Billboard has unveiled the second weekly Uncharted ranking, spotlighting emerging artists who have yet to appear on a major Billboard chart but are mapping new territory in online fan engagement.
Uncharted artists are ranked by Heat Score–a formula incorporating that week’s streamed plays, page views and fans according to MySpace Music as well as sources tracked by online aggregator Next Big Sound, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and others.
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This week, Uncharted is again topped by Southern California rapper Traphik, whose clever lyrics and hilarious videos have earned him an ever-growing following on YouTube. During the chart week, possibly partially due to his pole position on the debut chart, Traphik earned more than 1.2 million YouTube views and 7700 new channel subscribers. He also gained more than 3200 Facebook fans and 1400 new Twitter followers. His diverse YouTube presence includes not only hip-hop tracks, but vlog posts and comedic videos, including a recent parody of Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”.
The top four held steady, with Traphik followed by Chucky mask-wearing DJ BL3ND, rising Cherrytree-signed pop star Colette Carr, and Argentinian singer Javier Jofre. California-based power-poppers Teen Hearts move up a position to round out the top five.
Making their first appearance on the chart this week at No. 11 is Architects, who blast onto Uncharted with more than 60,000 new song plays on MySpace during the chart week. The Brighton, UK-based metal band has toured with hardcore mainstays Norma Jean and Atreyu. Citing influences like Bring Me the Horizon and Every Time I Die, Architects unveiled their fourth album, “The Here and Now,” on Jan. 25, which no doubt piqued the interest of online listeners in the week prior to its release.
Also new to the chart at No. 14 is Finntroll, a Finnish “black folk metal” outfit that earned Facebook buzz thanks to its current U.S. tour. Holding at previous-week position No. 16 is Pomplamoose, the adorable YouTube-star duo who recently came full-force into American cultural consciousness thanks to their holiday-season Hyundai ads.
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.