Disclosure Crosses to Rock Thanks to Lorde-Assisted ‘Magnets’
Lines continue to blur among genres as the electronic duo hits Rock Airplay.
Your eyes don’t deceive you: Disclosure debuts on a Billboard rock chart for the first time with “Magnets,” the electronic duo’s collaboration with Lorde. The song is from the pair’s album Caracal, which bowed atop the Oct. 17 Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
“Magnets” arrives on the Rock Airplay chart (dated Oct. 24) at No. 41 with 1.2 million audience impressions. Among its early supporters: alternative stations KNDD Seattle (33 plays in the week ending Oct. 11); KKDO Sacramento, Calif. (29); and KROQ Los Angeles (18).
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KNDD assistant program director Jon Manley tells Billboard, “When you are in your office listening to ‘Magnets,’ and your music director is on the air talking about this cool new ‘Magnets’ song she heard, and you get a text from a friend asking me if I had heard of ‘Magnets’ — all at the same time — you know something is up.”
Of course, Lorde adds familiarity to “Magnets” at rock, having crowned Rock Airplay and Alternative Songs for eight and seven weeks, respectively, with her 2013 breakthrough “Royals.” Follow-up “Team” topped Rock Airplay for two weeks and hit No. 2 on Alternative Songs. Still, core dance acts in addition to Disclosure have crossed to the format in recent years without rock-focused guests, including Avicii (“Wake Me Up!”) and Daft Punk (“Get Lucky,” featuring Pharrell Williams); both tracks hit No. 5 on Rock Airplay in 2013.
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“[Lorde] certainly helps, but look no further than new bands like Coleman Hell or Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats for just two examples of hits being discovered and having success simply based on the merits of the song,” Manley adds.
As “Magnets” attracts a following among rock audiences, Caracal has produced multiple chart hits in its home genre, led by “Omen,” featuring Sam Smith, which reached No. 5 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in August. (“Magnets” ranks at No. 11 on the list after rising to No. 8 last week.)