September is always a pivotal month in the music industry, marking the end of Summer and crunch time for hotly anticipated fourth quarter releases and holiday marketing. This year,  Reservoir writers enjoyed an especially active September, with chart-topping debuts, international buzz, award nominations, and new partnerships marking the month:

2 Chainz defied the dreaded ‘sophomore slump’ with his second release, B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time, which debuted at #2 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and #3 on the 200 Albums countdown.  He tapes a performance at BET’s 2013 Hip-Hop Awards this month, which will air in October.  Chainz is nominated for nine awards at this year’s ceremony, including Best Live Performer, MVP of the Year, and a slew of nods for the A$AP Rocky single “F**kin’ Problems,” on which Chainz, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar guest.

Avicii dropped True, his much buzzed-about debut album, which, with its EDM roots and frequent features, is not unlike the successful last album by chart rival Calvin Harris, 18 Months. True came out atop Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Chart and at #5 on the 200 list.  The audio-only video for Reservoir album cut “Dear Boy” has already garnered over 200,000 Youtube views, and counting.

Jason Derulo earned #1 chart positions in Germany and the U.K., and a #4 spot in Australia, with his playful single “Talk Dirty”, featuring 2 Chainz.  Derulo released Tattoos, an EP in the States and full release in the U.K., with “Dirty” included on both versions of the release.

Indie-pop’s latest It Girl, MØ, announced the forthcoming release of a new EP entitled Bikini Daze. The four-song collection includes the rising hit “XXX 88” with Diplo, “Never Wanna Know”, which MØ revealed with the announcement, and two never-before-heard tracks, “Dark Night” and “Freedom”.

Reverb songwriter and pop music hit-maker Ina Wroldsen (Shontelle, The Wanted, Britney Spears) helped craft a new radio-ready hit, “Melodies”, performed by brand new artist Madison Beer.   The song is the featured track behind Ralph Lauren’s latest girls’ fashion campaign, running now.

Other Reservoir buzz items this month include the release of This Is… by Icona Pop, featuring their single “Girlfriend”, written with Reverb writer Mark Knight, and Drake’s release of Nothing Was The Same, where the 2 Chainz-assisted “All Me” closes out the track list. Kismet Diner, the Lotte Mullan-scored short, gained two short film nominations, and Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance used “Hello, Good Morning”, produced by Danja, in an energetic dance segment.  On the Euro-pop side of things, Reverb writer Ida Corr put forth a new power-pop single, “I Found Her“, while Astraea shared a new video for her latest club-ready single, “Still Dancing”.

Here’s looking forward to a great fourth quarter and close of the year!