R City [RCA]
One aiming to identify a song with momentum should point his finger directly at R. City’s “Locked Away (featuring Adam Levine).”
The song, which blasted into the Top 40 on this past week’s Hot 100, continues to gain steam.
As of press time, the song was up to #5 on the all-genre US iTunes single sales chart — and it is priced at the full $1.29. Only The Weeknd’s smash “Can’t Feel My Face,” 5 Seconds of Summer’s new instant grat “Fly Away,” OMI’s blockbuster “Cheerleader,” and Silento’s breakthrough “Watch Me” were selling at faster paces.
And insofar as the initial surge of interest in “Fly Away” is fading, “Locked Away” could easily leapfrog that song in the near future.
The song is also an emerging force at radio. It will land comfortably within the Top 15 on this week’s Mediabase pop airplay chart.
“Locked Away” will also grab a Top 30 spot at hot adult contemporary radio and a Top 40 position at rhythmic.
Thanks to comparatively low negative reactions, net listener callouts range from solid to great depending on the format. Per the latest Mediabase/Critical Mass Media callout report:
Rhythmic: 63.3% positive (#5/21), 11.4% negative (#21/21 = lowest), 51.9% net positive (#1/21)
Hot AC: 60.4% positive (#11/24), 19.8% negative (#21/24 = 4th-lowest), 40.6% net positive (#7/24)
Pop: 57.7% positive (#20/35), 19.4% negative (#31/35 = 5th-lowest), 38.3% net positive (#11/35)
While the reactions outside of the rhythmic format are not necessarily glowing, they are certainly strong enough to keep the song’s ample momentum alive. Its sizzling performance on the pop airplay chart – where it is seemingly generating the weakest set of callout scores – confirms that notion.
The song does not yet boast an impressive “favorite” score at any format, but that is likely attributable to its limited familiarity. The strong sales performance is a testament to audience passion.