Midweek Music Update

 for 10th July, 2019

                                                                                                                           
The Midweek Music Update (published on Wednesdays) is intended to give you a "sneak peek" at some new music that hasn't made my chart yet. It's comprised of two sections: the Hot New Track and the Fresh New Releases.

Each week, I'll choose one video for the Hot New Track -- one song that is certain to make my Top 50 chart & playlist next weekend (based on all the points it's earned so far).

The Fresh New Releases are two or three videos that appear likely to enter my chart in the near future (based on YouTube views alone). All of the songs in this 2nd section will be relatively recent (i.e., released in the past month or so). Because they are so new, it might take them an additional few weeks to work their way onto my chart.

Although I mention the total number of views for each video below, song selections are based on YouTube views from the past seven days only.

Hot New Track:
This week's Hot New Track is "Impossible" by gay American musician Carlos Vara. Originally from South Carolina, he lived briefly in Hawaii and Tennessee before relocating to California. After breaking away from his Pentecostal religious upbringing, Carlos struggled to make it as a musician while also working to overcome OCD and Tourette's syndrome. He appeared as a contestant on the 3rd season of X Factor USA using his full name (Carlos Guevara). Carlos just barely missed making it onto the LGBT Top 50 chart with his last single ("Confident") but this time he's been accumulating points much faster. As I write this, his latest video has 398,303 views on YouTube. In the past week alone, the clip has gained an additional 145,118 views (an increase of 58.04% from the previous week).

Fresh New Releases:
The first Fresh New Release this week is "I Like Boys" by gay American singer Todrick Hall. Actress & stand-up comedienne Luenell portrays Todrick's mother in this clip, which is the follow-up to his smash hit "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels" (which is at #1 on the LGBT Top 50 chart this week). Todrick's latest video currently has 2,856,414 views on YouTube.

The second Fresh New Release this week is "Left Me Yet" by bisexual American singer Daya. Her last single ("Insomnia") made it all the way to #1 on the LGBT Top 50, and it's still in the Top Ten as it's held steady at #8 for the past 2 weeks. During the month of June, Daya has been busy performing at some of the biggest Pride festivals in North America, including the LoveLoud festival in Utah and the WorldPride festival in New York City. The clip now has 5,462,382 views on YouTube.

The third and final Fresh New Release this week is "Time Waits For No One" by gay English singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie, the legendary frontman for the rock band Queen, died of complications from AIDS in 1991. This newly rediscovered video was originally recorded in 1986, and it's now been re-released with a remastered soundtrack. The background vocals and the drums from the original performance have been digitally stripped out, leaving just the sounds of the piano and Freddie's powerful four-octave voice. The video currently has 9,207,864 views on YouTube.

That's it for another edition of the Midweek Music Update. Make sure to come back on Saturday or Sunday (depending on your time zone) for the latest Top 50 chart & playlist. Until then, I hope you all have a great week!