‘My Life With the Walter Boys’ Leads Top TV Songs Chart With DNCE Synch

19 January, 2024

DNCE’s “Cake By the Ocean” rules Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), after it was heard in an episode of the premiere season of Netflix’s My Life With the Walter Boys.

Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of December 2023.

“Cake By the Ocean” appears in the third episode of teen drama series My Life With the Walter Boys, whose first season premiered Dec. 7, 2023. Its synch comes a little over eight years after the song’s initial release; the track is the Joe Jonas-fronted DNCE’s highest charting song to date, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2016.

In December 2023, “Cake By the Ocean” earned 8.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads, according to Luminate.

It reigns over Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” which bows at No. 2 after an appearance in fellow newcomer series Fellow Travelers. The Showtime historical miniseries initially premiered in October 2023, and the episode featuring “Maggot Brain,” episode seven, first aired Dec. 10 as the penultimate edition of the show.

“Maggot Brain,” featured on Funkadelic’s 1971 album of the same name, racked up 296,000 streams in December 2023.

The most featured series on the December 2023 Top TV Songs chart is The Crown, which sports three appearances from its sixth season, episodes five through 10 of which premiered Dec. 14. Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” leads the group at No. 5 (3.3 million streams, 1,000 downloads), followed by Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You” at No. 7 (3.2 million streams, 1,000 downloads) and Portishead’s “Glory Box” at No. 9 (2 million streams, 1,000 downloads).

See the full top 10, also featuring music from Lawmen: Bass Reeves, For All Mankind, Reacher and A Murder at the End of the World, below.

Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)

  1. “Cake By the Ocean,” DNCE, My Life With the Walter Boys (Netflix)
  2. “Maggot Brain,” Funkadelic, Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
  3. “Unholy War,” Jacob Banks, Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount+)
  4. “That’s Life,” Frank Sinatra, For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
  5. “Torn,” Natalie Imbruglia, The Crown (Netflix)
  6. “Possum Kingdom,” Toadies, Reacher (Amazon Prime Video)
  7. “Music Sounds Better With You,” Stardust, The Crown (Netflix)
  8. “Showdown,” Electric Light Orchestra, Reacher (Amazon Prime Video)
  9. “Glory Box,” Portishead, The Crown (Netflix)
  10. “Texas Sun,” Khruangbin & Leon Bridges, A Murder at the End of the World (FX)

Kevin Rutherford

Billboard