Artist · chart history
Kaleo
Band Mosfellsbær Iceland Formed 2012 Icelandic rock band
Kaleo formed in 2012 in Mosfellsbær, Iceland. Kaleo has 52 chart appearances on 48 radio countdowns from 25 stations on RockLists, spanning 2015–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Way Down We Go”, which appears on 26 lists with a best position of #3. The station that charted Kaleo most often is Lightning 100 (Nashville, TN), with 7 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2016.
Kaleo are a blues rock band from Mosfellsbær, Iceland, formed in 2012 around singer and guitarist Jökull Júlíusson, known on record as JJ Julius Son, with drummer Davíð Antonsson, bassist Daniel Kristjánsson, lead guitarist Rubin Pollock and harmonica player Þorleifur Gaukur Davíðsson. They sound nothing like the icy, elfin music people expect from Iceland: this is swampy, stomping blues with a gospel wail, bone-dry and loud.
A self-titled debut and the Glasshouse EP came in 2013, and Hot Spring: Gunnuhver brought the hushed, tender "All The Pretty Girls". Then came A/B on Elektra in 2016, and it took them global. "Way Down We Go" is the song that did it: a slow-burning lament that builds on Júlíusson's huge, rasping voice until it sounds like a revival meeting in a cave. It went double platinum in the US, the album sold more than a million copies worldwide, and "No Good" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance in 2017. Surface Sounds followed in 2021 and Mixed Emotions in 2025.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Kaleo on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Way Down We Go | 26 | #3 | – | 2016 | |
| 2 | All The Pretty Girls | 9 | #19 | – | 2015 | |
| 3 | No Good | 5 | #24 | – | 2016 | |
| 4 | I Want More | 4 | #29 | – | 2020 | |
| 5 | Break My Baby | 5 | #41 | – | 2021 | |
| 6 | Lonely Cowboy | 1 | #91 | – | 2024 | |
| 7 | Bloodline | 2 | #95 | – | 2025 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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