Empire of the Sun's 'We Are the People' Debuts on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 More Than 15 Years After Initial Release
The track from the Australian duo enters at No. 96 after a surge on TikTok. Plus, married country duo Thelma & James (featuring Canadian singer MacKenzie Porter) debut at No. 92 with "Happy Ever After You."
Empire of the Sun
This week's Canadian Hot 100 features a significantly late bloomer.
Empire of the Sun have earned their first entry on the Canadian Hot 100 with "We Are the People," which debuts at No. 96 on this week's chart dated May 17. The feat comes almost two decades after the song's initial release on the group's debut album Walking on a Dream in 2008.
The chart placement follows the song's resurgence on TikTok, where it has soundtracked a number of viral videos. The most popular clip currently sits at 17.3 million views and features a couple dancing harmoniously as the bridge plays: "I know everything about you / You know everything about me / We know everything about us."
This isn't the first time the electronic music duo's catalogue has witnessed a new wave of popularity. Their track "Walking on a Dream" went viral on TikTok last year and was used in 1.1 million posts. The track previously charted on the U.S. Hot 100 in 2016 after being featured in a 2016 Honda Civic Commercial and reached a peak of No. 65.
Other new debuts on the chart this week include Bailey Zimmerman & Luke Combs' "Backup Plan" at No. 29, Ed Sheeran's "Old Phone" at No. 60, KATSEYE's "Gnarly" at No. 70 and Maroon 5 & LISA's "Priceless" at No. 71. Don Toliver and Doja Cat's "Lose My Mind" rounds the chart out at No. 100.
Canadian country singer MacKenzie Porter also notches a new debut on this week's chart. "Happy Ever After You" debuts at No. 92 and is the debut single from the Medicine Hat singer and her singer-songwriter husband Jake Etheridge as the duo Thelma & James. They previously debuted on the Canadian Airplay charts with the same viral duet, and subsequently signed to the tastemaking country label Big Loud Records.
They join other Canadians who are holding steady on the Canadian Hot 100 this week, including Cameron Whitcomb ("Quitter" at No. 40 and "Medusa" at No. 85), bbno$ with "check" (No. 65) and Shubh's "Supreme" (No. 66).
Check out the whole Billboard Canadian Hot 100 here and all of Billboard Canada's charts here.
