‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Has Breakout Hit With Jack Black’s ‘Peaches’ Mega-Ballad
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: Jack Black’s Bowser mega-ballad gives The Super Mario Bros. Movie a breakout hit, Taylor Swift’s Joe Alwyn-themed songs see a spike after news of their split emerges, Amazon turns a Queen deep cut into a best-seller and much more.
“Peaches” Ripe for a Chart Breakout: Jack Black’s Super Mario Bros. Movie Ballad Goes Viral
The new Super Mario Bros. Movie had a historic opening at the box office last weekend, grossing a staggering $204.6 million over its first five days of release. Though the movie has gotten mixed reviews, one part that’s been positively received has been the voice work of Jack Black as the villainous Bowser – an inspired bit of casting that may also be leading to a hit single in addition to the blockbuster movie.
Black’s “Peaches” debuted last week along with the movie, accompanied by a music video directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett, featuring the entertainer (in the flesh) delivering a full-bodied performance of the piano ballad alone in a tower. The song, released via Universal Pictures subsidiary Back Lot Music, got off to a strong start in streaming and sales, and has only grown in the days since, as the movie has conquered theaters nationwide. It’s risen from 218,000 daily official on-demand U.S. streams and about 500 digital song sales on April 7 in its first full day of release to 961,000 and 1,000 in streams and sales on April 10 – gains of 342% and 104%, respectively, according to Luminate.
If the song continues to grow in those metrics (which seems likely, especially as the song continues to spread on TikTok), it should challenge for a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 within the next week or two. That would be a first for Jack Black as a solo artist – though he did hit No. 78 in 2006 as part of his band Tenacious D with the title theme to their movie The Pick of Destiny, and a second for the Super Mario film franchise, as Roxette reached No. 94 with “Amost Unreal,” from 1993’s less-successful Super Mario Bros. film adaptation. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Taylor Swift’s ‘Cornelia Street,’ ‘The 1’ & More Rise in Streams Following Breakup Reports
Taylor Swift fans were shocked last Saturday (Apr. 8) when reports emerged that the superstar and her longtime boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn, had broken up after more than six years together. Although the reportedly amicable split has yet to be confirmed by either Swift or Alwyn, fans reacted by revisiting some of Swift’s songs that are perceived to be about Alwyn, as well as touching upon heartbreak — resulting in notable streaming bumps in the days that followed.
The main beneficiaries in the Republic superstar’s catalog were “Cornelia Street” — the Lover album cut, which contemplates heartache through a nostalgic lens, rose 50% in U.S. on-demand daily streams from Apr. 8, the day that the news broke (158,000 streams, according to Luminate), to the following day (239,000 streams) — and Folklore opener “The 1,” which reflects on past love and spiked nearly 25% from 258,000 streams on Apr. 8 to 322,000 on Apr. 9. “London Boy,” the Lover track about a Tennessee woman falling for a British man, also posted a slight gain, up nearly 10% in streams from Saturday to Sunday.
“The 1” actually rose even higher on Monday, Apr. 10, to 393,000 streams that day, after astute Swifties pointed out that the superstar had swapped the song in to her Eras tour set list beginning in Arlington, Texas on Mar. 31. “The 1” took the place of “Invisible String” — another Folklore track that alludes to Swift’s extended romance with Alwyn, but through a more hopeful lens — perhaps hinting at the reported breakup a little over a week before news broke.
Swift’s Eras tour continues tomorrow night (Apr. 13) in Tampa, and fans are wondering if she’ll address the reports from the stage. In the meantime, they’re not only playing “Cornelia Street” more often — they’re also trying to piece together clues from her recent dinner outing near Cornelia Street in New York City. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Queen’s “Cool Cat” Sinks Its Claws Into the Charts, Thanks to Amazon Commercial
Chances are you’ve seen it at least once while waiting to watch something else on streaming in the past months: a young girl frets about a mustache she can’t get rid of, before seeing a similar ‘stache on various pop culture icons – most importantly, Freddie Mercury – and decides to lean into it by ordering a yellow military jacket like the late Queen frontman used to wear. As she rocks the jacket in her classroom, she dances along to a Queen song on her headphones, gleefully oblivious to the rest of the world.
