Wrapping up my two-week dive into the Billboard Hot 100, we have The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber at #15 with ‘Stay,’ a song that was at #2 when I did this back in November of 2021. ‘Stay’ has been on this chart for more than a year now and continues to hang out in the top 20. Impressive.
Closing things out at #16 is ‘Glimpse of Us’ by Joji. I haven’t read about or listened to this song yet, so I’m in that nice realm where I have no idea what to expect. Rap? Country? Electronica? Whatever it is, at least it doesn’t feature Drake.
I’m going to predict that ‘Glimpse of Us’ is an R&B ballad. Let’s go take a look…
Well, I guess I wasn’t too far off, though I didn’t call that Joji is a Japanese man. His music is described as R&B and trip hop, but this song is a bare-bones piano ballad. Not at all what I expected.
What is expected is that the song became a hit thanks to TikTok. Clips of the music video, which features scenes of masked young men engaging in pranks and act of vandalism, went viral on the social network.
Thanks for tuning in for another edition of ‘What the Kids are Listening To.’ A decent batch of songs this time, I think.
She’d take the world off my shoulders
If it was ever hard to move
She’d turn the rain to a rainbow
When I was living in the blue
Why then, if she’s so perfect
Do I still wish that it was you?
Perfect don’t mean that it’s workin’
So what can I do? (Ooh)
[Pre-Chorus]
When you’re out of sight
In my mind
[Chorus]
‘Cause sometimes I look in her eyes
And that’s where I find a glimpse of us
And I try to fall for her touch
But I’m thinkin’ of the way it was
Said I’m fine and said I moved on
I’m only here passing time in her arms
Hopin’ I’ll find a glimpse of us
[Verse 2]
Tell me he savors your glory
Does he laugh the way I did?
Is this a part of your story?
One that I had never lived
Maybe one day, you’ll feel lonely
And in his eyes, you’ll get a glimpse
Maybe you’ll start slippin’ slowly and find me again
[Pre-Chorus]
When you’re out of sight
In my mind
[Chorus]
‘Cause sometimes I look in her eyes
And that’s where I find a glimpse of us
And I try to fall for her touch
But I’m thinkin’ of the way it was
Said I’m fine and said I moved on
I’m only here passing time in her arms
Hopin’ I’ll find a glimpse of us
[Bridge]
Ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
[Chorus]
‘Cause sometimes I look in her eyes
And that’s where I find a glimpse of us
And I try to fall for her touch
But I’m thinkin’ of the way it was
Said I’m fine and said I moved on
I’m only here passing time in her arms
Hopin’ I’ll find a glimpse of us
Meet Me In Montauk 
I have t heard this song before either. It seems like an odd choice to pair with acts of pranks and vandalism. I guess it proves that any song can go viral if it’s bootstrapped onto images that strike a chord.