Royel Otis Make The US Singles Chart

Royel Otis have well and truly cracked the US market, making their chart debut on the Billboard Hot 100, with their cover of The Cranberries’ Linger reaching #94 on the chart.

It’s good news for the Aussie indie-pop duo—Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic—as they’re set to embark on a lengthy tour of the US from 9 September until 22 October. The band are currently wrapping up a tour of the UK and Europe, ending at the Portsmouth-based event, Victorious Festival, which takes place from 23-25 August.

The duo’s cover of Linger was recorded on 31 May for SiriusXM’s Alt Nation series. According to a Billboard report drawing data from Luminate, with that song, Royel Otis have amassed over 45 million official streams (an increase of 56%), with another 53% increase leading to 302,000 radio audience impressions in the United States in the week of 26 July-1 August.

But Royel Otis haven’t just cracked the Hot 100: their cover of Linger is also floating between 18-12 on the Hot Alternative Songs Chart and 29-16 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart.

Billboard reports that the TikTok effect has impacted the band’s success, with their take on a Cranberries classic soundtracking over 160,000 videos to date.

Last month, Royel Otis got on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart with another cover, reaching #2 with their take on Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder On The Dancefloor, which they covered for triple j’s Like A Version.

Discussing the inspiration behind covering Murder On The Dancefloor, Pavlovic told The Music’s Emma Newbury in a recent cover story, “We were trying to decide on songs last year when we first found out we’d be doing it. We were thinking of doing Fred again.., but that was just a thought.”

Maddell added, “It’s funny because we were actually thinking of doing Sophie Ellis-Bextor ages ago. I just love that early 2000s kind of pop music. Our manager was like, ‘Nah, don’t do that one; it's not really relevant...’ And then, of course, the movie [Saltburn] came out.”

Royel Otis went gold in Australia in May with their Murder On The Dancefloor cover and their 2022 song, Oysters In My Pocket.

Royel Otis’s success continues after their debut album, Pratts & Pain, debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart, #1 on the Top 20 Vinyl Albums Chart, and #10 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Last year, they were nominated as Breakthrough Artists at the ARIA Awards.

In February and March, Royel Otis toured Australia in support of Pratts & Pain. A 14-stop tour, the band added three extra shows due to demand, selling over 10,000 tickets.

On their upcoming debut US tour, they sold out multiple dates on a 21-date headline tour with two additional festival stops at huge events like BottleRock and Boston Calling. Due to huge demand, they added extra shows and upgraded eight venues.