Chris Brown, Drake Club Brawl Causes Social 50 Chart Gains
It's no coincidence that both Drake and Chris Brown received significant online gains this week as news that the two and their respective camps were involved in an altercation at a nightclub in New…
By William Gruger
William Gruger
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It's no coincidence that both Drake and Chris Brown received significant online gains this week as news that the two and their respective camps were involved in an altercation at a nightclub in New York. The pair rises 28-20 and 18-12 on Billboard's Social 50 chart, respectively.
The Social 50 chart ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, using a formula that blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays.
According to the story previously reported by Billboard, entourages tied to Chris Brown, Drake and Meek Mill made a scene at a downtown New York nightclub on June 14, allegedly throwing bottles and trading blows over an argument about Rihanna (No. 1 on the Social 50 this week). The brawl went down at SoHo club W.I.P. between 4-5 a.m. and left five people injured, police confirmed.
Despite not having any other significant releases or news occurring during the charting week, Drake was able to experience significant online gains. He climbs 28-20 with a 5% increase in overall profile views translating to a 10% jump in his overall fan base, boiling down to 166,994 fans on Facebook and 164,932 Twitter followers (26.3% jump over last week).
Chris Brown released a new video during the charting week to further assist in raising his online profile. The video for "Don't Wake Me Up," from Chris Brown's upcoming studio album "Fortune," has received nearly 7 million views since its June 11 release, contributing to 23.4 million overall plays to Brown's VEVO channel during the charting week. That's a 18.2% increase over the previous week. The release, combined with other social buzz, causes Brown to climb 18-12 on the Social 50.
'CHOCOLATE RAIN' RETURNS: Tay Zonday of "Chocolate Rain" fame makes a No. 31 Social 50 debut after his baritone cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" scored over 2 million views on YouTube. Tay has recently solidified his online presence with newly-minted Facebook and YouTube branded pages, and the video has proved to be a very advantageous move towards building his online presence. Tay added 15,903 fans to his overall fan base during the charting week, and the traffic generated from the video's popularity helped him to a nearly 1,000% increase in YouTube plays over previous weeks.
'BOYCE' BOUNCES: Boyce Avenue also experienced gains this week. A 14% swell in its overall fan base — while in the midst of a European tour — helped the sibling act rise 19-13 on the Social 50. Of this overall increase, 5,200 fans were gained on Twitter alone (a 41% over last week) where Boyce Avenue is known for frequently responding to fans and other artists.
COVER LESSONS: The Piano Guys continue their rise, ticking up 47-37 after releasing an original video, "Waterfall," to its YouTube channel on June 13. The video has since received over 415,000 views since its release, contributing to a total of 2,530,468 plays during the charting week. While the Piano Guys are best-known for releasing cover songs — which always generate a high view count — garnering 2.5 million views for an original is perhaps a testament to the act's popularity.
Elsewhere on the chart, Usher experiences a 40-30 jump courtesy of buzz generated by the release of his latest album, "Looking 4 Myself." Linkin Park rises 8-5, as the band partnered with Spotify to promote its upcoming album "Living Things." The group will release a series of exclusive live albums via the service in the lead-up to the new album's bow on June 26.
As for the rest of the Top 10, Justin Bieber strides 4-2, causing Adele to slide 2-3. Skrillex swings 5-4, as Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj remained steady at Nos. 6 and No. 7 respectively. The sisters Cimorelli experienced a drop 3-8 as sustained activity from other larger acts overshadowed their gains from last week. Finally, One Direction rise 10-9, swapping places with Lady Gaga who falls 9-10.
ChartBeat Column
Drake Brown
Drake Mill