Hot 100 First-Timers: Michael Marcagi Arrives With Breakthrough Solo Single ‘Scared to Start’

Michael Marcagi is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting hitmaker. The singer-songwriter and Cincinnati native scores his first career entry on the Feb. 17-dated survey, as “Scared to Start” opens at No. 98.

Released Jan. 12 on Warner Records, the song debuts with 5.3 million official streams (up 5%), 454,000 radio airplay audience impressions (up 388%) and 1,000 downloads sold in the U.S. Feb. 2-8, according to Luminate. Among its other chart placements, it holds at its highs on Hot Alternative Songs (No. 8), Hot Rock Songs (No. 10) and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (No. 13). It also debuts at No. 37 on Adult Alternative Airplay.

The track became Marcagi’s first solo chart entry after its first week of release, boosted by hype generated on TikTok. Marcagi first released a snippet of the song on the platform in November and it has since soundtracked over 90,000 TikTok videos to date. Some independent artists have even begun posting their own covers of the song, some of which Marcagi has shared on his profile.

Marcagi released his debut five-track solo EP American Romance Feb. 9. It includes “Scared to Start” along with his one prior solo release, “The Other Side.”

This isn’t Marcargi’s first foray onto Billboard’s charts. He previously fronted the band The Heavy Hours, which tallied a pair of Adult Alternative Airplay entries: “Don’t Walk Away” (No. 21 peak, November 2020) and “Wildfire” (No. 33, September 2021).

Marcagi has seven U.S. tour dates scheduled in March supporting The Moss. He’ll follow with a string of headlining U.S. tour stops, set to begin May 13 in Denver and run through June 15 in Cambridge, Mass.