Velvet Hours
In rotation
The Top 20 never sits still — the first 10 ride one spinner, the next 10 ride the other. The song that's playing sticks out big, with its timer running under it. Drag a spinner to look around — it always swings back to the song that's playing.
🎧 DJ's Hot Picks
Top 20 is strictly algorithmic — with one exception. All week, a panel of DJs votes on 3 songs that are already hot — and at 12 AM Saturday those picks step straight into the Top 20. After Saturday, the algorithm treats them like everybody else — their spot rides on their score, same as every song on the chart.
NOW #22
NOW #26
NOW #24
This week's picks — MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2026. A new panel, new picks, every Saturday.
TOP RISERS
Rising the fastest — not in the Top 20 yet. These are knocking on the door.
CITY DJs
The DJs who spin independents get their flowers too — vote your city's DJ of the Month.
Dallas is riding with DJ Southside Smoke — 42 votes.
How it works
Part 1 — The Search. The algorithm searches Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the music platforms where independents promote, and the open web — gathering everything it can find about you and your songs.
Part 2 — The Judging. Every song uploaded here is scored by the 15-point scale evaluation, 1–10 on each point, fitted genre by genre — then the charts recalculate daily. And the artist has to be real — no AI artists, no AI vocals. A producer may use AI tools, but he still has to produce the song — generating the whole instrumental from a prompt is not producing. If a song turns out to cross that line, it comes off the charts immediately.
How the Stage runs
The rotation plays the Top 20 in order, 1 through 20, 24 hours a day.
Your music is being evaluated 24 hours a day — the algorithm never sleeps.
New entries come into play at 12:00 midnight, every night — that's when the new chart takes effect and knocked-off songs leave the rotation.
A great song holds its spot. New entries can hit at midnight any night, but nobody loses a Top 20 spot for not uploading — a song only moves when hotter songs out-score it. So put your hottest material up here and keep doing what you're doing — that's what got you into the Top 20 in the first place. And a song that slides out of the 20 doesn't disappear — it stays in the big Top 100, ready to climb back.
Same rule in the Top 100: a song only leaves the hundred when a hotter new entry out-scores it — every song faces the same evaluation. The 15-point scale evaluation measures every song on these 15 points: Mix Quality · Mastering & Sound Quality · Hook Strength · Melody · Lyrical Quality · Song Structure · Vocal Delivery & Performance · Production & Instrumentation · Groove & Rhythm · Emotional Impact · Dynamics & Energy · Originality & Identity · Replay Value · Radio & Commercial Readiness · Cover Art & Presentation. And even a song that falls out of the Top 100 still stays in the system — it's just not one of the Hot 100 right now.
Give it time to be judged. The system takes 24 hours to run a song through the full 15-point scale evaluation — it has to collect the data on you and your song first. So if you don't see your song in the Top 100 today or tomorrow, that doesn't mean anything — just wait. And if a week or so goes by and it still hasn't cracked the hundred, your song may just not be strong enough to break through yet — but don't pull it down. Leave it up, keep doing what you're doing, and keep giving your song its opportunity — the algorithm is checking 24 hours a day, and songs move when the numbers say so.
The 16th Law
The 15 points measure your song. The 16th law is pure raw talent — the gift no machine can value. Motown saw it in a young Michael Jackson; the world saw it in New Edition, and in a young Chris Brown. Our staff is always looking for that gift, and the law is simple: talent like that does not escape. When we see it, you get the opportunity to grow right here on Top 20.
The Fan Bonus
The 15 points judge your song — but your people can push it. Every like and share from your song's page is a bonus on top of your chart score (up to +6, counted at the midnight chart change). Sitting deep in the Top 100? Work your fans — their likes and shares lift you up the chart. Craft still rules: the bonus helps you climb, it can't crown a song by itself.
🎙️ VIEWCAST — THE TALK OF THE CHARTS
The uploads, the artists, and what's hot this week — filmed in the Viewcast studio, right here on Top 20.
Back to the countdown right after this.
