More than a year after releasing his breakthrough single "Mutt," Leon Thomas has cracked the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
As reported by Billboard this week, Thomas' 2024 single jumped from No. 18 to No. 10 on the chart, the musician's first time in the top 10. "Mutt" has spent thirty-eight total weeks on the Hot 100, giving the song the third-longest trip to the top 10 in the chart's 67-year history (tied with three other tracks). The song follows Glass Animals' "Heat Waves," which spent forty-two weeks of 2021 getting there, and Bailey Zimmerman's "Rock and a Hard Place," which took forty-one weeks between 2022-3 on its climb to the top 10.
While "Mutt" is Thomas' first song on the Hot 100 as an artist, it marks his fourth as a songwriter and producer, after working on tracks for SZA ("Snooze") and Drake ("Love All," "In the Bible").
Last Friday, Thomas released new EP Pholks, which has a collaboration with 4batz ("Lone Wolf"). The singer-songwriter now has his sights set on receiving his first Grammy, after his 2024 album Mutt was submitted for Best R&B Album and Album of the Year. The NPR Tiny Desk live version of "Mutt" was also submitted for Best R&B Song, while Thomas could also be in the running for Best New Artist. The deluxe edition of Mutt, titled Heel, was released in May.
"I don’t really mind being in this position where we push Mutt for so long because it deserves to be heard by the world," Thomas told Billboard in a May profile. "I’m excited to be one of the trailblazers who brings back those old feelings without having to steal their chords or melodies."
Visit Complex Shop to buy Thomas' Mutt album on vinyl, along with his new EP.