{"id":247445,"date":"2026-01-23T07:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/247445\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T07:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:14:10","slug":"new-hits-for-dave-tems-stromae-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/247445\/","title":{"rendered":"New Hits for Dave & Tems, Stromae and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWelcome to Billboard Pro\u2019s\u00a0Trending Up\u00a0<\/a>newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n

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See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\tThis week: Marriage rumors help make a Dave and Tems single take off in the U.S., while a mysterious cover of a Stromae song goes big and revives the original in the process, and a new artist makes waves as the rumored alias for a breakout TV star.<\/p>\n

\n\tPossibly AI-Powered Cover of Stromae\u2019s \u2018Papaoutai\u2019 Lights Up Streaming \u2014 And Revives the 2013 Original<\/p>\n

\n\t13 years ago, Stromae earned a breakthrough global hit with \u201cPapaoutai,\u201d and now it\u2019s back on the streaming charts \u2014 this time, without the Belgian multihyphenate\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\n\tReleased on Dec. 20 and dubbed an \u201cafro soul\u201d rendition, the new version of \u201cPapoutai\u201d is credited to Unjaps (a faceless, seemingly AI-powered artist tied to recent trending sounds like a choral version of Sisqo\u2019s \u201cThong Song\u201d<\/a>), Mikeeysmind (born Mikael Daghighi, a Swedish producer) and Chill77 (another apparently AI-powered artist).<\/p>\n

\n\tSome listeners have gravitated towards the song\u2019s \u201cheightened emotion\u201d<\/a> (the new version strips Stromae\u2019s dance beat for a more choral sound), and others have discovered it by way of its placement in trending clips from streamer iShowSpeed\u2019s viral Africa tour<\/a>. On Jan. 9, social media creator Ars\u00e8ne Mukendi posted a music video that found him lip-syncing to the AI-generated vocals, which he clarified as such in edited Instagram captions<\/a>. The corresponding TikTok sound<\/a> for the \u201cafro soul\u201d version of \u201cPapaoutai\u201d currently plays in over 235,000 posts.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Luminate, the AI-assisted version of \u201cPapoutai\u201d earned 263,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the period of Jan. 9-12. A week later (Jan. 16-19), that figure leapt 170% to over 711,000 streams.\u00a0 From Jan. 9-12, Stromae\u2019s original version of \u201cPapaoutai\u201d pulled just under 170,000 official streams, jumping 53% to over 264,000 official streams by the week of Jan. 16-19.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile original AI-assisted songs have appeared in this column before, this might be the most notable case yet of an AI-powered cover of an existing hit song gaining real traction on streaming. \u2014 KYLE DENIS<\/p>\n

\t\tRumored Wedding Bells Lift Dave & Tems\u2019 \u2018Raindance\u2019\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Dave dropped The Boy Who Played the Harp, which landed on Billboard\u2019s 2025 Best Rap Albums<\/a> list, the Tems-assisted \u201cRaindance\u201d quickly emerged as its biggest potential hit. A few weeks later, the sweet Afroswing collaboration is still going strong.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRaindance\u201d sustained its momentum throughout the holiday season by riding the swirling romance rumors brewing between its recording artists. On Dec. 15, Tems dropped her \u201cMine\u201d music video<\/a>, which featured an appearance from Dave \u2014 and a few days prior, she posted a TikTok<\/a> featuring the rapper with her song \u201cBig Daddy\u201d playing in the background. That same day, Dave posted a clip to his own TikTok<\/a> account, with Tems and him vibing to \u201cRaindance\u201d while flashing what appeared to be matching rings. With fans tirelessly speculating about the pair\u2019s relationship status, a buzzy new duet tied to an acclaimed new album was their natural landing point, at least as far as music streaming is concerned.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Dec. 14, TikTok creator @zoebaptistee shared a new dance challenge<\/a> set to the song\u2019s bridge. That clip has since amassed over 13.4 million views and two million likes, helping the attached unofficial \u201cRaindance\u201d TikTok sound<\/a> soar past 680,000 posts. The official \u201cRaindance\u201d sound<\/a> plays in nearly 80,000 additional clips.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the week of Dec. 19-25, \u201cRaindance\u201d pulled over 1.01 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate. Two weeks later (Jan. 1-7), just before the release of its buzzy music video (seemingly set at a wedding reception!) on Jan. 9, that figure ballooned 136% to over 2.39 million official streams.<\/p>\n

\n\tDave has yet to enter the Billboard Hot 100, and \u201cRaindance\u201d just might be his strongest chance yet. \u2014 K.D.<\/p>\n

\t\tTheory Involving \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 Star Hudson Williams Launches Nascent Band Out of Obscurity\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the top of the year, an enigmatic music outfit named Tide Ritual appeared across streaming platforms with two new singles: \u201cTitanic\u201d and \u201cStay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNext to nothing is known about the band, and their two lone Instagram posts don\u2019t give any helpful clues regarding their origin or formation. Naturally, Tide Ritual\u2019s journey from absolute obscurity and streaming breakout was jumpstarted by the current buzziest<\/a> piece of media: Heated Rivalry<\/a>. Since the songs popped up on streaming, fans have circulated theories pegging series star Hudson Williams as the voice behind the mystery act. Doctored screenshots<\/a> of allegedly deleted Instagram DMs and Stories were shared as \u201cproof,\u201d and many fans, eager to pounce on anything even tangentially related to Williams or co-star Connor Storrie, believed them. Some even went as far as alleging Willaims was purposely keeping the band private to avoid conflicting with his new CAA contract.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt press time, Williams has not confirmed (or even acknowledged) the Tide Ritual rumors, but that didn\u2019t stop \u201cTitanic\u201d and \u201cStay\u201d from receiving a notable streaming boom in light of the speculation. On its first full day of release (Jan. 12), \u201cTitanic\u201d pulled in aroudn 5,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, and that number jumped 283% by Jan. 20 to over 18,000 official streams. Similarly, \u201cStay\u201d logged just under 1,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on its first full day of release (Jan. 16), with that figure rising 541% to over 3,700 official streams.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the event that Hudson confirms he is not involved with Tide Ritual (or if the whole thing turns out to be some sort of scam), Heated Rivalry fans can still enjoy the official score soundtrack for season one<\/a>, which debuted a pair of tracks<\/a> (\u201cIt\u2019s You\u201d and \u201cRivalry\u201d) on the all-genre Jan. 24-dated Digital Song Sales chart. \u2014 K.D.<\/p>\n


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