Billboard · 2022
From a TikTok clip to the Hot 100: how “To The Moon” broke
Billboard's Chartbreaker column traced JNR CHOI's rise, and the Against Da Grain connection that carried it into Epic Records.
JNR CHOI's “TO THE MOON” started as a snippet on TikTok, where a sped-up loop of the hook spread through thousands of edits before most listeners knew the artist's name. Billboard's Chartbreaker column followed that path from a viral sound to a Billboard Hot 100 entry in the spring of 2022.
Fly Ty heard the record early and moved on it. Through Against Da Grain and his A&R role at Epic, he brought the London artist into the Sony system while the song was still climbing, one of the fastest turnarounds the label had seen for an unsigned viral record.
The feature is a case study in how Against Da Grain operates: find the record before the radio does, sign the artist while the audience is still forming, and give the song a major-label runway. Within months, “To The Moon” was a radio hit as well as a TikTok one.
Source
How JNR CHOI's 'To The Moon' Skyrocketed From TikTok to the Hot 100
Billboard · Billboard · 2022
This is Against Da Grain's own summary of the story. The full report is on the publisher’s site.
Read the original →
