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Lorde has officially returned to the ARIA Singles Chart’s top tier, as her latest release “What Was That” debuts at No. 9 this week (May 2). It marks the New Zealand singer-songwriter’s first top 10 appearance in Australia since 2017, when “Green Light” peaked at No. 4. The new track, co-produced by Dan Nigro — […]

Cazzu leads the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart for a second consecutive week as “Con Otra” holds steady at No. 1 on the chart dated May 3. The song, released on DALE Play March 19, has remained strong in the chart’s top 10 since its debut at No. 2 (April 5 dated list).
In addition to her recent leader, the Argentinian previously reached a No. 5 high through her Maria Becerra collab, “Animal,” in 2021.

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W Sound, better known as Westcol, Béele and Ovy On The Drums nearly miss the top slot as “W Sound 05: La Plena,” rises 4-2, marking the acts’ highest entry to date. Meanwhile, Emilia, TINI, and Nicki Nicole’s “Blackout” dips 2-3, after topping the ranking for two consecutive weeks in April. Emilia also places another top 10 track on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100: “Bunda,” with Luísa Sonza, which slips 7-8.

Back in the top five, La T y La M’s “Amor De Vago,” featuring Malandro de América, falls 4-3. Alleh and Yorghaki’s “Capaz” holds at No. 5 for a second week, for its eighth week in the upper region during its 13th week run so far.

Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” adds a fourth week at No. 6, after the song dominated for 16 consecutive weeks between 2024-25. Plus, Bad Bunny’s “Baile Inolvidable” jumps 8-7, following two consecutive weeks in the runner-up slot in March.

Ecuadorian Jombriel closes the top 10 with two entries. “Parte & Choke,” with Ryan Castro, Jotta and Alex Krack, holds at No. 9 for the third consecutive week, after it ruled for one week in March. Plus, Jombriel’s most recent single, “Vitamina,” with DFZM, breaks into the top 10, climbing 15-10. The move gives Jombriel his second top 10, while Colombian DFZM earns his first.

The week’s Greatest Gainer honors goes to Pablo Chill-E, whose single “Resentía” leaps 28 positions, surging from No. 49 to No. 21.

Elsewhere, Mattei’s “Pa Las Girlas” becomes the Hot Shot Debut of the week, entering at No. 50.

Lastly, Tobal MJ and Lucky Brown’s “Tiene” opens at No. 78, while rock band Estelares add its third entry with “Ella Dijo” at No. 91. It’s the group’s first appearance in over two years, following “Encantan,” featuring Enjambre, in 2022.

Alex Warren tops Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart in his first appearance, as “Ordinary” lifts 4-1 on the May 3-dated tally. “Ordinary” reigns with 21 million official U.S. streams earned in the week ending April 24, up 3%, according to Luminate. The song becomes the first No. 1 to rise to the top of the list, […]

HANA‘s “ROSE” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, logging its second week atop the tally released April 30.
The major-label debut single by the septet born from the No No Girls audition show dropped digitally on April 2 and debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 9. The CD version launched with 46,866 copies after being released April 23 and hit No. 3 for sales. The single ruled video views this week while coming in at No. 13 for downloads (2,741 units), No. 3 for streaming (8,369,460 streams), and No. 9 for radio airplay. The track has been dominating the video metric for four straight weeks.

&TEAM’s “Go in Blind” soars 66-2 this week, selling 620,541 CDs in its first week, marking the group’s biggest sales week to date. The track also ranks at No. 15 for downloads, No. 58 for streaming, No. 45 for radio, and No. 28 for video.

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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “KUSUSHIKI” follows at No. 3, down two notches from the week before. But the track continues to rule streaming for the third week in a row with 10,607,816 weekly streams.

Trending on Billboard

King Gnu’s “TWILIGHT!!!” rises 7-4. Streams for the Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback theme song are up to 227% (No. 4 for the metric), radio airplay to 280% and video views to 188% compared to last week. Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” follows at No. 5 on the Japan Hot 100, showing strength in karaoke, streaming and video, with karaoke holding the top spot for 16 consecutive weeks since the chart released Jan. 15.

The two debuts in the top 10 this week were CANDY TUNE’s second single, “Oshi Suki Shindoi” at No. 7 and RADWIMPS’ “Tamamono” at No. 9. The latter is the theme song for the ongoing NHK morning drama series Anpan.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from April 21 to 27, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.