While many commercials might’ve opted for one of the band’s many universally recognizable classic rock anthems, Amazon Prime opted for a deeper cut for the ad: “Cool Cat,” the slinky penultimate track on the band’s 1982 album Hot Space. The strategy is paying off, at least for Queen: “Cool Cat” has been steadily rising in both sales and streams over the past month, with 478,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending April 6 (up 166% from three weeks earlier, according to Luminate) and 1,100 in digital sales (up 397%). It’s still below a number of their other perennials in weekly streams, but the song hits the top 10 of Billboard’s Digital Rock Song Sales chart this week (dated April 15) – their only song on the listing. – AU
‘Barbie’ Trailer Offers ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ in the Sun
While Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, promises to be a modern spin on the beloved Mattel doll with plenty of winks and 2023-friendly wordplay, the first full trailer for the film used a nearly 60-year-old pop classic as its soundtrack, albeit in a slightly new form. The Beach Boys’ timeless 1964 single “Fun, Fun, Fun,” licensed through Universal Music Publishing Group, was given a sped-up facelift – and as the trailer went viral, the track subsequently increased its daily streams.
Following the clip’s Apr. 4 release, daily streams of “Fun, Fun, Fun” rose from 37,000 on that day to 58,000 by the following Monday (Apr. 10), according to Luminate. Whether or not the song is used in the film, due out July 21, “Fun, Fun, Fun” — which climbed up to No. 5 on the Hot 100 in its heyday — should still get a nice summertime bounce in streams, when The Beach Boys can actually be played at the beach. – J.L.
Q&A: Bryant Pino, Director of Latin Music Programming at SiriusXM, on What’s Trending Up in His World
What Latin trends have defined the first quarter of 2023?
You have been hearing women dominate the music charts and pack the dancefloors. Dembow is now a definite must at any party or gathering. Artist experimenting with other genres has been refreshing. Lastly, collaborations is still a powerful music must-do.
A few new artists have become stars over the past few months. Are there any that are particularly intriguing to you?
I think this year has some great female acts. Young Miko: as an early supporter, I think her lyrical wordplay is refreshing and glad others are taking notice. PaoPao is another [good] bet that SiriusXM is highlighting as an artist to watch in our Next Wave music discovery concert series. Also being highlighted is Lennis Rodriguez, with her mix of Afro and tropical urban sounds. Plus, DannyLux is an act I am choosing to be part of this series, for his innovative and genre-defying emo-Mexican music. .
Last year was a watershed moment for Latin pop, thanks in part to the record-setting run of Bad Bunny. How will you remember 2022, and how do you think it has already impacted Latin music programming this year?
Collaborations! From Shakira collaborating with Karol G and Bizarrap, El Alfa with Black Eyed Peas, Camilo with Grupo Firme, Marshmello doing a merengue song with Manuel Turizo, Romeo Santos singing bachata with Justin Timberlake. The power of a good collaboration can break genre norms and open you up to a whole new demographic. Plus, artists tap into other genres, experimenting with EDM, Mexican, tropical, trap and dembow.
Fill in the blank: this summer, Latin music listeners will be obsessed with ________.
Concerts and festivals. As our personal preferences have become more open and or diverse, you will see more festivals and concerts cater to all types of music lovers. You will be able to enjoy Bad Bunny headlining a festival like Coachella, and hear Steve Aoki play with CNCO onstage at a dance festival. This summer, music will have infinite possibilities and outlets. – JL
Season’s Gainings: Put Me in Your Playlist, Coach
The past few weeks have brought the return of Major League Baseball to our lives, and not a moment too soon – especially if the streaming data for one of rock’s great baseball anthems is any indication. John Fogerty’s “Centerfield,” with its famous “Put me in, coach/ I’m ready to play today” and namechecks of Willie Mays, Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio, is up to 431,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending April 6, up from 329,000 three weeks before – a 31% gain, according to Luminate. With the NBA playoffs now around the corner, though, we’ll have to see if those timely streams end up jumping over to Pitbull and Kesha’s “Timber.” – AU
Andrew Unterberger
Billboard
