![Baauer's "Harlem Shake" went straight to the top spot on Billboard''s Hot 100 chart.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/b2/e8/b2e88fe2cfa23b86de878973b39545ff.jpg?itok=SjaKTKlS "Baauer's "Harlem Shake" went straight to the top spot on Billboard''s Hot 100 chart.")
"Harem Shake" broke into the charts this week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart according to the Feb. 21, BCC News.
The dance mix did not land on the chart near the bottom nor did it find its place somewhere in the middle where it would grapple with other song artists for a place nearer the top. Nope.
The popular tune by Baauer reached it apogee in its first week on the chart landing in the top spot where it has nowhere to go but down. BBC reports that “Harlem Shake” is only the “21st song since the chart's launch in 1958 to go straight in at the top spot.”
How did a song that was nowhere in sight by Billboard chart standards suddenly land on top without first having to make an ascension up the rungs of the chart ladder or frets of a guitar neck?
The explanation is quite simple. The “Harlem Shake” YouTube video went viral!
According to the BBC report, “The Billboard Hot 100 is put together using figures from physical sales, downloads, radio airplay, audio streaming and online radio streaming.”
Billboard, along with Nielsen Soundscan, now include “all official videos on YouTube, including Vevo on YouTube and user-generated clips that use official audio.”
With the changing landscape in the field of music largely due to YouTube and the internet, independent artists have a much greater chance of breaking into the highly competitive arena.
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