Davido floods the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart (dated May 3) with tracks from 5ive, his fifth and newest studio album. In total, 16 of the album’s songs populate this week’s 50-position chart, which ranks songs based a formula blending U.S. streaming and sales totals. Of those, 14 are debuts on the list, including collaborations with Chris Brown, Becky G and Victoria Monét.
5ive, released through DaVido/RCA Records, debuts at No. 2 on the World Albums chart with 7,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week of April 18-24, according to Luminate.

Trending on Billboard

“Offa Me,” featuring Monét, leads Davido’s parade on U.S. Afrobeats Songs with its No. 5 arrival. The collaboration was 5ive’s most-streamed track for the week, with 1.37 million U.S. official streams. Directly behind “Offa Me,” Davido’s “Titanium,” featuring Brown, opens at No. 6, as “With You,” featuring Omah Lay, begins at No. 7. The former registered 900,000 streams for the week, while the latter pulled 1 million. (Although streams contribute the majority share for both tracks, a stronger sales total for “Titanium” pushed it above “With You” for the final rankings.)

“Titanium,” notably, reunites Davido with Chris Brown after the pair’s hit “Sensational,” also with Nigerian singer-songwriter Lojay. “Sensational,” from Brown’s 11:11 album, reached No. 1 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in March 2024 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for best African music performance.

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In addition to the three new top 10s, three prior 5ive cuts have landed in the upper tier. “Awuke,” with YG Marley, reached No. 9 last November and spent 23 weeks on the list, “Funds,” featuring ODUMODUBLVCK and Chike achieved a No. 5 best last December and rebounds 18-16 on the current chart, while “Be There Still” rallies 22-10 this week, after having reached a No. 7 peak in March.

As Davido expands his collection, here’s a review of his nine songs to reach the top 10 in the three-year history of the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart:

Song Title, Artist, Peak Position, Peak Date“Stand Strong,” feat. Sunday Service Choir; No. 9, May 28, 2022“Over Dem,” No. 10, April 15, 2023“Unavailable,” feat. Musa Keys; No. 3, Aug. 26, 2023“Awuke,” with YG Marley; No. 9, Nov. 16, 2024“Funds,” feat. Odumodublvck & Chike; No. 5, Dec. 21, 2024“Be There Still,” No. 7, March 29, 2025“Offa Me,” feat. Victoria Monét; No. 5, May 3, 2025“Titanium,” feat. Chris Brown; No. 6, May 3, 2025“With You,” feat. Omah Lay; No. 7, May 3, 2025

Expanding beyond the top 10, Davido’s 16 simultaneous placements falls one short of his personal record, a 17-title week on the chart dated April 15, 2023 upon his Timeless album’s debut. Still, this week’s haul makes the Nigerian-American star only the second act with multiple weeks of 15 or more entries. He joins Burna Boy, who peaked with a record 23 spots on the July 23, 2022, chart and Wizkid, who set his best mark with a 17-song week on the Dec. 7, 2024, ranking.

Here’s a recap of Davido’s full set of placements on this week’s U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart:

No. 5, “Offa Me,” feat. Victoria MonétNo. 6, “Titanium,” feat. Chris BrownNo. 7, “With You,” feat. Omah LayNo. 10, “Be There Still”No. 11, “Anything”No. 13, “R&B,” feat. Shenseea & 450No. 15, “10 Kilo”No. 16, “Funds,” feat. ODUMODUBLVCK & ChikeNo. 17, “Tek,” feat. Becky GNo. 18, “CFMF”No. 19, “Holy Water,” feat. Victony & Musa KeysNo. 20, “Don’t Know”No. 21, “Lover Boy,” feat. Tayc & DadjuNo. 22, “Lately”No. 23, “Nuttin Dey”

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated May 10, we look at the chances of Ghost’s Skeletá to top the chart – or whether a late-registering rap superstar may sneak in ahead of them.  

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Ghost, Skeletá (Loma Vista): The masked-and-costumed Swedish hard rock outfit Ghost has steadily grown their profile stateside over the past decade and a half – even scoring a surprise Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2022 with the TikTok-favored “Mary on a Cross.” Each of their five studio albums has performed better than its predecessor on the Billboard 200, leading up to 2022’s No. 2-peaking Impera – which means there’s only one spot left for sixth album Skeletá, released last Friday (Apr. 25), to reach if the band wants to continue the trend.  

