There was a quiet but eye-catching change in the upper echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 15: The Kid LAROI’s “Without You” jumped from 28th place up to 8th. This is the best-performing song LAROI has had where he wasn’t featuring on another artist’s song. The immediate backdrop to this surge in popularity is a remix version with Miley Cyrus. Cyrus released a teaser for the remix version on her TikTok and later the full music video on her YouTube channel. She has over 15 million subscribers—about 10 times that of LAROI. Cyrus followed this up with a guest appearance on the popular TV show Saturday Night Live; among her performances was “Without You” with LAROI. Elon Musk hosted the week’s episode and so it received attention not only in the States but also internationally, leading to high ratings. Consequently, music streaming and sales of the song increased 54% and 254% respectively and it entered the top 10 in radio play.

Even before the bump from Miley Cyrus, “Without You” was receiving attention in unconventional ways. The Kid LAROI, a teenage rapper of Indigenous Australian descent, was mentored by Juice WRLD (who had been touring Australia) and had also been gaining recognition after featuring on a number of tracks, but “Without You” rose to prominence on its own merits. After it was first released as part of LAROI’s mixtape on November 6, the song since appeared on almost every Spotify playlist aiming for a new, youthful sound. Naturally this includes the pop-centric Pop Rising, alternative Alt NOW, and genre-free Lorem playlists, but the song also found its way onto RapCaviar, the most important of all the rap playlists. Compared to 24kGoldn and iann dior’s “Mood,” which broke through the rap–rock barrier and went on to see a sharp rise in popularity, LAROI did the same on something of a wider scale, checking boxes for all tastes as though it had been there in the background the whole time. Thanks to this, “Without You” has found longevity beyond the six-month mark, remaining on all kinds of playlists and sticking around on the Hot 100 to watch the flames of opportunity jump high. Miley Cyrus just lit the fire.

The Kid LAROI is getting ready to release his first album this year. All eyes are on the 17-year-old to see whether he will become another teenage pop star. Due to the pandemic, LAROI wasn’t able to build up his brand or hold concerts as interest toward him grew, so many people are more familiar with his songs than with the artist himself. Billie Eilish enjoyed the creative freedom to build up her personal catalog through singles and EPs, and has so much momentum now that she can’t be stopped. Olivia Rodrigo married her social networking reach and the fame she found with Disney and made trendy hit songs. If, by the end of the year, the Kid LAROI is more famous than he is today, you will have witnessed the rise of an artist who had had pandemic-era streaming covertly on his side.

TRIVIA

Saturday Night Live (SNL)
NBC’s flagship variety show, on air since 1975. The show is currently in its 46th season. SNL has regular cast members and writers but features a new celebrity host each week in short sketches written around them. Elon Musk’s night as host also caused a stir within the cryptocurrency market, explaining why the number of viewers jumped up not only in the US but around the globe. In addition to rotating hosts, musical guests appear each week and perform two or three songs. The host and musical guest are generally unrelated.