Pandora Predictions: Boy Band ‘Why Don’t We’ Rise, ‘Cigarettes After Sex’ Light Up, #Classicalbae

In this round of Pandora's Predictions Chart, we take a look at a violinist bringing the strings to hip-hop, a new boy band fivesome, as well as two dream-pop acts riding the escapism wave.

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Guest post by Emily Blake of Next Big SoundOn this week’s Pandora Predictions Chart, there’s a new boy band in town, a #classicalbae who’s bringing the violin to hip-hop, and two dream-pop bands perfect for escaping the nightmare of the real world. Read on for standouts from this week’s Predictions Chart.

Why Don’t We… start a dance-pop boy band?

Directioners might be enjoying solo music from Harry, Niall and Zayn — sorry, ZAYN — but there’s clearly a real hunger for another boy band. Enter Why Don’t We, a fivesome that seems to have found the perfect cocktail with their mixture of boy-band pep and EDM-pop.

Daniel Seavey, Zach Herron, Corbyn Besson, Jack Avery and Jonah Marais were all posting solo music to social media before coming together last year — and their social data proves that there’s definitely a strength in numbers. Why Don’t We debuted on the chart three weeks ago at #20 following the release of their video for “Nobody Gotta Know,” far and away their most popular song on Pandora. In one week, they managed to climb 18 spots after seeing significant growth in reach and engagement. This month compared to last month, the guys saw a 1,609.6% increase in Facebook page likes and a 358.2% increase in Instagram followers.

#Classicalbae Ezinma debuts

Have you ever listened to a trap song and thought, “Man, that could really use some violin”? Well, thank God for Ezinma, a self-described #classicalbae who’s become known for her violin covers of songs like “One Dance” and “Broccoli.” Most recently, she got in on the #MaskOffChallenge, posting a stringy cover of Future’s “Mask Off,” and her social feed went a bit crazy.

How crazy? This week compared to last week, Ezinma saw an increase in Facebook page likes of nearly 30,000%. She also saw a 437.8% week-on-week uptick in Instagram followers and a +139,600% increase in Twitter mentions.

Dream pop come true: Melody’s Echo Chamber and Cigarettes After Sex debut

For music fans who want to escape the bleak reality of today, luckily there are two dream-pop bands debuting this week. The first, at #16, is Melody’s Echo Chamber, led by French singer-songwriter Melody Prochet. Melody’s Echo Chamber saw a recent buzz in social activity after dropping “Cross My Heart,” the lead single off her Bon Voyage album, which is expected to drop this spring. This month compared to last month, she’s seen a 2,910.6% increase in YouTube subscribers, a 157% uptick in Twitter follower and a 229% increase in Facebook page likes.

And Cigarettes After Sex are lighting up with a Beach House-esque chill. The El Paso natives, who currently live in Brooklyn, debut at #17 this week following the March 20 release of “Apocalypse,” the lead single off their upcoming full-length debut album. The group has seen a 191.8% lift in Instagram followers a 201.9% uptick in Twitter followers month-on-month.

Brooks takes a ‘Byte’

What happens when a musician who’s in the Promising social stage links up with a musician in the Epic stage? For rising Dutch DJ Brooks, what happened was a 480.8% increase in Twitter mentions, a 241.8% increase in Facebook page likes, and a 287.6% increase in Twitter followers week-on-week. It’s all thanks to “Byte,” a collaboration with fellow Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, who has collaborated with the likes of Justin Bieber and, most recently, Bebe Rexha. Following the release of “Byte” on April 7, Brooks also saw a nice jump in Pandora spins for past tracks like “On Our Own (Feat. Natalie Major)” (+530.4% week-on-week) and “Joyride” (+13,466.7% week-on-week).Check out the full Pandora Predictions Chart here.