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Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Did the Surprise-Release Strategy Work for Justin Bieber's ‘Swag' Based on Its First-Week Returns?
It was a quiet start to the summer in pop music, but it's been a lot louder recently — with perhaps the most noise being generated by superstar Justin Bieber's release of a new album with just 10 hours' notice. Swag, Bieber's first LP since 2021's Justice, dropped at midnight on July 11 after having been announced earlier that afternoon. The 21-track set features another sonic left turn for The Bieb, eschewing the widescreen pop sound of his Justice LP in favor of a softer, more intimate alt-R&B, inspired by collaborators like Dijon, Eddie Benjamin and Carter Lang. The album bows at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with 163,000 first-week units (according to Luminate), while launching 16 tracks onto this week's Billboard Hot 100, led by the No. 2-bowing focus track 'Daisies.' More from Billboard Stevie Wonder Says He'll Never Give Up Performing: 'You Don't Have to Retire' Nick Cave Reflects on Lessons of Grief on Anniversary of Son's Passing Megyn Kelly Slams Steamy Jennifer Lopez Concert Clip: 'So She's a Soft Porn Star Now' How should Bieber feel about the album's debut performance? And does it show the surprise-release strategy to be a smart one for him? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below. 1. Bieber's debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 163,000 first-week units (behind Jackboys & Travis Scott's best-selling set), while its lead single 'Daisies' bows at No. 2 on the Hot 100 (behind Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' in its seventh week on top), as 15 other tracks from the set also enter the chart. On a scale from 1-10, how good do you think Bieber and his team should be feeling about that first-week performance? Katie Atkinson: Considering the whole world didn't know the album existed until the day before — and there was no physical release, music videos or promotional appearances — I'm going to go with a 9. These are big week-one numbers based almost entirely on streaming, and it's Bieber's biggest streaming week ever. Not to mention, if Swag came out one week earlier, it would have been No. 1 (as Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem spent its eighth week atop the chart with 151,000 equivalent album units). It isn't No. 1, but it's a win. Katie Bain: I'm sure there's a twinge of disappointment as the reasonable expectation for a project of this magnitude is No. 1 debuts across the board. However, the competition is stiff right now, so I'm sure the general vibe is like, 8-ish, and the idea now is to pull the necessary levers to keep climbing. Stephen Daw: A hearty, solid 9. Had it been double No. 1 debuts and the dethroning of 'Ordinary,' this would be a strong 10, but moving over 150,000 units and charting more than half the album's songs on the Hot 100 is still a massive reason for celebration. Kyle Denis: A solid 8. Considering this is a surprise release that had a limited number of formats and a sound that strayed from the chart-topping pop of Justice and Purpose, Swag pulled off a strong showing. Over 75% of the album landed on the Hot 100, and the LP gifted Bieber the biggest streaming week of his career. No. 1s are nice to have, yes, but it's not like he's starving for them on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200. Andrew Unterberger: An 8 seems right. Considering how Bieber's sonic detours haven't always been warmly greeted, this getting such a resounding streaming debut and such a major response for its lead single have to be seen as wins — though undoubtedly, Bieb and his team would've loved to see at least one of those No. 2 bows get bumped up a spot. 2. was given a largely surprise release, debuting just 10 hours after its existence was announced. Would you say the first-week response to the set has validated that release strategy, or do you think he would have done better with more build-up? Katie Atkinson: I think the surprise release was effective, but could have been even more potent if his team had been working on a physical release behind the scenes (not unlike the Jackboys 2 rollout, which had the surprise element and a physical release) or if there had been a 'Daisies' music video ready to roll at midnight. Of course, then there would have been way more opportunities for the surprise release to be spoiled. So if Bieber wanted the purest possible surprise, he got it this way… and his best streaming numbers yet. Katie Bain: 2021's Justice got the full court press, superstar artist red carpet album campaign. (Including, fwiw, this cover story I got to write about it.) That all worked about as well as the global team that made it happen hoped it might, with the album debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That said, I think the sonic right turn of Swag and the general tone of Bieber's public life and persona right now are simply more well-suited to a surprise drop, given that it's effectively a mic drop move that cuts through the considerable noise. The sonic evolution of the album, paired with its release style, gives the sense that regardless of what the messaging has been about Bieber