WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Summer hasn't even officially begun yet, but a Woodbridge man's viral hit is already in talks to become the smash hit of the season.
Tommy Richman has truly taken over radio waves and social media platforms with his song, "MILLION DOLLAR BABY." His lyrics include a hook of, "'Cause I wanna make it, so badly, I'm a million dollar baby," and a shoutout to the state that raised him, "You rep my city for so damn long, But you still don't notice me, my sound next, VA next."
The hit song was released on Friday, April 26, after previewing snippets on TikTok -- hyping up his fans.
Since then, the song has climbed the charts in major ways -- making Richman and his song a conversation starter, especially when it comes to artists out of the DMV.
As of the week of May 25, 2024, Richman found himself at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 list. It has been a stable hit with it ranking on the list for three weeks with a previous peak of #2. On the Billboard Global 200 list, Richman sits at #2 with three weeks on the chart. He is also on Billboard Global Excluding the U.S. list at #2. On the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, Richman ranks at #1 with three weeks on the chart. He has also found himself ranking at #13 on Billboard Artist 100, up from previously being ranked #18.
He was first announced on the Billboard charts on May 6, for the charts dated for the week of May 11, 2024, scoring his first top 10 hit. The chart showing was stated to be a "historic first-time appearance."
"It’s just the sixth time in history that an artist has debuted in the top 2 of the chart with no prior Hot 100 history," Billboard Charts wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In addition, Billboard stated that his music catalog skyrocketed thanks to his breakout hit.
"His catalog raked in 42.2 million streams in the April 26-May 2 tracking week (38 million of which were from “Million Dollar Baby” alone). Two weeks ago, his catalog generated 445,000 streams total," Billboard posted.
After first making it on the chart, on May 6, Richman simply posted the chart with a social post saying, "Love u mama we did it."
As he continues to make a name for himself, the singer also continues to represent the Commonwealth. In a recent TikTok video he said, "2024 is the renaissance for the... DMV." He followed it up by saying that it is now time for musicians in the area, with text overlaying the video clip reading, "Virginia is the most exciting state for music right now."
And the Virginia native is not just making waves on the charts. Richman has also found himself on a big festival lineup -- Lollapalooza, hitting the stage on Friday.
All this comes after the singer-songwriter signed with Brent Faiyaz's ISO Supremacy last year, and has been releasing music for years before that. And what is next for him? It seems he is aspiring to one day win a Grammy for his work.
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