Skeletá does not yet have a “Mary”-sized breakout hit, and its streaming presence will likely be relatively modest. But Ghost has long sold well, and the band’s latest is available for purchase in over a dozen vinyl variants — with different-colored and/or different-pictured records — as well as four cassette color variants, and as a digital download. For most of the week, it looked like that would be enough for Skeletá to likely stand virtually unopposed as the week’s top debut. However…  

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Donda/Ye, Donda 2 (YZY) …a major new variable has emerged in the form of divisive rapper Ye‘s new re-release. While constantly under a cloud of controversy due to his recent drift towards hate speech, Ye (formerly Kanye West) has also remained a consistent commercial performer, with six-digit first-week unit bows for both of his Vultures 1 & 2 sets. Now, he doesn’t have a new set to a threaten the charts with, but he does have a reissue of an older album that has never been widely available before.  

Upon its early 2022 release, Ye’s Donda 2 – sequel to his chart-topping, Grammy-nominated 2021 set – was only released via the Stem Player, and was not even considered eligible for the Billboard charts. Today (Apr. 30), the rapper has released the 18-track LP to DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, and has also made the set available for purchase on iTunes – allowing fans who didn’t make the investment in the album and/or the Stem Player the first time around to essentially get to experience it like a new release. (The album is technically credited to the artist “Donda” on these services.)  

Of course, with the album’s Wednesday release, it will only have two days of tracking counting towards its performance on the upcoming Billboard 200, and Donda 2 was not particularly well-received by either the fans or the critics who did hear the album back in 2022. But even at yet another PR low point, Ye cannot ever be counted out on the Billboard 200 – he has 11 No. 1s on the chart, including both Donda and Vultures 1 this decade.  

IN THE MIX 

d4vd, Withered (Darkroom/Interscope): One of the more consistently buzzy performers in the alt-rock space this decade, the prodigious d4vd finally released his debut album Withered last Friday. The now-20-year-old’s LP includes the Hot 100 hit “Feel It” — originally released on the soundtrack to the Amazon Prime series Invincible – and is available in six different vinyl variants (as a 12-track set), on CD (14 tracks), on streaming (15 tracks), with each of those versions also available for digital download, and as an extended digital download (17 tracks). He’ll also profit from signed iterations of the vinyls and CD. 

Tucker Wetmore, What Not To (Back Blocks/UMG Nashville): After scoring a pair of viral hits in “Wine Into Whiskey” and “Wind Up Missing You,” Tucker Wetmore quickly became one of the hottest names in country. Now he’s trying to capitalize on that early success with his debut album What Not To – which includes both those hits, as well as current country radio single “3,2,1,” among its 19 tracks. The album is available in multiple CD and vinyl variants (including four signed CDs), as well as 20- and 21-track extended d2c digital downloads.  

Grateful Dead, Dave’s Picks Volume 54 (Rhino): The Dead’s Dave’s Picks series, always available in a limited-edition run of 25,000 total copies. remains a regular presence in the Billboard 200’s top 40, though it hasn’t gotten to the top 20 since Volume 45 back in January 2023. Regardless, the three-disc Volume 54 is out now, and features the band performing at the Baltimore Civic Center back in March 1973 – with some four-disc copies also including songs from the Dead’s show at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium earlier that month.  

Shakira is No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Tours chart for March, back on top after ruling the February edition. She led last month’s list with $32.9 million but doubles her earnings on the newest update. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour earned $70.6 million from 11 reported shows. That’s more than any act has grossed in any March since the charts launched in 2019.

Monthly grosses typically balloon during the summer, when summer weather allows for stadium shows in the U.S. and Europe. With most acts confined to indoor arenas in the fall, winter, and spring, Shakira’s Latin roots fueled a massive stadium run in Central and South America and Mexico. She surpasses Bad Bunny’s March 2024, Coldplay in 2023, Bad Bunny again in 2022, the Backstreet Boys in 2020, and P!nk in 2019. (There was no ranking in March 2021 due to COVID-19).

Mexico was the setting of Shakira’s March shows, hitting Monterrey and Guadalajara before climaxing in Mexico City. There, the Colombian superstar played seven shows at Estadio GNP Seguros from March 19-30, bringing in $46.6 million from 396,000 tickets sold. Those shows are No. 1 on Top Boxscore, more than tripling the gross of No. 2.