over the last 12 months or so, he's doing things on his own terms. (Here I can't help but think of Beyonce's 2013 self-titled surprise drop, with that out of nowhere release strategy similarly underlining the new direction of that album.) And whether or not Swag could have done better with more build-up seems negligible, as it's doing quite well. Stephen Daw: It's a validation, I think. Take a look at his last album, 2021's Justice, and you'll see that the traditional release pattern worked — Bieber announced that album about a month prior to its release, and the LP earned a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 and 154,000 equivalent album units in its first week. While Swag didn't nab that top spot, it did move almost 10,000 more units in its first week with almost no promotion beforehand; the only reason it was boxed out of the top slot of the Billboard 200 was because of another behemoth album bow. Clearly, the prospect of having a new Bieber project available to listen to within mere hours of its announcement paid off in spades. Kyle Denis: I think the sneak-attack strategy was the right move. Between the overt shift in sound, the built-in discourse provided by the Druski skits, and the general lack of an overarching visual aesthetic, too much lead time would have given fans too much opportunity to form conclusions and opinions about Swag before hearing it in its entirety. The only downside is that he couldn't pull to release week armed with a litany of vinyl variants and physical listening formats. Andrew Unterberger: I think it works for this album, because it's clearly not geared for top 40 dominance and it has a sort of spontaneous, of-the-moment feel to it — down to it including skits that address Bieber memes that were still peaking in public awareness the week of its release. There've been reports that he has a more traditionally pop album due in 2026, I'm confident that one will get the full advance push, and also probably be better off for it. 3. Much has been made of the sonic left-turn of the set, with Bieber adopting a more organic, alt-influenced approach to R&B (influenced by collaborators Dijon, Carter Lang, Eddie Benjamin and more). Do you think the transition has been a successful one for Bieber? Katie Atkinson: It's a perfect fit, honestly. And even more so than the sound of those contemporaries, I keep hearing a much earlier inspiration of 'quiet storm' R&B — albeit in a much rawer production. There are so many songs that I feel like are reaching for the sound of Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature' (which is a pretty high bar to reach for). His fans have always clamored for R&Bieber, and this feels like a natural sound for his adult evolution. Katie Bain: Absolutely. To my ears, Swag is the most cohesive and fully formed (read: best) Bieber album yet. Nothing sounds put on or like made-in-a-lab pop music. His collaborators all feel extremely well-suited and bring their own flavor while also helping Bieber make that flavor his own. I feel like he's been working towards this level of authentic artist statement for a while, and with the R&B meets AM radio sound on Swag, he claims it. Stephen Daw: By the numbers, by the audience's reaction, by the reviews and by my own personal taste, I'd say yes, this is definitely a successful pivot for Justin. Sure, there were some songs that didn't quite work as well for me on this album (I could've done without the interstitial skits), but the ones that did work felt like they were really excellent additions to his discography. It also didn't feel forced — Justin has been steadily moving into his R&B lane since Changes, so watching him lean into this slightly more experimental R&B sound felt natural to the progression he's been building over the last half-decade. Kyle Denis: Yes. From Believe deep cuts to Journals, Changes and 'Peaches' — which earned him his first R&B Grammy nod — R&B has always informed Bieber's music. With Swag, this alternative-minded approach feels like a more natural fit than the faceless trap&B he played with on Changes. The Biebs' voice has always shone best, to me, against analog instrumentation, and there's plenty of dry, acoustic guitars for him to play around with on Swag. In fact, the album's music is so solid that it only exposes how unnecessary, and generally unfunny, those Druski skits are. Andrew Unterberger: Sure. Shoulda given it a different title tho. 4. Does 'Daisies' make sense to you as the focus track and best-performing song on the set? What percentage chance would you say it has of eventually dethroning 'Ordinary' on the chart? Katie Atkinson: Yes, and I think if he had put out a visual alongside 'Daisies,' it would have had a real chance to replace 'Ordinary' this week. If radio continues to grow for 'Daisies' and we get a music video (bonus points if his baby Jack Blues appears in the video, as he's been a presence in the promo photos), there's a clear path for Bieber to score his ninth Hot 100 No. 1. Katie Bain: I mean, not really. I think that's why it works? It's not an obvious single and it doesn't sound like a whole like the rest of the album, but it does sound really different from a lot of what's on the charts right now. I think that's hooking people. In terms of it dethroning 'Ordinary' — I