Chappell Roan takes Number 1 following Lowlands Festival

Following a spectacular headlining slot at Lowlands Festival in The Netherlands, Chappell Roan soars up to Number 1 with her song “The Subway”. With a décor reminiscent of Kate Bush, the 27-year-old received critical acclaim for her impressive performance. She joins Muse, Mumford & Sons and Billie Eilish as one of the few artists to headline Lowlands after only releasing their debut album. It al comes off Chappell Roan’s impressive breakthrough last year, when “Good Luck, Babe!” shot straight to the top of the charts worldwide, including mine. Her back catalogue quickly flooded my personal Top 40, with “Hot To Go!” and “Pink Pony Club” reaching the Top 3 years after its release dates. “Pink Pony Club” recently reached double platinum status and was the best-scoring release of 2025 until Pommelien Thijs her “Atlas” overtook that title two weeks ago. “The Giver” was ushered as Chappell Roan her first new release since “Good Luck, Babe!” and her mainstream breakthrough, subsequently earning another stellar Top 10-hit and cementing Chappell’s position as a leading force in the industry. On the follow-up “The Subway”, Chappell Roan takes inspiration from The Carpenters and echoes the late Karen Carpenter her vocals. She initially was hesitant to release the ballad as full-fleshed single, thinking it worked better live. The choice to release it anyway has already paid off big time – it becomes Chappell Roan’s second Number 1-hit.

King of Latin Trap, Bad Bunny, delivers us a late summer jam with the festive “NUEVAYoL” to keep us dancing all night long. It is taken from his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which its lead single of the same name became his first solo Number 1-hit on my personal chart over the first months of the year. Thanks to a viral TikTok trend, it reached platinum status and ranks as one of Bad Bunny’s biggest hit singles to date. “NUEVAYoL” is a more high-tempo track; but do not be fooled, as the danceable ode to New York is actually quite politically inclined. “NUEVAYoL” received a music video recently in which Bad Bunny plays a video message that simulates Donald Trump, repenting of his policies and apologizing to immigrants in America. Ironically, the video was first released on Independence Day. Musically, it begins with the sample of "Un Verano en Nueva York" by Andy Montañez and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. It also feels similar to his previous smash "Tití Me Preguntó", which was a #1-hit on the US Hot Latin Songs and the Central America chart. On this small list, Bad Bunny moves up to #9 this week, earning the Puerto Rican star his fifth Top 10-song on my chart.

Further down, neo-soul singer Olivia Dean continues to be the fastest rising star of 2025 as she debuts with her new solo single “Man I Need”. Having been making waves in the UK music scene for a good few years now, everything accelerated as her festival appearances garnered critical acclaim and listed her as “the one to watch”. Her debut album helped her become BBC’s Artist of the Year and take over Glastonbury. This year, Olivia Dean received even wider mainstream recognition as she contributed to the new Bridget Jones-film soundtrack and duetted with Sam Fender on “Rein Me In” – which was good for a Number 1-debut on my personal list and becoming 2025’s longest-running chart-topper so far. Meanwhile, her song “Nice to Each Other” quickly became a streaming juggernaut and peaked at #7 following “Rein Me In” its success, while her previous leading single “Dive” re-entered the Top 40. Olivia Dean is on the up and she is here to stay. “Man I Need” is a lovely single, set to be included on Dean her upcoming second studio album. It debuts at #20; the highest new entry of this week.

Pommelien Thijs teases her sophomore album with the rock-influenced “Ben Je Klaar?” at #24. It’s an odd song that starts off slow and soft, before exploding with guitar strings and Pommelien demanding to know if you’re ready for her – all bit reminiscent of Billie Eilish’s acclaimed “Happier Than Ever”. Pommelien her new album will also include “Atlas”, which spent six weeks at Number 1 and currently ranks as the biggest song of 2025 so far. Other artists who have performed at Lowlands benefit boost up my chart. Lola Young her “Dealer” moves to #29 following her set at the Bravo stage and Frenna remains in second place stronger than ever following his set at the Alpha. Maan returns following her surprising show at the Bravo with “Soms Regen Ik Ook” at #30. It’s taken from her third album Eclips which was released year to polarizing reviews from critics. The project its more dance-oriented sound surely worked well live and made everybody dance on a hungover Sunday. Maan also teased us more new singles with the same sound and was joined onstage by Goldband to duet their monster “Stiekem” together. Belgian alt-star Sylvia Kreusch debuts at #38 with her Lana Del Rey-esque “Daddy's Selling Wine In A Burning House”, which she sung live at the Bravo to acclaimed reviews from festivalgoers and critics. It earns Sylvia Kreusch her Top 40-debut.

Ever since COVID went away, we’ve had the new ongoing trend of the festival hit – a song that soars up the chart or re-enters following a well-received performance at a Dutch festival. Most of these are from Best Kept Secret, Down the Rabbit Hole or Lowlands. Some only spent a small month in the low regions of the charts, while other singles reached the Top 10, or even Number 1. The most successful festival hit of all time is “Noodgeval” by Goldband from 2022. Initially peaking at #5 over the summer – the synth pop song reached Number 1 following Goldband’s iconic set at Lowlands. It has become one of the biggest songs of all time on my personal list and kickstarted a string of gold-certified songs for Goldband. Dutch singer Eefje de Visser can be dubbed the ‘Queen of the Festival hit’, setting the charts alight three times in three years with her numerous songs. Olivia Dean also benefited from her set at Down the Rabbit Hole in 2024, as “The Hardest Part” became her first song to break my Top 20 and it paved the way for this year’s chart-topping success. For a full ranking of the biggest festival hits of all time, see the list below.

Newly certified

“Undressed” – Sombr GOLD

“Atlas” – Pommelien Thijs 3 X PLATINUM

Biggest festival hits of all time

1. “Noodgeval” – Goldband [#1]
2. “Zonder Gezicht” – Froukje & S10 [#10]
3. “Danielle (Smile On My Face)” – Fred Again.. [#5]
4. “Find The Way” – Peggy Gou [#7]
5. “Neverender” – Justice & Tame Impala [#8]
6. “Vlammen” – Eefje de Visser [#11]
7. “Welcome to my Island” – Caroline Polachek [#9]
8. “Through the Echoes” – Paolo Nutini [#11]
9. “I’ve Been In Love” – Jungle [#12]
10. “Lift You Up” – Jessie Ware & Romy [#12]
11. “De Parade” – Eefje de Visser [#11]
12. “The Hardest Part” – Olivia Dean [#13]
13. “Onomkeerbaar” – Eefje de Visser [#17]
14. “LETSGOOOO” – Merol [#20]