Teenage NZ producer Jawsh 685 could score the U.K. No. 1 single

Teenage Kiwi producer Jawsh 685 is on course to rule the U.K.’s singles chart.

Joshua Stylah, aka Jawsh 685, the 17-year-old producer from Auckland, is flying high on the midweek chart with ‘Savage Love (Laxed Beat – Siren),’ his viral hit featuring vocals from U.S. R&B star Jason Derulo.

‘Savage Love’ leads the Official Chart Update, the midweek survey published by the Official Charts Company, as longtime chart leader ‘Rockstar’ by DaBaby and Roddy Ricch is squeezed into second place.

There’s little between them. Just 317 combined sales separated the two singles after the weekend’s sales and streams were counted.

It’s a lofty position for any teen, and particularly rare air for an NZ artist.

Fellow Aucklander Lorde was also aged just 17 when ‘Royals’ was crowned chart king for a single week in November 2013.

In January 2012, Kimbra was 21 when she logged the first of five weeks at No. 1 with her assist on Gotye’s Grammy-winning hit ‘Somebody That I Used to Know.’

Another rising star from Auckland, Benee, has tasted the high life on the U.K. singles chart with her viral sensation ‘Supalonely’ which, like ‘Savage Love,’ was powered by TikTok. ‘Supalonely’ featuring Gus Dapperton hit No. 18 back in March of this year.

Check out ‘Savage Love (Laxed Beat – Siren)’ produced by Jawsh 685:

‘Savage Love’ has a complicated history.

An instrumental cut of Jawsh’s ‘Laxed (Siren Beat)’ exploded on TikTok and ignited the “Culture Dance” challenge, which saw users celebrate their own roots by dancing to the song in costumes reflecting their heritage (685 is a nod to the producer’s Polynesian roots; it’s the calling code for Samoa).

According to Variety, ‘Laxed’ had become TikTok’s “most explosive viral track,” generating more than 750,000 TikToks each day and upwards of 43 million total views by late May.

Then, Jason Derulo entered the picture. The U.S. artist dropped a cut of ‘Savage Love’ which sampled ‘Laxed,’ but got the singer got burned on social media for reportedly borrowing its beats without proper attribution or clearance.

Check out Jawsh 685’s ‘Laxed’:

The disagreement was resolved in June, Sony Music signed the young producer and released a version with Derulo’s vocals. And the rest is chart history.

In two weeks on the U.K. chart, the single surged 22-4. It’s following a similar path in Australia, with the track flying 24-3 in its fortnight on the ARIA Singles Chart.

The U.K. chart champion will be revealed late Friday, July 3rd.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.