don't know, but I do think that that song, while nice, is a sound that's been heard before, so maybe 'Daisies' night overtake it on the power of freshness. Stephen Daw: I wholeheartedly agree with our colleague Lyndsey Havens that 'Daisies' was the immediate standout on Swag. His voice sounds the best it has in years on this track, the accompanying guitar creates a familiar vibe and the track grooves into this natural crescendo that just feels good. Given the right radio push (which is already in the works) and a cool music video, I'd give 'Daisies' a solid 60% chance at dethroning 'Ordinary' in the next few weeks. Kyle Denis: If I think about it… yes, 'Daisies' makes sense. (Though I can't shake the feeling that songs like 'Yukon,' 'Go Baby' and 'Way It Is' may pull ahead in the coming weeks.) I'd say 'Daisies' probably has a 70-80% chance to dethrone 'Ordinary,' it just needs to build up some motion on radio. Andrew Unterberger: There's a number of songs off the set that may have worked, but 'Daisies' certainly feels as appropriate as any of them. I don't know if it has much chance of dethroning 'Ordinary,' though — it'll need a ton of radio support (and/or a majorly viral music video) for that, and I can't say I see that coming for 'Daisies' in the near future, if at all. I'd say 20%. 5. Between Bieber's and Tyler, the Creator's this week, we've seen a return to the surprise-release (or at least quasi-surprise-release) album format that had largely seemed to fall out of vogue with pop's A-list in recent years. Do you see this as a potentially meaningful pivot moment in terms of industry strategy, or is it more just a scheduling fluke? Katie Atkinson: As much as I professionally bristle at a surprise release (journalists like a heads-up), I understand an artist's desire for a shorter ramp into a project – especially artists at the level of Justin and Tyler. Less speculation about what a project will sound like, fewer interviews. It puts the focus almost instantly on the music and not fans' ideas of what the music could or should be. Katie Bain: If I have to guess, two surprise drops happening so close together is probably a fluke. However, I do think two artists of this caliber both going this route right now suggests a broader fatigue with traditional album campaigns, perhaps on the part of both labels and the artists themselves. Not everyone can pull it off, but for artists with the fanbase and name recognition, it seems like an effective way to cut through the noise and sidestep the demands of promoting a new project in a pretty fractured media ecosystem. Stephen Daw: I think it's safe to call this a pivot in industry strategy at this point, and Swag and Don't Tap the Glass are just the latest examples. Kendrick Lamar's GNX was a surprise release, and it's been hovering in the upper echelons of the chart for the last 33 weeks. Even A-list albums that are traditionally announced and then released are seeing shorter and shorter promotional windows, and it keeps paying off for big artists wanting to capitalize on novelty in a news cycle that's grown increasingly fast-paced over the last decade. Don't be surprised when we start seeing more and more 'world stop' moments from big-name artists in the coming years. Kyle Denis: I think it's a meaningful pivot in terms of artists — at least those who can afford to — releasing off-cycle more often. New Music Fridays only get more crowded with each passing week, so dropping albums midweek à la Tyler or Jackboys allows artists to get an entire day's worth of attention and conversation to themselves as opposed to fighting 1,000 acts for a sliver of the public's eyes and ears. I think we'll also continue to see surprise-esque releases for pop A-listers trying on notably different sounds, like Drake surprise-dropping his dance album (2022's Honestly Nevermind) a few years back. Andrew Unterberger: I think it might be something we start to see more of from artists who don't necessarily want to generate maximum advance hype for their new sets — either because they've been gone for a while and want a softer return (like Bieber) or because they actually haven't been gone for long at all and don't want to risk overexposure (like Tyler). I'll be very curious to see what Beyoncé does for her expected upcoming Part III release; she's always been a true bellwether for industry standards with these things, so if she returns with a sneak attack, that officially means we should all be on high alert for major releases falling from the sky until further notice. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100 Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Epstein Podcasts, Books, Documentaries Skyrocket As Trump Connection Scrutinized
