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: Karol G may be on her way to a slow-building breakout hit from her latest semi-surprise album, while Belly Gang Kushington’s mainstream crossover continues and fans mourn the late Hayden Panettiere.
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Karol G Has a Growing Hit Collab From Her New Album — And It’s Not One of the Superstar Team-Ups
Following the Aug. 7 release of No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto, her sixth full-length studio album, Karol G scored her fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.
The deeply personal and sentimental project sits at the opposite end of the mood and emotional spectrum from her 2025 release, Tropicoqueta. The album’s standout collaborations with Bruno Mars and Drake both entered the charts. “Ahí,” featuring Drake, debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, dethroning Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” after a record 72 weeks at the top. “Still,” her collaboration with Bruno Mars, also scored the set’s highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100, entering at No. 41.
It’s not the Colombian star’s collaboration with either of those household-name artists, however, that’s really taken off from the album on social media. That would be “BbY WOW,” with Spanish artists Judeline and Risowsky, which has emerged as a fan favorite. The track propelled both Spanish newcomers into the top 10 with their first Billboard-charting entry, opening at No. 5 with 4.5 million U.S. streams. And “BbY WOW” has been rising in streams since its release, totaling over 2.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams over the first three days of this tracking week (Aug. 14-16) — a gain of 28% over the 1.9 million streams the song received its opening weekend.
While the album’s moody and sorrowful tone — centered on heartbreak — is evident, “BbY WOW” stands out as one of the most danceable songs on the 14-track project. The song, which describes someone’s surprise at how much they like something, features an interpolation of the Coolie Dance Riddim, which has also been used as the soundtrack for backstage content and in hit songs such as Pitbull’s “Pull Up (The Culo Remix)” and Nina Sky’s “Move Ya Body.” – CATA BALZANO
Belly Gang Kushington Adds Another Hit to His Collection, Thanks to 21 Savage & Hilarious TikTok Trend
After being named Billboard’s Hip-Hop Up-And-Comer for the Month for March and earning breakthrough hits with “Friend Do” (with YK Niece) and “Tell Me Now” (with Dess Dior), ATL rapper Belly Gang Kushington is eyeing another potential smash.
According to Luminate, his 21 Savage-assisted “WTF Goin” has jumped 37% in official on-demand U.S. streams over the past seven weeks. The biggest gains have come over the past two weeks thanks to a pair of viral TikTok trends.
On July 31, user @/notkaitlynntttt shared a video of her and her girlfriends twerking in a line, and that clip has since garnered over 1.7 million views and nearly 260,000 likes. In the first week following that video and its subsequent virality (July 31-Aug. 6), “WTF Goin” collected 1.495 million streams, up 25% from the week prior.
By Aug. 9, user @/he2hollywooddd shared a “male version” of the trend, trading the twerking for tripping out and hip thrusts. That clip has racked up over 617,000 views and 82,000 likes. During the week of Aug. 7-13, “WTF Goin” streams spiked a whopping 88% to over 2.8 million official on-demand streams. The official “WTF Goin” TikTok sound currently plays in over 653,000 clips.
With Belly Gang’s momentum continuing to build and the imminent football season promising a touchdown “celly” dance or two, “WTF Goin” certainly has room to grow as we enter the fall. — KYLE DENIS
‘Nashville’ Cast Streams Explode Following Hayden Panettiere’s Shocking Death at 36
Hayden Panettiere’s death this Sunday (Aug. 16) shook the entertainment world when it was revealed earlier this week, with an outpouring of grief from fans and peers over the 36-year-old’s far-too-early death. Most of the memories shared were of Panettiere as an actress, for her celebrated roles in sequels to Scream and Bring It On or as cheerleader Claire Bennet at the center of NBC’s late-’00s sci-fi sensation Heroes. But in one of her signature performances — as fictional rising country star Juliette Barnes in the ABC (later CMT) musical drama Nashville — she also did a fair amount of singing.
So for many of those mourning the late star, it was a logical time to head to some of that show’s soundtracks of in-universe Barnes smashes like “Love Like Mine” and “Telescope.” Consequently, the collective streams for Nashville Cast (which all the soundtrack songs were collectively credited to) totaled 178,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the day following her death (Aug. 17) — a gain of 367% from the previous Monday, according to Luminate.
And while Panettiere’s recording catalog outside of Nashville was not extensive, she did have a couple songs that appeared in movies that also received significant streaming bumps over the same time period — like “I Fly” from Ice Princess (up over 4,000% to 7,000 streams) — as well as a cover of “Cruella de Vil” from 101 Dalmatians, recorded for 2007’s Disneymania 5 compilation (up nearly 1,900% to over 2,000 streams). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Viral A Cappella Clip & Romantic TikTok Trend Boost Streams for Cody Johnson Deep Cut ‘Take Me Back (Leave Me There)’
Earlier this summer (June 26), country star Cody Johnson unleashed his tenth studio album, Banks of the Trinity. The LP’s fourth track, “Take Me Back (Leave Me There),” isn’t an official radio single, but a viral a cappella performance video and romantic TikTok trend have given it a major streaming boost.
Over the past five weeks, “Take Me Back” vaulted 150% in streaming activity. Back on June 4, about a month after he first released the song as a promotional pre-release single, Johnson shared an a cappella rehearsal video, which earned over 2.2 million views and 381,000 likes. By July 31, the official Warner Records Nashville TikTok account shared another a cappella clip, with this one being filmed against a gorgeous sunset. That post earned over half a million views, making it the third-most viewed TikTok on the Warner Records Nashville account. The following week (July 31-Aug. 6), “Take Me Back” garnered 2.89 million official on-demand U.S. streams, up 13% from the week prior, according to Luminate.
A larger TikTok trend built around romantic couples reflecting on their longevity has also picked up steam over the past two months, with some clips hitting the one-million view mark. Furthermore, about two weeks ago (Aug. 2), Boyz II Men — who joined Johnson for a surprise performance of “On Bended Knee” during his Stagecoach set this spring — shared an a cappella rendition of the sweet ballad to their official TikTok account, collecting 24,000 views. During the week of Aug. 7-13, “Take Me Back” jumped another 24% to over 3.59 million streams.
With Banks of Trinity holding strong on the Billboard 200 (it ranks at No. 150 on the Aug. 22-dated chart), CoJo just might have another hit on his hands. – KD
