10 First-Timers on Billboard’s Charts This Week: Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce, The Red Clay Strays & More
Billboard has more than 200 different weekly charts, 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 artists who appear on surveys for the first time on the Nov. 25-dated charts:
Travis Kelce & Jason Kelce
The sibling NFL stars are Billboard-charting artists for the first time thanks to their new holiday collaboration “Fairytale of Philadelphia.” The song, released Nov. 15 via Vera Y/Avenue A/Range Music, debuts at No. 2 on Rock Digital Song Sales and No. 5 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart with 6,000 downloads sold in the Nov. 10-16 tracking week, according to Luminate. The song is a reimagining of the Pogues’ 1987 holiday classic “Fairytale of New York,” with the Kelce brothers trading verses in praise of Philadelphia.
The track is slated to appear on A Philly Special Christmas Special, due Dec. 1 on Vera Y Records. The set, by Jason Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, includes 10 covers of holiday hits, including Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “Christmas Time Is Here” and Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.” It also includes one original track by Jason Kelce, “Santa’s Night.” The collection is the sequel to last year’s A Philly Special Christmas, which reached No. 80 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the Vinyl Albums chart (billed as by various artists). Other Eagles stars also appear on the album: quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receiver A.J. Brown, defensive end Brandon Graham, linebacker Haason Reddick and defensive tackle Jordan Davis, along with the Philadelphia native and R&B icon Patti LaBelle. Proceeds from the vinyl sales of the new album will benefit Children’s Crisis Treatment Center’s Toy Drive and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Snowflake Station.
Jason Kelce has been a center for the Eagles since 2011, including on the team’s Super Bowl LII win in 2017. He’s a six-time Pro Bowl selection and a five-time first-team All-Pro.
Travis Kelce has been a Kansas City Chiefs tight end since 2013. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion (LIV in 2019, LVII in 2022), an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and a four-time first-team All-Pro. He’s made headlines in recent months due to his relationship with Taylor Swift. At a recent stop on Swift’s Eras Tour in Buenos Aires, in which Kelce was in the crowd, Swift changed the lyrics of her hit “Karma” to “karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me …”
The Kelce brothers, from Westlake, Ohio, also co-host the weekly podcast New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce, in which they discuss football and pop culture.
The Red Clay Strays
The group from Mobile, Ala., scores its first Billboard chart appearance thanks to its breakthrough hit, “Wondering Why.” The band self-released the single in March 2022 ahead its debut full-length studio album Moment of Truth. The track debuts at No. 33 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs with 2 million U.S. streams Nov. 10-16 (up 199%). Recent gains for the song can be traced to TikTok, where it went viral following the release of its official video two months ago.
The band is currently on the road on its headlining The Way Too Long Tour, which runs through March 2024. The act has opened for Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Eric Church, Elle King and Old Crow Medicine Show, among others. In May, the group made its debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The quintet comprises Brandon Coleman (lead vocals/guitar), Drew Nix (vocals/electric guitar/harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass) and John Hall (drums).
Joey Valence & Brae
The duo recently scored its first Billboard chart hit with its song “Hooligang.” Released in May 2022 on JVB Records, it debuted at No. 21 on last week’s TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart (dated Nov. 18). The song has soundtracked more than 180,000 clips on the platform to date.
Joey Valence & Brae released their debut full-length, Punk Tactics, Sept. 8 (also via JVB Records). Before that, they dropped their debut six-track EP The Underground Sound in 2022. Their upcoming Punk Tactics Album Tour kicks off in January and runs through February.
Dwan Hill
The Grammy Award-winning Nashville-based artist is already an established songwriter on Billboard’s charts, but he lands his first entry under an artist billing, thanks to “Mansion” with Evvie McKinney. The song, released in March on Integrity Music, debuts at No. 29 on Gospel Airplay (up 32% in plays).
Hill has written six Hot Gospel Songs-charting hits in his career, including Cece Winans’ 12-week 2021 No. 1 “Believe for It.” Two others also reached the top 10: Winans’ “Never Have to Be Alone” (No. 4 peak in 2017) and Nashville Music Life’s “My God” featuring Mr. Talkbox (No. 6, 2019; he also produced the song). He has additionally worked with Lauren Daigle, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors and Tauren Wells, among others.
Hill has won three Grammy Awards in his career: best contemporary Christian music performance/song for “Believe for It” and best gospel album for Believe for It at the 64th awards in 2022, and best gospel performance/song for “Never Have to Be Alone” at the 60th awards in 2018. Outside of music, he’s a pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville.
Young Duu
The Nigerian arrives on Billboard’s charts with his collaboration with Carterefe, “Oyinmo.” The song, released Nov. 8 on Eh God Records/Explo Music, debuts at No. 42 on Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs. Young Duu has released five other songs on streaming services, all since 2022: “Sho Sho Sho” and “Kunfayafun,” both with Portable; “Kilowa” with Olamzzy; “Mr Money” with Manny Monie; and “E Gbemi.”
As for Carterefe, “Oyinmo” marks his second chart appearance, after “Machala” with Berri Tiga. The song reached No. 14 on Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs in August 2022.
Baasik & Kevin Foster
Both artists tally their first Billboard chart entry thanks to their collaboration with Black GryphOn and The Living Tombstone, “Stuck Inside.” The song, from the Five Nights at Freddy’s video game franchise, debuts at No. 45 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with 678,000 on-demand official U.S. streams Nov. 10-16. The song tells the story of FNaF from the perspective of the William Afton character. It was released Oct. 30, after the film adaptation of the series premiered Oct. 27. The song has been gaining in recent weeks due to its popularity on TikTok.
Foster, notably, is the suit performer who portrayed Freddy Fazbear in the new film; “Stuck Inside” marks his first credit on a song. Baasik co-wrote and co-produced the track. Black GryphOn (real name Gabriel Brown) performs and co-wrote it, while The Living Tombstone provided additional production.
Jayson Tipp
The keyboardist appears on Billboard’s charts for the first time thanks to his first solo single, “Time to Roll,” featuring saxophonist Quintin Gerard W. The song, released in July via Mind in Overdrive, debuts at No. 23 on Smooth Jazz Airplay (up 39% in spins).
Tipp founded the jazz group Under the Lake nearly 30 years ago and has released six LPs, dating to Dine In in 1993. “Time to Roll” is the second release off his upcoming debut solo project Table for One, after “Groove Together.”
Marc Mysterio
The Irish-Canadian artist nets his first Billboard chart hit as “The Dancefloor” debuts at No. 41 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. The song, released in September 2022, tallied 580,000 U.S. streams in the latest tracking week. Mysterio has been releasing music for nearly two decades and has collaborated with Avicii, Crash Test Dummies, Flo Rida and David Guetta, among others.
Xander Zellner
Billboard