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.
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This week: Gordon Lightfoot’s signature story song sees massive gains due to an anniversary of its titular tragedy, HAVEN. inspires odd trends and strange questions with a mysterious dance smash, Lily Allen grows buzz for her comeback album and more.
The Legend of ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ Lives On With 50th Anniversary Spike
Even among recent unlikely bringback streaming hits, few could’ve seen this one coming. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” the sweeping and highly dramatic story song first captained by the late great Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in 1976 — about a real-life 1975 tragedy at sea that struck the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, with all 29 on board dying — has found a second life among TikTok audiences.
The song had gone viral in recent weeks, with videos and merch and even Chicago bar nights celebrating the song and the ship that inspired it, in commemoration of the wreck’s then-upcoming 50th anniversary (ultimately observed on Nov. 10, 2025). According to Luminate (and Billboard’s own reporting), the song had begun to rise in streams solidly in advance of that anniversary, with “Wreck” racking up 1.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the tracking week ending Nov. 6 — up a strong 77% from the prior week.
And then, of course, on the actual date of the anniversary, it exploded: “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” amassed over one million streams on Monday (Nov. 10) alone — while also selling over 1400 digital songs — up a whopping 436% and 930%, respectively, from its numbers the previous Monday (Nov. 3), according to early data provided by Luminate. It was enough to get “Wreck” onto the top 100 of the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart — and towards the top of the iTunes real-time chart, where it remains in the top five two days later. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Enigmatic Artist HAVEN. ‘Run’s Into Streaming Breakthrough
Thanks to a viral trend likening the nondescript dance-pop of department store playlists to that of ski resorts and clubs, HAVEN. — an enigmatic artist with minimal musical footprint — has scored a streaming smash.
“I Run” earned over 290,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the four-day period of Oct. 31-Nov. 3. During the comparable four-day period the following week (Nov. 7-10), the viral EDM track exploded over 1,106% to 3.5 million streams, according to early data provided by Luminate.
Though the song has quickly overtaken TikTok, opinions have been split on its quality. To date, the official “I Run” TikTok sound plays in over 25,000 posts. Last month (Oct. 21), Jorja Smith denied the narrative that the song’s vocal was sourced from an old demo of hers, leading some users to question if AI was used in the creation of “I Run.” At press time, “I Run” is unavailable on Spotify, but remains playable on Apple Music and TIDAL; the track appears to have been pulled from streaming due to possible rights issues.
On Wednesday (Nov. 12), Andre Benz, the CEO of Broke Records, the label through which HAVEN. released “I Run,” shared an image to his Instagram Story that read “All my homies hate Sony.” Billboard has reached out to Benz, Sony Music Publishing and SoundOn for comment. — KYLE DENIS
Lily Allen Word-of-Mouths Her Way Into Top ‘End’ of Billboard 200
Veteran U.K. pop star Lily Allen hadn’t released an album since 2018’s tepidly received No Shame, which debuted at No. 168 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 on the UK Official Albums Chart, becoming her first album to miss the top 100 and top two on the respective listings. Now, she’s back in both chart regions thanks to the slowly building embrace of her late-October-released new LP, the explosive concept album West End Girl.
While West End Girl arrived with little fanfare, having only been announced by Allen four days prior, the minor detonation it sparked slowly grew over the course of last week, largely thanks to its subject matter: her recent separation from Stranger Things actor David Harbour, which the album details in often uncomfortable (if still quite catchy) detail. As the album captured headlines for its tabloid-y narrative, it also won over critics with its accessible melodies, biting lyrics and strong structuring, becoming a new favorite of pop fans who didn’t realize how much they’d missed Allen in her absence.
As a result, the album grew steadily in official on-demand U.S. streams over the course of its debut week, ultimately racking up 11.5 million for the tracking week ending Oct. 30 — helping to propel it to a No. 118 debut on the Billboard 200 (and a No. 4 bow on the UK Official Albums Chart). By the next week (ending Nov. 6), that stream count was up 17% week-over-week, pushing it to No. 93 on the Billboard 200, as it also climbed to No. 2 on its home country’s chart. – AU
‘Wicked: For Good’ Anticipation & Live Special Boost Streams for Film Soundtrack & A Judy Garland Classic
Wicked: For Good doesn’t hit theatres for another week and a half (Nov. 21), but the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s Oscar-winning, box office-topping musical epic is already boosting related songs on streaming.
During the period of Oct. 31-Nov. 3, the 2024 Wicked motion picture soundtrack, led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, earned 4.3 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to early data provided by Luminate. By the comparable four-day period the next week (Nov. 7-10), the soundtrack spiked 55% to over 6.7 million official streams. Last year, the soundtrack reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and last week (Nov. 7), the compilation (and score soundtrack) earned three combined Grammy nominations, including best pop duo/group performance for Erivo and Grande’s rendition of “Defying Gravity.”
The two Oscar-nominated witches also led the cast in a Nov. 7 special titled Wicked: One Wonderful Night. Featuring appearances from the principal Wicked film cast, viral fans and Broadway OGs Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the Peacock special also churned out an accompanying live album. Billed to Grande and Erivo, the live album racked up over 4.3 million streams during the period of Nov. 7-10.
To close the special, Erivo and Grande recreated Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland’s iconic 1963 duet of “Get Happy / Happy Day Are Here Again.” In the four-day period preceding the special (Oct. 31-Nov. 3), Garland’s version of “Get Happy” earned just over 10,000 official streams. In the four-day period after the special aired (Nov. 7-10), “Get Happy” logged 33,000 official streams, marking a 214% boost.
The Wicked: For Good soundtrack, which features a pair of new original songs penned by three-time Oscar-winning composer Stephen Schwartz (“The Girl in the Bubble” and “No Place Like Home”), arrives on Nov. 21. — KD
