C418 Hits No. 1 on Emerging Artists Chart Thanks to ‘Minecraft: Volume Alpha’ Soundtrack

German electronic musician C418 (real name Daniel Rosenfeld) jumps from No. 3 to No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart (dated Aug. 5), topping his first tally thanks to his Minecraft: Volume Alpha and Minecraft: Volume Beta soundtracks.

Driven by new vinyl pressings, Volume Alpha, released in 2011, rises 6-5 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart with 6,000 equivalent album units earned in the July 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate, returning to its peak. It also ranks at No. 6 on the Soundtracks chart (after reaching No. 4 a week earlier) and climbs 12-10 on Vinyl Albums and 30-27 on Top Album Sales. The set features most of the music featured in the game.

Volume Beta, released in 2013, re-entered the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart two weeks ago at No. 20 — it was its first appearance on the chart since 2013, when it reached No. 14. It dipped to No. 22 last week and then rises to No. 14 this week, returning to its peak. The set also hits a new high on the Top Album Sales chart this week at No. 78.

C418 has long been associated with the sandbox video game Minecraft, as he’s served as the game’s composer and sound designer since 2009. He also wrote and produced the theme for Beyond Stranger Things, the 2017 aftershow for the second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

C418 has released six additional albums: Life Changing Moments Seem Minor in Pictures (in 2010), 72 Minutes of Fame (2011), One (2013), 148 (2015), Dief (2017) and Excursions (2018).

Rounding out the top five of the latest Emerging Artists chart, Kaliii rises 4-2 (after spending two weeks at No. 1, powered by “Area Codes”), Coco Jones jumps 5-3 (reaching a new peak thanks to “ICU”), Nate Smith gains 6-4 (after tallying two weeks at No. 1 thanks to “Whiskey On You” and “Wreckage”) and Megan Moroney leaps 10-6 (after recording four weeks at No. 1 thanks to “Tennessee Orange”).

The Emerging Artists chart ranks the most popular developing artists of the week, using the same formula as the all-encompassing Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across multiple Billboard charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200. (The Artist 100 lists the most popular acts, overall, each week.) However, the Emerging Artists chart excludes acts that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard’s “Hot” song genre charts and/or consumption-based “Top” album genre rankings.