Victoria Monét Hits No. 1 on Emerging Artists Chart Following Best New Artist Grammy Win
Victoria Monét is officially the top emerging act in the U.S. as the singer-songwriter/producer rises 3-1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart (dated Feb. 17).
Monét reigns thanks to gains following her wins at the 66th annual Grammy Awards Feb. 4, when she took home the trophies for best new artist, best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical — the latter two for Jaguar II.
Jaguar II tallied 7,000 equivalent album units in the U.S., up 55%, Feb. 2-8, according to Luminate. The set reached No. 6 on Top R&B Albums and No. 60 on the Billboard 200 in September.
Monét’s breakout solo single “On My Mama” continues to grow, as it jumps from No. 50 to No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 – becoming her first top 40 hit as a recording artist – with 36.8 million radio audience impressions (up 2%), 5.7 million U.S. streams (up 24%), and 2,000 downloads sold (up 124%).
Notably, the Atlanta native now boasts nine top 40 Hot 100 hits as a songwriter, with seven recorded by Ariana Grande, including the No. 1s “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings” in 2018-19. Plus, her co-write “Ice Cream,” by BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez, reached No. 13 in 2020.
“On My Mama” is also making moves on several radio charts: It holds at its No. 2 high on Adult R&B Airplay, ranks at No. 3 on both R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (after two weeks at No. 1) and Rhythmic Airplay (after hitting No. 2), keeps at No. 6 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (following two weeks at No. 1) and rises 27-24 on Pop Airplay.
Elsewhere on Emerging Artists, new K-pop group TWS: 24/7:WITH:US debuts at No. 2, thanks to its new EP Sparkling Blue. The set begins at No. 6 on World Albums (5,000 units) and No. 16 on Top Album Sales (4,000 albums sold). The EP is the first Billboard chart entry for the group, which is signed to Pledis Entertainment. The act comprises members Dohoon, Hanjin, Jihoon, Kyungmin, Shinyu and Youngjae.
Plus, The Last Dinner Party debuts at No. 6 on Emerging Artists, thanks to the group’s debut full-length Prelude to Ecstacy. Released via Island/Republic Records, it opens at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums (7,000 units) and No. 31 on Top Album Sales (3,000 sold). The band is also scoring with its breakthrough single “Nothing Matters,” which reached No. 5 on Adult Alternative Airplay in September and it holds at No. 7 on the latest chart. Follow-up single “Sinner” rises 17-13 on the current ranking.
The Emerging Artists chart ranks the most popular developing artists of the week, using the same formula as the all-encompassing Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across multiple Billboard charts, including the Hot 100 and Billboard 200. (The Artist 100 lists the most popular acts, overall, each week.) However, the Emerging Artists chart excludes acts that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard’s “Hot” song genre charts and/or consumption-based “Top” album genre rankings.
Xander Zellner
Billboard