Shakira’s seven Mexico City shows set a venue record, eclipsing RBD’s six nights (2023), Daddy Yankee’s five (2022), and Taylor Swift’s four (2023). But demand was so outrageous that she announced four more dates at the same stadium in August, extending to 11 shows.

The Estadio GNP Seguros shows alone would have secured Shakira the No. 1 spot on Top Tours, but her schedule also included two shows apiece in Monterrey ($12.5 million; 88.2K tickets) and Guadalajara ($11.5 million; 70.3K).

Including the tour’s first shows in February and further dates in April, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour has earned a reported $111 million and sold 910,000 tickets in Latin America. Shakira re-ups in Charlotte, N.C. on May 13 to begin a 23-show run in the U.S. and Canada. Then, she’ll be back in Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Peru for 18 more dates through November.

Just as Shakira was No. 1 in February and one-upped herself in March, Tyler, the Creator scores a second consecutive month at No. 2 with increased totals. This month, Tyler earned $36.2 million and sold 221,000 tickets, up 25% and 17%, respectively, from last month. It’s the first time that two acts repeated on top in consecutive months in three years, when Bad Bunny and Elton John went 1-2, respectively, in February and March 2022.

Three years after crowning Boxscore charts with his six band mates, BTS’ J-Hope is No. 3 on Top Tours with his first solo shows. Across 10 dates in March, he brought in $26.6 million and sold 149,000 tickets. After three home-town shows in Seoul, he toured North America. Like Shakira, his March peak was in Mexico City, with a $6.1 million double-header at Palacio de los Deportes on March 22-23.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER and NCT 127 represent K-pop elsewhere, with $10.6 million and $7 million, respectively.

Dead & Company follows at No. 4, with the Eagles trailing at No. 7. Both classic rock acts played shows at Las Vegas’ Sphere. As has become common in the last year and a half, the Sin City arena is No. 1 on the Top Venues (15,001+ capacity) chart, combining both bands’ dates – plus two from Anyma – for $45.4 million and 195,000 tickets.

Country music is rooted in the U.S. and has historically struggled to export internationally. So it’s a welcome surprise that this month’s roster of charting country tours include Jelly Roll in Canada, Chris Stapleton in Australia and New Zealand, and C2C Country To Country across the United Kingdom.

Shakira and J-Hope provided Mexican promoter OCESA with some of its biggest wins during March. But they crowd the top 10 of Top Boxscores further with two festivals. Mexico City’s Vive Latino Festival grossed $14.2 million and sold 146,000 tickets in the middle of the month, and Bogota’s Festival Estereo Picnic earned $10.1 million in March’s final days. Altogether, OCESA grossed $140 million and sold 1.3 million tickets.

The last time Morgan Wallen and Post Malone joined forces on record, it was for “I Had Some Help” — which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent six weeks atop the chart, and was ultimately named Billboard‘s Song of the Summer for 2024. So when news came that the two were reuniting for a new single, expectations were understandably high.

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That new single, “I Ain’t Comin’ Back,” dropped two Fridays ago (Apr. 18) — just before Easter weekend, which made for good timing with the song’s “There’s a lot of reasons I ain’t Jesus, but the main one is that I ain’t comin’ back” hook. This week, the song debuts at No. 8 on the Hot 100: a strong entrance, but somewhat below the bar set by duo’s previous collaboration.

Trending on Billboard

How should Morgan Wallen and Post Malone feel about their new song’s initial performance? And will it still grow into a “Help”-sized smash? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. Morgan Wallen and Post Malone’s “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” debuts at No. 8 on the Hot 100 this week. Is that spot lower, higher, or about where you would have expected it to debut?

Katie Atkinson: I think that’s exactly where I would have expected. While their last team-up “I Had Some Help” debuted atop the chart, it also had a megawatt live debut at 2024 Stagecoach setting it up for success and was a lot more upbeat. This new one is still catchy but has a sleepier tempo. I think a top 10 debut for a midtempo country jam chock-full of Christian imagery is pretty impressive – especially given it’s the fifth song preceding Wallen’s next album.

