Cameron Scores His First Top 3 Hit on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with 'Kingdom of Fear'
In its 20th week on the chart, the gritty, country-rock track rises to No. 3, becoming Whitcomb’s highest charting song.
Cameron Whitcomb is continuing to reach new heights.
After 20 weeks, the B.C.-born singer-songwriter climbs from No. 6 to No. 3 with “Kingdom of Fear” on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, dated Aug. 15. It is the singer's first top 3 hit.
The song comes from recently expanded version of Whitcomb’s debut, The Hard Way, which also reaches a new peak at No. 12 on this week's Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
“Kingdom of Fear” leans into Whitcomb's vulnerability as he details his journey with mental health and sobriety: “Honey, I've been scared to death, looking in the mirror / Just another day in the kingdom of fear,” he sings.
It fuses grit and an emotional reckoning, elevating Whitcomb’s knack for blending genres like country, folk and rock. Over the months, it has become a radio hit in Canada and has landed on multiple Billboard Canada Airplay charts.
The song-of-the-summer contender also became Whitcomb’s first-ever U.S. Hot 100 entry, debuting at No. 96. He told Billboard Canada that it was “absolutely wild” to see the track on the chart.
"I'm coming for No. 1," he said in an interview with Billboard Canada at Lasso festival in Montreal this weekend. "I don't care if it's Ella Langley or Ella Langley but I'm coming for you!"
Whitcomb is right. No. 1 is Ella Langley. Her hit “Choosin’ Texas” spends its 15th week at No. 1, tying the country song for the sixth-most weeks at the top of the Canadian Hot 100. That honour still belongs to Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which amassed 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100, while Alex Warren holds the No. 2 all-time spot with "Ordinary."
Langley has some competition as Stella Lefty’s viral hit “Boston” has hit a new peak at No. 2. The singer recently celebrated the song becoming her first top 5 hit at a special Charbreaker edition of Billboard Canada LIVE. Could the top spot be next?
Entering the chart this week, Karol G and Drake debut at No. 86 with “Ahi.” While the Toronto rapper’s chart-topping hit “Janice STFU” is already a songs of the summer contender, “Ahi” also meets all the criteria for a warm-weather hit.
The Latin music superstar and Drake stack their voices over a catchy refrain in Spanish, while trading lines about having feelings for someone who isn’t ready to enter a relationship. When Drizzy gets his solo moment, it’s a throwback to a Maid of Honour track he released earlier this year.
“I want a Latina, I want a Latina/ I want a face just like Karolina/ And I want a waist just like Karolina … I’m not a drug dealer, my money’s way cleaner,” he raps.
The bars directly interpolate the flirty “New Bestie,” which dropped in May and features a shout-out to the Colombian artist: “Yeah, I want a Latina, I want a Latina/ I want a G like Karolina.”
Following its release, “New Bestie” debuted at No. 50 on the Canadian Hot 100, while Maid of Honour arrived at No. 2.
At No. 91, Ontario singer-songwriter Alex Sampson arrives with “Misery” — already a certified radio hit — while west coast country act Dallas Smith’s “Good Time Goes” debuts at No. 99.
A handful of homegrown acts are joining Whitcomb by scoring new peaks. Owen Riegling’s “Love Hate Love” jumps from No. 70 to No. 51 alongside Pablo Preston’s “Cause I Do,” which rises from 65-59 and TALK’s comeback single “Time Machine,” as it moves up two spots to No. 74.
At the top of the Canadian Albums chart, Ariana Grande’s petal spends a second week at No. 1, led by “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” on the Canadian Hot 100, which sits at No. 5.
Find all of Billboard Canada's charts here.
