Each Friday, Billboard presents “Bubbling Under,” a weekly look at new and noteworthy acts making their way toward Billboard chart success. Up this week: Zendaya, Whitney Wolanin, Fortuna La Super F and Ryan Stevenson.
Zendaya
Following two years of starring in “Shake It Up” on Disney Channel, Zendaya is breaking out on her own. The singer/actress’ “Replay” debuts at No. 42 on the Pop Digital Songs chart with 12,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and serves as the lead track from her forthcoming Hollywood Records debut album. Zendaya has previously released songs on multiple “Shake It Up” soundtracks; the cuts have sold a combined 550,000 downloads.
Whitney Wolanin
Whitney Wolanin inks her longest Adult Contemporary chart run, as “Wrong Guy (I Did It This Time)” (TopNotch) bullets at No. 17 in its 21st week. Wolanin arrived with “Honesty,” which reached No. 23 in a 20-week chart life last year. Long before she performed at the 2012 London Olympics and opened for such acts as the Beach Boys, “I was pretending to be Janet Jackson at a very young age,” she says. “There’s video proof of this. [But] it’s sealed in a vault, so don’t even think about it.”
Fortuna La Super F
Fortuna La Super F’s “Trago Amargo” bubbles under the Tropical Airplay chart. The catchy Bachata track is gaining traction across radio and online, with its music video drawing 70,000 worldwide VEVO views in its first month. The 21-year-old Dominican singer/songwriter is signed to EVT Music/Sony Music Latin and is working on his first studio album. Recognition from his peers has already come in the form of a collaboration with Latin Grammy Award winner Nacho.
Ryan Stevenson
Christian pop singer/songwriter Ryan Stevenson is on tour supporting his debut single “Holding Nothing Back.” The Boise, Idaho-based artist gained his earliest experience playing for youth groups and on mission trips in his late teens, then as a duo with fellow Christian artist Paul Wright. Signed to tobyMac’s Gotee imprint, Stevenson is touring solo this summer before joining Audio Adrenaline for dates in October and November.
Reporting by Keith Caulfield, Wade Jessen, Amaya Mendizabal and Gary Trust of the Billboard charts department.