How Much Did ‘Backrooms’ Boost Obscure Songs from The Caretaker and Christopher Saint On Streaming?

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 
 
This week: A buzzy, box office-topping horror dominates the streaming zeitgeist, the 2026 AMAs score notable boosts for winners and performers, and a Michael Jackson-inspired dance trend lifts an L.A. rapper’s groovy hit.

‘Backrooms’ Boosts Streaming Totals for Little-Known Songs by The Caretaker and Christopher Saint

At just 20 years old, Kane Parsons helmed and co-scored Backrooms, his feature directorial debut based on his own 2022 web series of the same name, which impressively debuted atop the worldwide box office with $118 million, marking A24’s biggest opening weekend ever. Now, he’s bringing some of that same magic to the streaming world. Outside of the score, the well-known former “lost media” song “Ulterior Motives” and The Caretaker’s “B1 – All That Follows Is True” both feature in the film — and both have earned massive boosts on streaming.

“Ulterior Motives” — a song by British-Canadian musicians Christopher and Philip Booth that first emerged in a 1986 pornographic film before gaining popularity through then-unidentified snippets in 2021 — boasts internet lore similar to that of Backrooms. After Reddit users identified the snippet’s origin in April 2024, the Booth brothers re-recorded the song for their Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album) LP, released later that year and billed to Who’s Who? & Christopher Saint. Two years later, on April 28, the Booth brothers revealed that the original master recording of “Ulterior Motives” had been found, with the song soundtracking a scene in Backrooms by May.

According to Luminate, “Ulterior Motives” pulled just 17,000 official on-demand U.S. streams in the four days before Backrooms hit theaters (May 22-25). In the four days following the film’s domestic theatrical release (May 29-June 1), that number exploded by a whopping 689% to over 138,000 official streams.

“B1 – All That Follows Is True,” which appears on English ambient musician The Caretaker’s 2016 Everywhere at the End of Time (Stage 1) LP, also earned a major Backrooms-related boost. Before the film’s release (May 22-25), “All That Follows” collected a little over 9,600 official on-demand streams. After the film conquered the box office (May 29-June 1), that number leapt over 203% to 29,000 official streams.

While it’s probably unlikely either of these become true summer hits, the power of Backrooms is clearly undeniable.

2026 American Music Awards Deliver Streaming Surges for Billy Idol, Pussycat Dolls & Keith Urban

On Memorial Day (May 25), the American Music Awards treated viewers to buzzy performances by BTS, Sombr, The Pussycat Dolls and more, resulting in notable streaming gains for a plethora of the ceremony’s marquee talent.

Collectively, the songs performed at the American Music Awards saw a 7% increase in on-demand U.S. streams on May 25-26, as compared to the two days preceding the awards (May 23-24), inclusive of user-generated content. Twenty One Pilots, who won best rock/alternative artist, performed “Drag Path,” which jumped 40% in streaming activity following the telecast, thanks, in part, to the release of their AMAs performance video. Similarly, Billy Idol, who performed a medley of hits before accepting his lifetime achievement honor, saw an 18% streaming bump for “Dancing With Myself.” That particular song has also had its streaming revival assisted by the smash Prime Video series Off Campus.

Keith Urban flaunted his yacht rock era with his cover of Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze,” which was up 42% in official on-demand U.S. streams post-AMAs. Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor delivered a futuristic rendition of her Kaytranada-assisted “Open Invite,” which jumped 31% in streams, while Teddy Swims scored a streaming increase of 27% for “Mr. Know It All.” Finally, The Pussycat Dolls played a career-spanning medley (as a trio), resulting in a 19% post-AMAs streaming boost for “Club Song,” their first single in six years.

The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.

Additional reporting by Keith Caulfield, Trevor Anderson and Kevin Rutherford.

Michael Jackson-Inspired TikTok Dance Trend Buoys Sunny 6700’s “DYW Dance”

The box office-topping Michael Jackson biopic has revived classics like “Billie Jean” and given new life to deep cuts like “Chicago.” Now, MJ fever is boosting songs that have nothing to do with the King of Pop.

The dance trend, which consists of users mimicking MJ’s head-bop and point choreography, dates back to January — thanks to this viral clip — but the release of Michael helped it explode across TikTok. Between users pairing Sunny 6700’s “DYW Dance” with vintage MJ performance clips and attempting the choreography themselves, the official “DYW Dance” sound currently plays in just under 90,000 TikTok posts.

The week Michael hit theaters (April 20-26), “Dance” earned over 36,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, with that number leaping 57% to over 58,000 official streams the following week (April 27-May 3). As MJ fever reached a whole new generation and the movie continued to dominate the box office, “Dance” steadily increased in streams over the next few weeks, eventually crossing the six-figure mark with over 123,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of May 18-24, up 37% from the week prior (May 11-17). Over the past six weeks, “Dance” has exploded nearly 275% to over 138,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the week of May 25-31.

Whether he’s helping artists beyond the grave or adding to his own litany of smashes, Michael Jackson remains one of the most consistent hitmakers music has ever seen.