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: Kehlani eyes a big chart move thanks to a new pack of remixes, a surreal viral trend helps put a rising singer-songwriter on the streaming map, basketball’s greatest soundtrack makes a comeback and more.
Star-Studded ‘Folded’ Remix Pack Lifts Kehlani’s Current Hit
On this week’s Billboard Hot 100 (dated Nov. 1), Kehlani’s “Folded” ranks at No. 14, marking the highest peak of her career on the all-genre singles chart. Next week, thanks to her new Folded Homage EP, the Grammy-nominated R&B singer’s ascendant hit could slide into the top 10.
Featuring Brandy, Toni Braxton, Jojo, Mario, Tank and Ne-Yo, the Folded Homage EP finds six ‘90s and ‘00s R&B heavyweights reimagining Kehlani’s hit, which recently topped Rhythmic Airplay. According to early data provided by Luminate, “Folded” earned 5.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams from Oct. 17-20. In the equivalent four-day period of the tracking week following the remix EP’s release (Oct. 24-27), that number leapt 20% to over 7.2 million official streams. Notably, the new set of remixes also spurred a boost in digital sales for “Folded.” Two weekends ago, the track sold just over 900 digital downloads, and that number jumped nearly 60% to nearly 1,500 digital downloads following the release of the remix EP.
A frontrunner for best R&B song and performance at next year’s Grammys, “Folded” continues to impress as its run unfolds. – KYLE DENIS
Lucky ‘Group 7’ for Viral New Sophia James Trend
To promote her new single “So Unfair” while simultaneously testing which content the TikTok algorithm favors, Sophia James devised a simple plan: post seven videos sorting viewers into different groups, based on which one they saw first. As it turned out, the ever-mysterious algorithm loves the number 7, with videos 1-6 getting a handful of viewers apiece, whereas the seventh one was shown to millions.
With seemingly everyone and their mother pledging allegiance to Group 7 – including NFL teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots, fast-food chains Wendy’s and Jimmy John’s, and other brands such as Fenty Beauty, Oreo and Hellman’s Mayonnaise — James’ artist profile got a major boost. From the tracking week ending Oct. 16 to the following week ending Oct. 23, the singer-songwriter’s catalog experienced a 265.9% increase, jumping from around 44,000 official on-demand U.S. streams to nearly 162,000 according to Luminate.
The growth on “So Unfair” itself was even more astonishing, with the track’s stream count jumping up 1,013% from just under on-demand U.S. streams to 97,576 in that same time frame. That’s an increase of about 13,939 groups of 7. – HANNAH DAILEY
4 Non Blondes TikTok Trend Boosts Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap”
Between a recent interpolation courtesy of Cardi B and Lizzo’s “What’s Goin On” and still-trending mashup with Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz’s “Beez in the Trap,” 4 Non Blondes’ undying “What’s Up?” has experienced a huge resurgence on streaming. Now, Nicki’s track is getting in on the fun.
For the period of Oct. 17-20, “Beez” logged over 608,000 official on-demand U.S. streams and sold over 160 digital downloads. For the equivalent four-day period the following week (Oct. 24-27), “Beez” spiked 55% to over 943,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, according to early data provided by Luminate. Of course, “Beez in the Trap” is one of the most memorable singles from 2012’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The 2 Chainz-assisted joint reached No. 48 on the Hot 100.
The 4 Non Blondes/Minaj mashup trend dates back to an Aug. 11 post by user @dj.auxlord. TikTok users quickly latched onto the mashup’s bizarre dichotomy and used the accompanying sound, which now soundtracks over 726,000 creates, to showcase everything from Halloween costumes to seemingly oppositional vibes. Most clips using the remix feature two friends standing back-to-back with one person singing the “What’s Up” hook while the other raps Nicki’s “Beez” hook.
Already parodied by Sabrina Carpenter and Marcello Hernandez for SNL, recent celebrities who have joined the trend include PinkPantheress, Ice Spice, Quen Blackwell, Jimmy Fallon, Malala Yousafzai, Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez and 4 Non Blondes’ own Linda Perry. — KD
Long Live ‘Roundball Rock’: Basketball Classic Revived With ‘NBA on NBC’ Return
For the first time since 2002, the NBA returned to NBC last week. With NBCUniversal regaining NBA rights in 2024, starting with this current 2025-26 season, games aired both on the television broadcast network and on the Peacock streaming platform — giving longtime hoopheads a rush of nostalgia for the league’s ‘90s halcyon days airing on the channel. And of course, a large percentage of those good feelings were reserved for the iconic musical theme to the channel’s coverage: “Roundball Rock.”
The rousing instrumental, composed by new-age musician and longtime Entertainment Tonight co-host John Tesh, has long been beloved by basketball fans of all stripes — and was even sampled in the ‘00s on songs by star rappers Nelly and Joe Budden. With the return of both the league and its onetime home network, Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” saw an unsurprising surge on DSPs last week, racking up 37,000 official on-demand U.S. streams — a 417% gain from the prior week, according to Luminate. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
