How Justin Bieber, OMI and More Helped Tropical House Heat Up in 2015

12/14/2015 by Matt Medved

The beachy dance subgenre became pop's favorite new sound, led by these Billboard Hot 100 hits.

MR. PROBZ "Waves (Robin Schulz Remix)"
German producer Schulz set the table for tropical house's 2015 takeover with this reinvention of the Dutch singer-rapper's single, peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100 in December 2014 and staying hot through the new year.

LILLYWOOD & ROBIN SCHULZ "Prayer in C"
Schulz followed up with worldwide smash single "Prayer in C" with French-Israeli duo Lillywood. The song went to No. 1 in more than 30 countries and peaked at No. 23 on the Hot 100 in March.

OMI "Cheerleader"
Tropical house's first Hot 100 chart-topper reached No. 1 in July, courtesy of German producer Felix Jaehn, who breathed new life into Jamaican singer OMI's 2012 tune by adding woodblock percussion and a trumpet line.

JUSTIN BIEBER "What Do You Mean?"
Like Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" did for dubstep and Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" did for trap, Bieber's comeback single cemented tropical house's place in pop's pecking order when it gave him his first No. 1 in September.

KYGO FEATURING CONRAD "Firestone"
The single from the subgenre's Norwegian flag-bearer peaked at No. 92 in October and showed why the DJ-producer is one of EDM's most promising rising stars.

This story originally appeared in the Dec. 19 issue of Billboard.