10 First-Timers on Billboard’s Charts This Week: Matt Rogers, Mark Mothersbaugh, Kelsey Hart & More

Xander Zellner
·6 min read
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Billboard has more than 200 different weekly charts, encompassing numerous genres and formats.

While established artists often compete for a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums ranking, which track the most popular songs and albums of the week, respectively, up-and-coming talents typically start off on genre-specific lists.

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Here’s a look at 10 artists who appear on surveys for the first time on the Nov. 18-dated charts:

Matt Rogers

The comedian, actor and podcaster is officially a Billboard-charting artist for the first time, thanks to the new companion album to his holiday comedy special Have You Heard of Christmas? While the special was released Dec. 2, 2022, on Showtime, the set debuts at No. 4 on Comedy Albums following its release on vinyl and for download on Nov. 3. It earned 1,000 equivalent album units in the Nov. 3-9 tracking week, according to Luminate.

Have You Heard of Christmas? is a TV special containing original songs, stand-up and comedy sketches, along with guest stars Bowen Yang, Jo Firestone, Henry Koperski and more. The album features 12 original holiday-themed tracks.

Rogers is the co-host of the pop culture podcast Las Culturistas with Yang. He has also starred in the film Fire Island and the TV series Gayme Show, Q-Force and more.

Mark Mothersbaugh

The legendary singer, songwriter, composer and producer is already a household name thanks to his work as the lead vocalist for Devo, but he landed his first solo appearance on a Billboard chart via his “Halloweentown Theme,” from the 1998 Disney Channel original movie, Halloweentown. The song debuted at No. 24 on the Nov. 11-dated TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, thanks to activity on the platform surrounding the holiday.

Devo, which Mothersbaugh formed in 1973 in Akron, Ohio, with his brother Bob, brothers Bob and Gerald Casale, and Alan Myers, charted three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s: “Whip It” (No. 14 peak in 1980), “Working in the Coal Mine” (No. 43, 1981) and “Theme From Doctor Detroit” (No. 59, 1983). The group has also logged nine albums on the Billboard 200, in 1978-2010.

Outside of Devo, Mothersbaugh has forged a career as a composer for hundreds of film, TV, commercial and video game projects through his company, Mutato Muzika. His 2023 projects alone include the films Cocaine Bear and The Magicians Elephant and the series Disenchantment, Hello Tomorrow!, Our Flag Means Death, Summer Camp Island and What We Do in the Shadows.

Kelsey Hart

The singer-songwriter, from Central City, Ky., scores his first Billboard chart entry, thanks to his breakout song “Life With You.” The track, released Nov. 3 on Curb Records, debuts at No. 9 on Country Digital Song Sales with 2,000 downloads sold in its first week. He also debuts at No. 41 on the Emerging Artists chart.

TikTok has been a factor in the song’s growing profile. Hart teased various snippets of the song for weeks leading up to its official release, while a portion of the song has soundtracked over 11,000 clips on the platform to date. He released his first project, the five-track EP Give You Mine, in February 2022. Since then, he has released seven other songs on streaming platforms, including “Life With You.”

Hotline TNT

The Brooklyn-based indie rock/shoegaze group hits Billboard’s charts for the first time thanks to its sophomore LP, Cartwheel. The set, released Nov. 3 on Third Man Records, debuts at No. 11 on Tastemakers Albums. The group also arrives at No. 38 on Emerging Artists.

Hotline TNT is led by Will Anderson, who’s also the sole permanent member of the group—he’s joined by a rotating backing band. Before Cartwheel, the band dropped its debut full-length LP Nineteen in Love in 2021.

Turbo

The Atlanta producer (real name: Chandler Great) has already built a successful career on Billboard’s charts as a producer, but he claims his first entry under an artist billing thanks to his new collaboration with Gunna, “Bachelor.” The song, released Nov. 3 via Young Stoner Life/300 Entertainment, debuts at No. 40 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs with 3.6 million official U.S. streams earned in its first week.

Turbo has produced 24 total Hot 100-charting songs in his career, including one top 10: Lil Baby and Gunna’s No. 4-peaking “Drip Too Hard” in 2018. On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, he is credited as a producer on 28 hits. His production work may be recognizable by the phrase “run that back Turbo” at the onset of many songs by Gunna and Lil Baby. He has also worked with Lil Yachty, Moneybagg Yo, Travis Scott and Young Thug, among others.

In 2019, Turbo signed a worldwide co-publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. “Turbo is one of the most prominent hip-hop producers to break over the last year,” Warner Chappell Music president, North America, Ryan Press said at the time. “His signature sound is a game changer, attracting trailblazing artists and influential fans alike to his music.”

Andrew Cottee

The composer, arranger and conductor achieves his first Billboard chart hit, thanks to his work on Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies’ album We Wish You the Merriest. The holiday set, released Nov. 3 via Fuzzy Door/Verve/Republic/VLG, debuts at No. 20 on Jazz Albums and No. 46 on the Top Holiday Albums chart with 1,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week.

The album, billed as Seth MacFarlane & Liz Gillies Arranged and Conducted by Andrew Cottee, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London and contains 13 holiday standards, from “The Christmas Song” to “Frosty the Snowman,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and more. MacFarlane and Gillies previously teamed on the EP Songs From Home in 2021, but this project marks their first full-length collaboration.

Cottee has many film, TV and theater credits to his name, including the score for MacFarlane’s series The Orville, plus the 2016 film Sing, and the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea. He was also the orchestrator for Paul McCartney’s ballet Ocean’s Kingdom.

Shy Taupe

The Japanese pop-rock group, from Osaka, earns its first chart entry, thanks to “Rendez-Vous.” Released in April on shytaupe Records, the song debuts at No. 197 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart with 7.6 million official streams outside the U.S. The band has released 12 songs on streaming services, dating to “Margarine” and “Room” in June 2022. The band comprises Sasaki Sou (vocals/guitar), Fukunaga Masaki (bass) and Takato Man (drums).

Lucy Grau

The Miami-based singer lands on Billboard’s charts for the first time with her breakthrough single “Qué Será de Ti.” The song, released Sept. 15 on Betania Music Group/ONErpm, debuts at No. 20 on Tropical Airplay (up 101% in airplay audience in the Nov. 3-9 tracking week). Grau has released three solo albums: Alocada in 2013, Lucy Grau in 2015 and A Peticion… in 2018.

JZyNO & Lasmid

Both artists debut on Billboard’s rankings thanks to their collaboration, “Butta My Bread.” Released in April, the song debuts at No. 50 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.

JZyNO (real name: Jonathan Lee Pratt), from Liberia, has been releasing music since 2019. He dropped his debut EP, the six-track Brown Sugar, in 2021. Lasmid (real name: Nathaniel Ladsmid Owusu), from Ghana, is also a chart newcomer. He has released nine solo tracks, all since 2020, and has collaborated with acts including Amerado, Fazil and Kixx Alphah.

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