Okay, I was not expecting this.
On September 4, 2026, I opened the Groover Charts and found “Between The Aisles” by N!CØLE sitting at #63 on Groover’s United States Pop/Synth chart.
Sixty-three.
I had just released the song not that long ago—and I had submitted it to exactly four Groover curators.
Not forty. Not one hundred. Four.
I am still building my audience as an independent artist, so seeing my song inside a public Top 100 felt a little unreal. It was especially funny because the feedback from those four submissions ranged from a playlist add to someone calling the song “generic.” Somehow, that same song still climbed onto the chart.
That is independent music promotion in one very strange, very satisfying snapshot.
I Submitted the Song to Four Curators—Not Forty
I did not launch a massive Groover campaign for “Between The Aisles.” I chose four curators and sent the song out to see how it would connect.
The results were mixed:
- One curator added the song to a playlist.
- Two told me they really liked it, even though the sound was not what they were looking for at the time.
- One called it generic.
That was the entire campaign.
If I had judged the song only by the number of playlist placements, I could have looked at those results and said, “Well, only one said yes.” But that would have missed what the responses were actually telling me.
Three of the four curators found something positive in the song. One gave it a tangible share. Even the “not right for us” responses were not the same as saying the song was bad. They were about fit.
Then I saw #63.
According to Groover’s official chart explanation, its rankings consider curator feedback, engagement, and overall impact. That helped the result make more sense. A campaign can create signs of momentum even when every curator does not make the same decision.
Yes, Someone Called My Grocery-Store Romance Song “Generic”
I have to laugh about this part.
“Between The Aisles” is the theme song for my romance novel of the same name. It grew out of a love story set inside a grocery store—the glances across a department, the emotional distance between two people standing only feet apart, and the kind of connection that follows them beyond the aisles.
So when someone called it generic, my immediate thought was: It is a grocery-store romance book theme song. How is that generic?
Of course, every curator hears music differently. I do not expect every person to connect with every song I release, and I do not need them to. One person’s feedback is one response, not a final ruling on the work.
That has become an important part of my confidence as an artist. I can listen to feedback without automatically handing someone else the authority to tell me what my music is worth.
In this case, the contrast made the #63 ranking even funnier. One person heard “generic.” Other people heard something worth praising, sharing, and engaging with. The chart reflected the larger response—not one isolated opinion.
Why “Between The Aisles” Is So Personal to Me
This milestone means more because “Between The Aisles” connects two parts of my creative life.
I first created the story as author Nicole Wilkerson. The novel follows a workplace romance that develops in the ordinary spaces of a grocery store, where small moments begin carrying much more weight than anyone says aloud.
Then the story followed me into music.
As N!CØLE, I turned that emotional world into a song. I wanted it to feel like the book: romantic, a little cinematic, and full of the tension between closeness and distance. It is not simply a song that happens to share a title with my novel. It is another doorway into the same story.
That makes seeing it on a music chart especially wild. Something that began on the page became a track, entered the world under my artist name, and reached listeners and curators who may know nothing about the book yet.
My grocery-store romance has officially escaped the grocery store.
What #63 on the Groover Charts Actually Means
I want to be honest about the milestone instead of inflating it into something it is not.
This is not the Billboard Hot 100, and I am not pretending that it is. It is #63 on Groover’s United States Pop/Synth chart, which spotlights emerging music submitted through Groover.
That still matters to me.
Groover says its charts are based on performance on the platform, including curator feedback, engagement, and impact. The rankings update every Friday, so positions can—and will—change. #63 is the position I saw on September 4, 2026, and yes - I am documenting the moment while it is real.
For an independent artist building a public catalog and audience without a major label behind her, a visible Top 100 placement is worth celebrating. It means the song created enough response to rise among other emerging releases on the platform.
It is not the finish line. It is evidence of movement.
What My Groover Music Promotion Results Taught Me
This tiny four-curator campaign taught me more than I expected.
One yes can create real momentum
One playlist placement may look small if I compare it with an imaginary campaign where everyone says yes. In reality, one person chose to put my song in front of listeners. That is a concrete result, and it was part of the engagement surrounding the track.
“Not the right sound” is not the same as “not good”
Curators have specific audiences, playlists, and editorial directions. Two people can genuinely like a song and still decide it does not fit what they need at that moment. That information helps me choose future curators more carefully; it does not require me to lose confidence in the track.
Feedback is information, not law
I can consider criticism without treating it as an objective definition of my music. If one response conflicts with what I hear, what other listeners hear, and what the broader results show, I am allowed to disagree.
A small campaign can still tell you something useful
Four submissions are not enough to predict everything a song will do. They were enough to give me a playlist add, several positive reactions, useful information about curator fit, and an unexpected chart milestone.
That is a pretty good return on four conversations.
Why Small Independent-Artist Milestones Deserve to Be Celebrated
When you are building an audience, it is easy to dismiss every step that is not enormous.
A playlist add becomes “only one playlist.” A positive response becomes “but they did not share it.” A chart placement becomes “but it is not a major chart.” If I keep moving the standard every time something good happens, I never actually let myself experience progress.
I do want bigger numbers. I want more listeners to find the song, discover the novel behind it, and stay for the rest of my music. I am ambitious about where all of this can go.
But ambition does not require me to act unimpressed by my own growth.
I submitted “Between The Aisles” to four curators. One playlisted it. Two more really liked it. Then I found my brand-new song at #63 on Groover’s U.S. Pop/Synth chart.
Yeah, I am celebrating that.
Listen to “Between The Aisles” by N!CØLE
If you have ever fallen for someone in an ordinary place—or watched an ordinary place become unforgettable because of one person—this song is for you.
Listen to “Between The Aisles” on Spotify.
You can also explore my complete music catalog or discover the novel that inspired the song.
And to whoever put a grocery-store romance song at #63: thank you. I am still laughing, and I am absolutely proud of it.