
This week on Uncharted, German electro house artist Zedd debuts at No. 33, with a gain of 19,000 SoundCloud plays. His original mix of “Dovregubben,” released digitally on May 31, is among the top 10 downloads at Beatport-a popular digital music store for DJs. Throughout the summer, the artist is playing various dates across the United States.
Popular YouTube comedian and musician Dave Days rises from No. 22 to No. 10 after premiering a cover of Selena Gomez‘s single “Who Says” on May 31. The humorous video which shows the singer chasing a cardboard cutout of his oft-used crush Hannah Montana around town via skateboard has since garnered 563,000 YouTube views. At present, Dave Days boasts an impressive 1.4 million YouTube channel subscribers and shows no sign of slowing down.
Uncharted ranks artists – those who have not charted previously with Billboard – using a formula blending weekly additions of friends/fans/followers across the world’s leading social networking sites (MySpace, Twitter, Facebook), as well as weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on influential music outlets (YouTube, Last.FM, SoundCloud).
Reentering Uncharted at No. 13, hip-hop/pop singer (and past Billboard Pro Featured Artist) Colette Carr reclaims a top spot thanks to the buzz surrounding her latest single “(We Do It) Primo.” In the chorus, Carr samples the chorus of Keane‘s “Somewhere Only We Know,” making it extra catchy. In all, “Primo” has achieved 1 million plays across MySpace and Vevo since its May 18 release.
English folk singer Frank Turner also renters the tally at No. 36, having released his latest album “England Keep my Bones” last week. During the tracking week, he earned 9,600 Wikipedia views and 67,000 Last.fm plays – with plenty of warm press mentions about his album. Turner’s infectious style quickly grabs listeners, greeting them to sing along.
Finally, Alestorm, a Scotland-based, “pirate metal” band, released their new album “Back Through Time,” debuting at No. 39. The swashbuckling single “Shipwrecked” – sure to have fans head banging along – has gained 141,000 YouTube plays since premiering on May 20. Added to this, the act earned 14,000 Wikipedia views and 82,000 Last.fm plays. To promote the album, Alestorm is taking off on a world tour, playing a torrent of dates.
As for the rest of the top 10, DJ BL3ND (No. 1), Traphik (No. 2), and Maddi Jane (No. 4) hold their places, while Laura Roppe (6-3), Your Favorite Enemies (7-6), Diyar Pala (8-9), and Noisia (3-9) mix up the order.
To discover new music and get a head start on following the careers of these emerging artists, find the rest of this week’s chart on Billboard.com or in Billboard magazine, and check in with Uncharted Territory every week for more.