Austin Mahone the 16-year-old Internet sensation makes a grand re-entry at No. 19 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart following the release of his video for “Say Somethin.” The clip roused his massive online fan base last week, garnering over 1.5 million YouTube views for the clip during the charting period.
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. “Say Somethin,” which is apparently not a part of any formal album release yet, comes on the heels of Mahone’s recent signing with Chase/Universal Republic. As reported, Mahone has signed a 360 deal putting him under the same umbrella of Owl City, Florence + The Machine and the late Amy Winehouse.
The jump in Mahone’s YouTube viewership allowed for a 231 percent spike in weekly fan acquisition. He also gained 195,000 new Facebook fans and 25,000 new Twitter followers. The video for “Say Somethin” is the first to be uploaded to Mahone’s newly minted VEVO channel, which has drawn more than 23,000 subscribers already. Simultaneously, the YouTube channel where Mahone rose to fame also experienced a 54 percent upswing in views as he continues to post behind the scenes content for his loyal followers.
Elsewhere on the Social 50, hip-hop artist Timati debuts at No. 24. Popular in Russia and nearby countries, he released the video for his single “Tattoo” last week, which has racked up more than 1.3 million views.
While the name Timati may be unfamiliar to a U.S. audience, the artists who he’s worked with in the past certainly aren’t. Timati has collaborated with Diddy Dirty Money on “I’m On You” and with Timberland on “Not All About The Money” — two singles from Timati’s June 2012 album, Swagg. The video sparked a massive 184 percent gain in weekly Twitter follower acquisition during the charting week, where Timati added 236,000 new followers.
Alicia Keys has been particularly active in social media over the past few weeks promoting her upcoming album, Girl On Fire. She re-enters at No. 27 on the Social 50 after buzz generated by a feature in the New York Times and the release of two new videos to her official YouTube channel. One of those is a lyric video for the song “Not Even the King.” Also soaring on the tally because of lyric videos is P!nk, who released three of them this past week. Simple animation clips for “The Truth About Love,” “Beam Me Up” and “Just Give Me A Reason” each gained between 200,000 and 400,000 views each. The attention gave way to a 15 percent increase in her overall fan base, allowing the diva to jump 43-35 in the tally.
Animated YouTube cover act Your Favorite Martian re-enters at No. 37 with a cover of Linkin Park‘s “High Voltage” that has so far added 800,000 views to its YouTube channel. Also experiencing jumps are the Social 50’s resident X Factor judges, Demi Lovato (34-15) and Britney Spears (21-9), who have been using their social presences to promote their weekly television appearances. As for the rest of the Top 10, PSY remains in the No. 1 spot as Taylor Swift and Rihanna holds at Nos. 2 and 3 respectively. One Direction leaps (6-4) as does Skrillex (7-5), causing Katy Perry (4-6) and Justin Bieber (5-7) to fall. Jennifer Lopez remains at No. 8, and Lady Gaga slips a spot down to No. 10.
