Elite 100: Logic Ascends To No. 2, Sammy Hagar Comes Full Circle

Having just released a new album, it only makes sense that Logic would climb to No. 2 on the Elite 100 Artists chart for the week ending May 16. 

Logic dropped Confessions of a Dangerous Mind May 10, and the album was embraced by fans with open arms. He logged a total of 99,900 album units, most of which came from his 108.4 million on-demand streams. He trailed only Drake and chart leader Billie Eilish in the streams category. Logic was also no slouch in the album sales and song sales categories, where he logged 13,600 and 29,000 sales in each category, respectively.

Logic announced a week ago a full headlining tour with J.I.D. and YBN Cordae, which will take in major arenas like the new Chase Center in San Francisco, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver.

Logic manager Chris Zarou of Visionary Music Group spoke to Pollstar in January about developing the Maryland-born rapper into a full-scale arena headliner, saying: “I [tell] a lot of the younger artists we have, if you put on your blinders and stay focused, one day you’ll wake up and be at Madison Square Garden. That’s really what happened with Logic. In six years we played six different caps, we went from a 400-cap room at SOB’s, to 600- to 800- to 1,200- to 3,000-capacity, then to a scaled-down Barclays Center and then the Garden.”

Sammy Hagar & The Circle also hopped onto the chart after the release of Space Between May 10. The band’s chart presence is almost entirely due to the 40,900 album sales for the week, showing rock fans will still shell out some cash for an album. 

The band is currently on tour, and Pollstar recently shared a concert review of the group’s performance at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo from Hector Saldana of San Antonio Express-News , reading: “The legendary Red Rocker and bandmates, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, go-to drummer Jason Bonham and longtime lead guitarist Vic Johnson came to rock hard and party in a style familiar to his fans — from his stints in Montrose, Van Halen and Chickenfoot. Throw in some Led Zeppelin and one gets the picture of the rowdy night at Hagar’s first rodeo gig. The wall of amplifiers and speakers equaled that of an arena rock setting.”

Mac DeMarco also dropped a new album, Here Comes The Cowboy¸ May 10. His strongest metric was album sales, with 19,700, but he also logged 14.6 million on-demand streams.

DeMarco will be playing festivals and headline gigs in North America throughout 2019, including two nights with Anderson .Paak and Thundercat in Texas. The surf-rocker was the subject of a 2017 cover feature in Pollstar in which his agent Michelle Cable of Panache Booking said: “He loves touring, loves his bandmates and the idea of being on the road. It’s really an amazing opportunity for an agent to have, with someone who is willing to experiment and do a bunch of different things regardless of the financial outcome.” 

Touring powerhouses Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran collaborated on the single “I Don’t Care” and the song has the potential to be a long-term radio earworm. The week of its release it logged 86,200 song sales and 16.7 million on-demand streams. 

A chart newcomer for the week ending May 16 was Quando Rondo, whose From the Neighborhood to the Stage project dropped May 10, propelling the young rapper to 26.9 million on-demand streams.

Quando Rondo is set to open for Rich The Kid on a full tour of North America, so keep an eye out for Quando’s star to rise as he gets in front of substantial audiences. 

Jhene Aiko released a new song, “Triggered,” on May 8, which is still giving her life on the chart. She had 18.8 million on-demand streams and 5,100 songs for the week. 

Next week’s chart will include data for releases from DJ Khaled, Tyler, The Creator, The National, Rodney Atkins, Interpol, Rammstein, Lil Kim, Meghan Thee Stallion, The Head and the Heart, Wu-Tang Clan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Blue Moon Rising, Steel Pulse, and Dionne Warwick.   

Also, be on the lookout for new projects from Flying Lotus, Morrissey, Sting, YG, $uicideboy$ & Travis Barker, Justin Townes Earle, and Mavis Staples.