Renewed scrutiny of Jeffrey Epstein's relationship to President Donald Trump and calls for the government to release all of its information on the convicted sex offender have re-sparked the public's fascination with the Epstein case and pushed podcasts, documentaries and books about his scandal to the top of most-watched lists. FILTHY RICH: (L to R) Chauntae Davies and Jeffrey Epstein in episode 3 of FILTHY RICH. Cr. NETFLIX © ... More 2020 Netflix Courtesy of Netflix Views of Netflix's 2020 docuseries 'Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich' spiked 268% between the week of July 4-10 and the most recent tracking week, from July 11-17, according to Luminate data. The docuseries, which has four episodes, was watched for 13.6 million minutes last week, up from 3.7 million minutes the week before. On Apple's list of top podcasts Monday, seven of the 24 most-listened-to episodes touched on the latest drama surrounding Epstein and the federal government, with a three-day-old Pod Save America episode titled "Trump's Secret Epstein Letter Revealed" in the No. 1 spot. Other top episodes came from Tucker Carlson, Ezra Klein of The New York Times, Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro, Tim Dillon and NPR's "Up First." Harper Collins, which published reporter Julie Brown's 2021 book 'Perversion of Justice" about Epstein, confirmed to CNN it has ordered a third printing of the book after it sold out in recent weeks online and at brick-and-mortar stores. YouTube videos on the topic updated in the last week from "The Daily Show," "The Late Show," MSNBC, "Late Night," Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and others have already racked up millions of views. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here : Interest in the case of the disgraced financier and his relationship with Trump has skyrocketed in recent weeks. In early July, the Justice Department said it would not be making any more of its investigative files on Epstein available to the public despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi, and said there is no "Epstein client list" as touted by the Trump administration. Bondi said earlier this year that a dossier of clients for whom Epstein trafficked underage girls not only existed but was 'sitting on my desk' waiting to be released. Weeks ago, however, the Trump administration walked back the statement, claiming Epstein did not have a client list and Bondi was instead referring to the documents in their entirety. Pressure to release more documents has built both from within Trump's base and from Democrats seizing on their anger. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., last week sponsored an amendment in the House Rules Committee that could have forced Congress to vote on whether to release the documents, but some Republicans blocked the measure. Trump then told Bondi to release grand jury documents related to Epstein, and she said she would ask the court to unseal the filings, but it could take months for any documents to actually be released—if it happens at all. Trump's directive for Bondi to release the grand jury documents came after The Wall Street Journal reported he sent Epstein a suggestive letter for his 50th birthday in 2003. The card allegedly included a drawing of a naked woman and a message telling Epstein, 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.' Trump has denied being behind the letter, while Donald Trump Jr. called the report 'insanity' and said it doesn't match his father's 'very specific way of speaking" and right-wing activist Jack Posobiec called the article a "hit piece." Trump has called reports of the letter 'fake news' and has sued media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal's publisher over the report. Investigations into Epstein became mainstream pop culture fodder after his 2019 arrest on federal charges of sex trafficking minors. He died in his jail cell one month later, while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide but launched a series of conspiracy theories, including that was murdered to cover up compromising information about his powerful and wealthy friends. Netflix released "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich" in 2020, and the Lifetime documentary Surviving Jeffrey Epstein premiered months later. There were reports at the time that HBO and Sony Pictures were considering developing shows on Epstein's life and death, but they have not come to fruition. There are several books on the Epstein scandal, most notably Brown's "Perversion of Justice" and a 2016 book from James Patterson's true crime series, 'Filthy Rich,' which CNN reports has moved up Amazon's sales chart in recent days. A half-dozen podcasts have examined the Epstein case, including Brown's "BROKEN: Jeffery Epstein," "Truth & Lies: Jeffrey Epstein" by ABC News and Wondery's "The Mysterious Mr. Epstein." Further Reading Forbes Marjorie Taylor Greene Issues Warning To Trump Over Epstein — Here's What Other Republicans Are Saying By Sara Dorn Forbes Here's What Jeffrey Epstein Was Accused Of, Convicted For—And The New Questions By Zachary Folk Forbes Analysis Of Grok's Epstein Comments Show How This AI Chatbot Is Learning By John Hyatt Forbes Trump Blasts 'Radical Left Lunatics' For Pressure Over Epstein Files — Despite MAGA Figures Pushing For Their Release By Antonio Pequeño IV
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Korean Artists Dominate US Music Charts in 2025