Kyle Denis: Maybe a little bit lower. “I Had Some Help” was such a massive No. 1 debut that I expected at least a top five entry for the new duet. Nonetheless, “Comin’ Back” isn’t as immediately catchy as “Help,” it doesn’t have the glow of being the lead single from Post Malone’s big country pivot and Morgan already has so many other songs circulating – including one directly above “Comin’” (“I’m the Problem,” No. 7). 

Jason Lipshutz: About where I expected. “I Had Some Help” is the obvious analog, and while last year’s smash debuted at No. 1, that song possessed the glow of being Morgan Wallen and Post Malone’s first collaboration, and arrived as Wallen’s first single following his 2023 album One Thing at a Time. “I Ain’t Coming Back” has been preceded by a steady stream of music from both Wallen and Post, which likely blunted some of the immediate excitement around its release — but still, these are two brand-name chart titans, so a top 10 debut seemed all but guaranteed.

Jessica Nicholson: It debuts around where I thought it would. “I Had Some Help” was aided by the buzz of curiosity surrounding not only Post Malone releasing a straight-ahead country album, but also regarding just what a collab between a genre-fluid artist like Post Malone and one of country music’s top-echelon artists would sound like. This time around, fans are more familiar with a Posty-Wallen collab. On the Hot 100, the song is also battling against releases from Kendrick Lamar with SZA, Alex Warren’s hit “Ordinary” and even Wallen’s own title track to his upcoming album.

Andrew Unterberger: Definitely lower. It’s not surprising that it didn’t quite match “I Had Some Help,” but only because that song was an absolute monster right out of the gate, zooming past one of the most packed periods of pop music in recent memory and reigning for six weeks. But this song couldn’t even lap Morgan Wallen’s own “I’m the Problem,” which is hardly the most explosive Wallen hit in recent memory. With that history and the two artists’ combined star power — not to mention its slick sound, big chorus and the built-in Easter tie-in — it’s a slightly underwhelming bow for the duo, for sure.

2. “I Had Some Help,” the previous teamup of Wallen and Post, ended up spending six weeks at No. 1 and topping Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart. Do you think this song has a chance of growing into a hit near that size, or will it be diminishing returns on the sequel?

Katie Atkinson: Diminishing returns, only because this one just doesn’t have the Song of the Summer potential of “Help.” This is a reliably great Morgan Wallen song, but it’s not the backyard-BBQ-soundtracking party-starter of last summer’s smash-hit duet. If I’m going to listen to some melancholy Morgan, right now I’ve got “Just in Case” on repeat instead.

Kyle Denis: I’m inclined to say the sequel won’t be as big as “Help,” for all the reasons I listed in my previous answer. It really helped that “Help” got so much room to be the primary song for consumers to focus on from both artists. With six songs already circulating from a 37-track album that’s due in a few weeks, there might just be a little bit too much Wallen in the air.

Jason Lipshutz: I think everybody involved would be totally fine with slightly diminished returns for one of the biggest hits of last year. “I Had Some Help” caught lightning in a bottle, as an immediate and immensely enjoyable sing-along that crystallized Posty’s newfound foray into country music. “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” follows a similar formula but with a slightly less catchy hook, and it’s been delivered a few months after we’ve received a full Post Malone country album and at a time where we’ve gotten a new Wallen single every few weeks. The circumstances of “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” will blunt its commercial impact to some degree, but as a sequel to a singular hit, it’s pretty clearly a success already. 

Jessica Nicholson: “I Had Some Help” had an instantly catchy groove, and the kind of post-breakup, pushback defiance fans love to hear in a breakup song. “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” shares much of that defiance, but in a slightly quieter, less-summertime-vibe way. It will be difficult to surpass the chart domination of “I Had Some Help,” especially given that “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” didn’t debut at No. 1 as its predecessor did, but fans have proven they are clamoring for any new music from Wallen, and that they loved Post’s country foray. Plus, with both Post Malone and Morgan Wallen being on the road this summer, that will keep the fans hearing this song through the summer months (assuming it makes it into their respective setlists), so it is possible that the song could gain greater strength.

Andrew Unterberger: I wouldn’t be surprised if it grows a little from here — radio’s gonna sink its teeth all the way into this thing, and the warm-weather months will undoubtedly be kind to it — but it seems pretty unlikely that it’ll grow into “I Had Some More Help.” (Particularly with all the competition it has from other recent Wallen releases, an already-crowded field which is about to quintuple in size with the release of the full I’m the Problem.) And that’s fine. Most sequels don’t quite live up their originals.

