Well, not literally…
You might ask: where is British singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi in the Music Moves Europe Artist chart? Last month’s number one is nowhere to be found anymore in this month’s chart. Good to know: if emerging European artists are becoming a household name, they don’t show up in this chart anymore. Whenever artists reach an audience of more than 1 billion, the chart rules say that they are excluded from this chart.
So, you may say Lewis Capaldi jumped off the cliff and is swimming now in an ocean of successful European artists like British singer Dua Lipa or Norwegian dance meister Alan Walker. And Italian dance outfit Meduza may soon join them in the water. Their summer hit Piece Of Your Heart (Universal), the current #1 in the weekly chart, accumulated no less than 190 million impressions last month – both from radio airplay and streaming combined – to a total of 941 million. If they attract less than half such an audience like this month, it’s time to dive as well.
Let’s have a quick look at the new entries. No bathing time yet for 17-year-old Austrian dance producer Luca Michlmayer, although he scored the highest new entry this month at #83 under the moniker LUMIX. He made his future beats banger Monster (Spinnin’) together with Gabry Ponte. This 46-year old Italian is known for his dance hits as Eiffel 65: Blue (Da Ba Dee) became an international euro pop hit back in 1999. Monster already scores in France, Switzerland and Germany.
Also new in at #84 is Irish rock band The Murder Capital. Often compared to Irish fellows Fontaines D.C. they scored excellent album reviews for their debut album When I Have Fears (Human Seasons). Combined with their live reputation, now is the time for airplay with their current single Don’t Cling To Life in The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal and the UK.
At #93 we welcome British singer Jimothy, also known as Jimothy Lacoste. Starting out with bedroom made do-it-yourself tracks, he attracted attention soon with his hilarious videos. Now signed up to Black Butter it is time to attract an international audience. His latest single Getting Talkative spreads out to Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland and Slovakia.
And at #95 Belgian rapper with Congolese roots, Bryan MG enters. His mixture of pop, rap and R’n’B is crossing over to The Netherlands, like his current track Hard 2 Get (Striker), a collab with Dutch producer Architrackz. Bryan MG easily switches in his raps between Dutch, English and French, so he’s a truly European artist with high potential.
Franky Wah, in at #96, is a British DJ and dance producer from Yorkshire. His productions show a real radio angle, as his Words (Ministry Of Sound) now gets a lot of airplay in Belgium. His star is rising in the DJ world as well, with his first bookings in Ibiza and at the well-known British dance festival Creamfields this year.
August was also a great month for Belgian rapper D.A.V at #29 and Irish rockers Inhaler at #45, both rising quickly. And a whole bunch of British artists also jumped ten or more places higher in the chart: The S.L.P. at #38, Callum Beattie at #48, Unperfect at #55, Octavian at #57, Loryn at #74 and Love Fame Tragedy at #77. But for all it’s too early yet to dive into the ocean…
Menno Visser
Music journalist and radio professional from The Netherlands