When Korean Artists Become America's Music Kings Picture this: You walk into an American music store, and half the bestselling albums are by Korean artists who sing in a language most Americans don't understand. Sounds impossible? Well, it's actually happening right now, and it's absolutely mind-blowing! The latest data from Luminate, America's entertainment industry research giant, reveals something that would make Bollywood producers both proud and envious. Stray Kids' "HOP" grabbed the stunning second position among America's best-selling physical albums for the first half of 2025. This album, released last December, sold an incredible 149,000 copies in the US alone - that's roughly ₹1.24 crores just from people actually buying CDs and vinyl records! But wait, the plot thickens. This isn't just one lucky break - it's a complete cultural invasion that makes Marvel's box office dominance look ordinary. stray kids The Korean Takeover That Nobody Saw Coming Hold onto your seats because the numbers get even crazier. ENHYPEN's "DESIRE : UNLISH" snatched third place with 145,000 copies sold, while ATEEZ's "GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3" secured fourth with 116,000 copies. To put this in perspective, imagine if five Indian artists simultaneously occupied half of America's Billboard charts - except this actually happened with Korean groups! SEVENTEEN's "Happy BirthdY" and LE SSERAFIM's "HOT" completed this historic sweep at seventh and ninth positions respectively. That's five Korean albums in America's top 10 physical sales chart - a feat that would have been considered fantasy just a decade ago. The most fascinating part? These aren't streaming numbers or digital downloads. We're talking about Americans literally going to stores, opening their wallets, and buying physical albums from artists whose lyrics they might not understand but whose music makes them feel everything. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play this game for 1 minute and see why everyone is addicted. Undo From Gangnam Style to Global Domination Remember when "Gangnam Style" broke the internet and everyone thought it was just a one-hit wonder? Well, K-pop just proved that was merely the opening act. What we're witnessing now is the equivalent of Indian cricket teams not just participating in international leagues but dominating them completely. This phenomenon goes beyond music charts - it's about emotional connection transcending language barriers. Just like how Indian web series on Netflix found global audiences despite being in Hindi, these Korean artists have cracked the code of creating universally appealing content while staying authentically Korean. The success becomes even more remarkable when you consider that physical album sales require serious fan dedication. In our streaming age, buying an actual CD or vinyl record is like choosing to write a handwritten letter instead of sending a WhatsApp message - it's intentional, meaningful, and shows genuine love for the artist.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The song of the summer is … nothing? Why 2025's charts are so stale
A spectre is haunting America – the spectre of Shaboozey. Despite it coming out in April 2024, Shaboozey's huge hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) is still, billions of streams later, at No 5 on this week's Billboard chart. Its country-tinged refrain of 'everybody at the bar gettin' tipsy,' an interpolation from J-Kwon 2004 hit Tipsy, has stuck around well past closing time. It's not the only one. It's joined in this week's Billboard Top 10 (which combines streaming and radio airplay data in the US from a given week) by Teddy Swims's Lose Control, which was released in June 2023; Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga's Die With A Smile, which was released in August 2024; and Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, which came out in November 2024. Chart analysts say that 2025 has produced the fewest new hit songs in US history. The mid-year report from Luminate, the company that produces the data for the Billboard charts, shows that of the top 10 most listened to songs so far this year in the US, only one was released in 2025: Ordinary by Alex Warren. All the others are tracks from 2024 and 2023 – No 1 is Luther. As a result it kind of feels like this year's song of the summer is sort of … nothing. Or just the same as last year's? Despite a slew of recent releases from artists Lorde, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus and Lil Wayne, nothing is really crossing the threshold of hit song. Obviously what makes a summer hit is a somewhat vibes-based determination that is hard to put an exact number on, but in the industry getting close to a billion global streams means you have had an unavoidably massive track - and only Ordinary, along with the two Bad Bunny songs DTMF and Baile Inolvidable that were mostly streamed outside the US, have managed that. Things were very different this time last year, when almost the entire Top 10 was filled with huge new hits: Not Like Us by Kendrick, Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, Beautiful Things by Benson Boone and the aforementioned Shaboozey – back when it was a new song. All of these reached the billion streams mark, with Chappell Roan and Charli xcx making multiple chart entries later on in the year. Of course there are thousands of smaller and medium-sized artists who are having great years, but why have things become so stale at the very top of the charts? In part it is because the overall volume of new music (defined as the songs released in the last 18 months) being listened to is down slightly year