3. Wallen has released a steady stream of new songs in the run-up to his upcoming I’m the Problem album. Do you think this strategy is proving effective for promoting the new set, or is the volume getting to be too much?

Katie Atkinson: Considering it’s his record-extending fifth top 10 on the Hot 100 preceding the new album, I’d say he’s on to something. Not to mention, there are 37 songs on the standard release of I’m the Problem, so it’s not like he’s giving the whole album away ahead of time. Releasing seven total advance tracks out of 37 is like putting out two or three singles from a 13-track album, percentage-wise.

Kyle Denis: Part of me feels like it’s getting to be too much – and I think that’s evidenced by “Comin’” debuting lower than all five I’m the Problem singles that preceded it, despite being the only one to feature another artist. He could do with letting the singles breathe for a bit, especially with so much more music coming in such a short span of time.  

Jason Lipshutz: It depends on what the goal is, right? If Wallen is aiming for another long-lasting No. 1 smash along the lines of “Last Night” or “I Had Some Help,” then this deluge of new singles has not been as effective as releasing one focus track and placing the country superstar’s entire weight behind it. Yet if the mission is to make Wallen even more ubiquitous — constantly near the top of New Music Friday, always with multiple songs lingering around the top of the Hot 100, with plenty of headlines and new fodder for country radio — then this rollout has largely been a win for him. And considering that his new 37-song album arrives in a few weeks, this current moment might just be the tip of the iceberg.

Jessica Nicholson: Given today’s more-is-more streaming environment, it feels like an effective strategy. Morgan’s album will encompass 37 songs, so releasing seven of those songs (so far) amounts to approximately 19% of those songs being released ahead of time, so there will still be plenty of new music to dig into the moment the full album releases.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s a good short-term strategy that I do worry will have deleterious long-term effects. Undoubtedly this will all lead to a mighty first-week bow for I’m the Problem, and will confirm Wallen as the most dominant, ubiquitous country star of his generation — but it does feel like, after five years of near-continuous rising, the excitement with him as an artist and hitmaker is beginning to level off. But even in a worst-case scenario for him, it’ll be a while before it starts to really recede, and he’ll probably break a bunch more charts records in the meantime.

4. Post Malone has revealed that a second country album is in the works. Are you optimistic that the album will be able to repeat the success of F-1 Trillion, or would he have been better off leaving his country detour as a one-and-done?

Katie Atkinson: I’m very optimistic. I’m looking forward to what Posty can do standing on his own two feet, without 15 duets pairing him up with the biggest names in country on this one. If the F-1-ending solo highlight “Yours” — which finds Post sweetly singing about his daughter’s future husband — is any indication, he could have a seriously long future in this genre. Might be time for Posty to check out some real estate in Nashville.

Kyle Denis: I think Post has definitely been embraced by country listeners, and he’ll continue to strengthen that base with his just-launched Big Ass Stadium Tour. I think without novelty on his side, it will be a bit harder to repeat the success of F-1 Trillion, but it’s not entirely impossible. I think there’s a path for the album to be a success in its own right if he focuses on solo singles this time around. 

Jason Lipshutz: F-1 Trillion was such a profound success that I’m not surprised that Posty is hitching a ride back to Nashville for its follow-up. Country sounded like a natural fit for an artist who broke through in the hip-hop world, and considering how often those sounds are intermingling on the charts these days, the transition hasn’t sounded as forced as it might have during a different musical era. I don’t think there’s any chance that Post Malone remains a country artist for the rest of his career, but right now, he’s in a good groove, and he should continue exploring.

Jessica Nicholson: It would be hard to repeat the success of F-1 Trillion, unless he makes the next project as collaboration-heavy as F-1 Trillion, as teaming with so many country stars, and getting that co-sign from them, brought in fans of all of those artists. However, critically, many of his solo songs on his extended “Long Bed” version of the album were as good as his collaborative efforts, so it would be a chance to prove his status as a solo country hitmaker. That said, if the goal is entrenching himself into the country genre as an artist who is in it for the long haul, then consistently releasing country projects is an obvious essential step in accomplishing that aim, regardless of whether a new album reaches the all-genre chart pinnacle.

Andrew Unterberger: My guess would be that Post’s F-2 Trillion-type album ends up analogous to mgk’s second pop-punk set Mainstream Sellout — a chart-topping hit that generally does fine, but doesn’t quite generate the hits or the excitement of its predecessor.

