOLY

The singer-songwriter (full name: Jonathan Moly) achieves his first Billboard chart hit thanks to his new salsa version of Hoobastank’s 2004 hit “The Reason.” The remake, titled “The Reason (Latin Version),” and billed as MOLY + Hoobastank, debuts at No. 9 on the Tropical Digital Song Sales chart. “This song has a very special value, so I did it as a gift for my uncle, who’s my manager,” MOLY recently told Billboard on the Premios Juventud red carpet. “My uncle told me to send the song to Hoobastank, so I sent it to them via Instagram and told them I’ve been a fan since I was a kid.” MOLY and Hoobastank performed the song together at the awards show on July 20 in San Juan, P.R. The new bilingual version of the song combines the original’s rock sound with salsa and Latin-infused elements. It appears on MOLY’s fourth studio album Metamorfosis, released May 30. Hoobastank’s original version of “The Reason” climbed to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2004 and topped the Alternative Airplay, Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay charts.

The Zenith Passage

The technical death metal band, from Los Angeles, debuts on Billboard’s charts with its sophomore studio album, Datalysium. The set, released July 21 on Metal Blade Records, starts at No. 55 on the Top Current Album Sales chart with 1,000 copies sold. The group also debuts at No. 34 on Emerging Artists. Prior to Datalysium, the group released its debut full-length Solipsist in 2016, following its EP Cosmic Dissonance in 2013. The band’s current lineup comprises Christopher Beattie (guitar), Brandon Giffin (bass), Justin McKinney (guitar) and Derek Rydquist (vocals).

Agriculture

The extreme metal band, from Los Angeles, makes its arrival on Billboard’s charts with its new six-track self-titled set. The album, released July 21 on The Flenser, debuts at No. 82 on the Top Current Album Sales chart with 1,000 copies sold in its opening week. The band comprises Richard Chowenhill, Kern Haug, Leah B. Levinson and Dan Meyer.

Alex Jean

The singer-songwriter from Orlando, Fla., notches his first Billboard chart entry thanks to his new collaboration with Hulvey and Torey D’Shaun, “Love Like That.” The song, released July 21 on Reach Records, debuts at No. 45 on Hot Christian Songs with 322,000 U.S. streams earned. Jean self-released his debut solo studio album Heavenly Emotions in September 2022.

MeatSpady

The Philadelphia-based rapper (real name: Demetrius Spady-McBride) scores his first Billboard chart appearance with his new album, The Same Kind of Different. The set, released July 21 on BankNdSpady Entertainment, debuts at No. 77 on Top Current Album Sales with 1,000 copies sold in its initial week. He also begins at No. 46 on the Emerging Artists chart.