on year, around 3%, but it's more pronounced in genres such as pop and hip-hop, where listeners are turning towards nostalgia and delving into back catalogues. Artists that have produced a lot of hype releases this year like Addison Rae, Lorde and Haim have not produced radio songs that appeal to a mass audience, arguably putting more focus on creating an album and aesthetic that works for committed fans. Even stars such as Lizzo and Justin Bieber, who have topped a billion streams in the past, have made records with less obvious choruses and pop production. Some artists just are trying and missing. Carpenter, one of the most successful artists of last year, could nott quite recreate the magic this summer with Manchild, which was a small hit and did hit No 1 for a week before falling down the charts. Her album slated for release later in the summer might still provide a song with more chart staying power. It has long been the case that the pipes through which new music is discovered have become calcified. Less people listen to Top 40 radio, or watch late-night shows, meaning it's harder for a band to have that one big moment when they break into the mainstream. And while TikTok does help certain songs filter into the consciousness, there's still not a fail-safe mechanism for getting them off the app and into the charts. It does not help that the one song that is unambiguously a breakout mega hit this year, Ordinary by the 24-year-old California singer-songwriter Warren, is a little insipid and forgettable, a song desperately indebted to mid-2010s Hozier and Imagine Dragons. Hardly a feelgood song of the summer. But, as Jaime Marconette, the vice-president of music insights and industry relations at Luminate, says, this drift away from new music is not present in every genre. 'It's true that in some genres, like R&B and hip-hop, people are listening to less new music, whereas with Christian and country in particular, they're actually gaining listeners to new music.' He points to Hard Fought Hallelujah, by Christian singer-songwriter Brandon Lake and country star Jelly Roll, as an example of the way the genres are combining to reach wider audiences. 'Christian is the most current streaming genre right now [with the largest proportion of streams to new tracks]. These are genres where their fans were a little bit later to the streaming game but are now starting to really embrace it.' Marconette also says that this is not unprecedented - there have been other years, particularly during the Covid pandemic, when there were fewer new songs in the charts – after which new music bounced back. 'In the Covid period, there was a lot of dramatic things happening in our world. So, it is interesting that now in a period where there's uncertainty out there, we're seeing it again,' he says. 'Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but we're also starting to notice a jump in people streaming recession pop [music released around 2008 with escapist themes from artists such as Taio Cruz and Nicki Minaj] and it does point to a sort of this communal yearning for things that bring comfort from the past.' It's not all bad news: a couple of pop songs this year are streaming pretty well: Bad Bunny has had a string of huge hits outside of the US. Carpenter, Ty Dolla $ign, Maroon 5 and Drake all have records coming out this summer that might change things. Marconette also pointed to the return of K-pop group BTS and the success of the soundtrack to Netflix's animated movie KPop Demon Hunters as big players for the second half of the year. Of course, there is plenty of superlative new music, filed away in millions of private playlists, that might be someone's personal sound of the summer. The charts have never been guardians of taste or even vibes. But it is much harder for one such song to become a communal and inescapable hit. Whether this year is an anomaly or just another sign of ongoing cultural fragmentation remains to be seen.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The song of the summer is … nothing? Why 2025's charts are so stale
A spectre is haunting America – the spectre of Shaboozey. Despite it coming out in April 2024, Shaboozey's huge hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) is still, billions of streams later, at No 5 on this week's Billboard chart. Its country-tinged refrain of 'everybody at the bar gettin' tipsy,' an interpolation from J-Kwon 2004 hit Tipsy, has stuck around well past closing time. It's not the only one. It's joined in this week's Billboard Top 10 (which combines streaming and radio airplay data in the US from a given week) by Teddy Swims's Lose Control, which was released in June 2023; Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga's Die With A Smile, which was released in August 2024; and Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, which came out in November 2024. Chart analysts say that 2025 has produced the fewest new hit songs in US history. The mid-year report from Luminate, the company that produces the data for the Billboard charts, shows that of the top 10 most listened to songs so far this year in the US, only one was released in 2025: Ordinary by Alex Warren. All the others are tracks from 2024 and 2023 – No 1 is Luther. As a result it kind of feels like this year's