Hot 100 First-Timers: Alex Warren Ignites With New Single ‘Burning Down’
Alex Warren has already forged a successful career as a popular YouTube creator and member of the Hype House TikTok collective, and now he’s also a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist.
Warren makes his first appearance on the Hot 100 (dated Oct. 5) with his new single “Burning Down.” Released Sept. 20 on Atlantic Records, the song debuts at No. 76 with 6.6 million official U.S. streams and 3,000 downloads sold through Sept. 26, according to Luminate.
The song’s first-week reception can be partly attributed to interaction on TikTok, where Warren teased it leading up to its official release. To date, the song has soundtracked over 90,000 clips on the platform. Warren boasts over 16 million TikTok followers and his videos have amassed over a billion likes.
While “Burning Down” becomes Warren’s first Hot 100 hit, he has been climbing charts with another single: “Carry You Home” returns to its No. 36 high on Pop Airplay and places at No. 32 on Adult Pop Airplay, after reaching No. 27. It has also reached No. 19 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Warren earned his first overall chart entry in April with “Save You a Seat.” The track debuted at its No. 11 high on the Digital Song Sales chart date April 13, as Warren bowed on Emerging Artists; he bounds to a new No. 2 best on the latest list.
“Carry You Home” and “Save You a Seat” have also both benefitted from exposure on TikTok. The latter has been used in over 144,000 TikToks and the former in over 20,000.
Both songs, along with “Burning Down,” appear on Warren’s debut studio album, You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1), released Sept. 27.
Warren signed to Atlantic in August 2022. “Growing up with the cards I was dealt, I never thought pursuing music would be a possibility,” he told Billboard at the time. “I’ve always dreamed of working with a record label and have admired Atlantic’s roster of artists for so long. I remember my first meeting with Atlantic so clearly because they immediately believed in what I had to say. They wanted to guide me and surround me with an experienced team to take my music to the next level and I’m so excited to do just that.”
Xander Zellner
Billboard