song of the summer is sort of … nothing. Or just the same as last year's? Despite a slew of recent releases from artists Lorde, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus and Lil Wayne, nothing is really crossing the threshold of hit song. Obviously what makes a summer hit is a somewhat vibes-based determination that is hard to put an exact number on, but in the industry getting close to a billion global streams means you have had an unavoidably massive track - and only Ordinary, along with the two Bad Bunny songs DTMF and Baile Inolvidable that were mostly streamed outside the US, have managed that. Things were very different this time last year, when almost the entire Top 10 was filled with huge new hits: Not Like Us by Kendrick, Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, Beautiful Things by Benson Boone and the aforementioned Shaboozey – back when it was a new song. All of these reached the billion streams mark, with Chappell Roan and Charli xcx making multiple chart entries later on in the year. Of course there are thousands of smaller and medium-sized artists who are having great years, but why have things become so stale at the very top of the charts? In part it is because the overall volume of new music (defined as the songs released in the last 18 months) being listened to is down slightly year on year, around 3%, but it's more pronounced in genres such as pop and hip-hop, where listeners are turning towards nostalgia and delving into back catalogues. Artists that have produced a lot of hype releases this year like Addison Rae, Lorde and Haim have not produced radio songs that appeal to a mass audience, arguably putting more focus on creating an album and aesthetic that works for committed fans. Even stars such as Lizzo and Justin Bieber, who have topped a billion streams in the past, have made records with less obvious choruses and pop production. Some artists just are trying and missing. Carpenter, one of the most successful artists of last year, could nott quite recreate the magic this summer with Manchild, which was a small hit and did hit No 1 for a week before falling down the charts. Her album slated for release later in the summer might still provide a song with more chart staying power. It has long been the case that the pipes through which new music is discovered have become calcified. Less people listen to Top 40 radio, or watch late-night shows, meaning it's harder for a band to have that one big moment when they break into the mainstream. And while TikTok does help certain songs filter into the consciousness, there's still not a fail-safe mechanism for getting them off the app and into the charts. It does not help that the one song that is unambiguously a breakout mega hit this year, Ordinary by the 24-year-old California singer-songwriter Warren, is a little insipid and forgettable, a song desperately indebted to mid-2010s Hozier and Imagine Dragons. Hardly a feelgood song of the summer. But, as Jaime Marconette, the vice-president of music insights and industry relations at Luminate, says, this drift away from new music is not present in every genre. 'It's true that in some genres, like R&B and hip-hop, people are listening to less new music, whereas with Christian and country in particular, they're actually gaining listeners to new music.' He points to Hard Fought Hallelujah, by Christian singer-songwriter Brandon Lake and country star Jelly Roll, as an example of the way the genres are combining to reach wider audiences. 'Christian is the most current streaming genre right now [with the largest proportion of streams to new tracks]. These are genres where their fans were a little bit later to the streaming game but are now starting to really embrace it.' Marconette also says that this is not unprecedented - there have been other years, particularly during the Covid pandemic, when there were fewer new songs in the charts – after which new music bounced back. 'In the Covid period, there was a lot of dramatic things happening in our world. So, it is interesting that now in a period where there's uncertainty out there, we're seeing it again,' he says. 'Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but we're also starting to notice a jump in people streaming recession pop [music released around 2008 with escapist themes from artists such as Taio Cruz and Nicki Minaj] and it does point to a sort of this communal yearning for things that bring comfort from the past.' It's not all bad news: a couple of pop songs this year are streaming pretty well: Bad Bunny has had a string of huge hits outside of the US. Carpenter, Ty Dolla $ign, Maroon 5 and Drake all have records coming out this summer that might change things. Marconette also pointed to the return of K-pop group BTS and the success of the soundtrack to Netflix's animated movie KPop Demon Hunters as big players for the second half of the year. Of course, there is plenty of superlative new music, filed away in millions of private playlists, that might be someone's personal sound of the summer. The charts have never been guardians of taste or even vibes. But it is much harder for one such song to become a communal and inescapable hit. Whether this year is an anomaly or just another sign of ongoing cultural fragmentation remains to be seen.