5. One Thing at a Time moved 501,000 units in its first week. What’s your (mildly educated) guess for what I’m the Problem will post as its first-week number?

Katie Atkinson: I’m thinking it will be another half a milli. Wallen’s popularity has stayed steady in the last two years, and as evidenced by the top 10 performance of all five pre-release songs, people are still craving new music from him. My educated guess will be 502k just so he can say he bumped it up a step.

Kyle Denis: I’ll say… north of 450k, but it doesn’t surpass 501k.

Jason Lipshutz: 550,000. It’s got 37 tracks, it’s coming out during a relatively sleepy moment for new releases, and did I mention it’s got 37 tracks? The early streaming numbers should help Wallen’s latest secure his biggest debut yet.

Jessica Nicholson: Though this 37-song album barely exceeds the length its predecessor, the 36-track One Thing at a Time, Wallen’s celebrity status seems to have only grown since his last album. This album also includes collabs with Eric Church and Tate McRae, which should further spur fan excitement. I would conservatively estimate the project would come in at around 510,000 in first-week consumption.

Andrew Unterberger: I’ll say 485,000. Not quite the first week of One Thing, but close enough that nobody really tries to read too much into the decrease.

Forrest Frank first hit Billboard’s charts in 2020 as half of the pop duo Surfaces, but he’s since emerged as a leading voice in Christian music. This week (on the chart dated May 3), he scores his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Your Way’s Better” debuts at No. 72.

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Released in October 2024 via River House Records/10K Projects, the song enters with 6.5 million official U.S. streams (up 34% week-over-week), 764,000 radio audience impressions (up 18%) and 4,000 downloads sold (up 49%) April 18-24, according to Luminate.

The track also spends a 26th week on the Hot Christian Songs chart, holding at its No. 2 high.

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As a member of Surfaces (alongside Colin Padalecki), he initially broke through with “Sunday Best,” which climbed to No. 19 on the Hot 100 in June 2020. The song also found success at radio, reaching No. 9 on Pop Airplay and No. 13 on Adult Pop Airplay.

Beginning in 2023, though, Frank had pivoted to solo endeavors. He first reached Billboard’s charts as a solo act that February, when “No Longer Bound,” with Hulvey, debuted at No. 20 on Hot Christian Songs — it peaked at No. 19 the following week.

Frank has since become a force in Christian music, logging 33 entries on Hot Christian Songs, including six top 10s: “Good Day” (No. 2 peak in 2024); “Up!,” with Connor Price (No. 8, 2024); “Never Get Used to This,” with Jvke (No. 6, 2024); “The Present” (No. 9, January); “Nothing Else,” with Thomas Rhett (No. 4, March); and “Your Way’s Better.” No other artist has charted more songs on the ranking since the beginning of 2023. He finished 2024 as Billboard’s No. 1 top new Christian artist.

Frank’s album Child of God has also spent 33 weeks and counting at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart, making it the fifth longest-leading No. 1 album this century. The set’s follow-up, Child of God II, is slated for release May 9.

Frank has also logged four tracks on Christian Airplay: “Good Day” (No. 5 peak), “Never Get Used To This” (No. 18), “The Present” (No. 10) and “Your Way’s Better” (No. 30 to date).

The recent surge in attention for “Your Way’s Better” can be partly attributed to TikTok, where the song has soundtracked over 400,000 clips. It’s a tried-and-true method for Frank, as “Sunday Best” also utilized the platform to blow up in 2020.

What makes “Your Way’s Better” particularly notable is that it’s a Christian track — a genre has rarely made inroads on the Hot 100 historically. This week, however, two such songs are charting simultaneously: “Your Way’s Better” and Brandon Lake’s viral “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which jumps to the top 40 (63-40) in its 10th week on the chart, reaching a new high. The latter also spends a 20th week at No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs.

Since 2020 — excluding religious-themed holiday tracks and the 38 entries by Kanye West from his albums Jesus Is King and Donda, and one by DJ Khaled, as both were long-established hip-hop acts — only three Christian songs have charted on both the Hot 100 and Hot Christian Songs charts:

Artist Billing, Title, Peak Year(s)

Lauren Daigle, “You Say,” 2018-2021

Brandon Lake, “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” 2025

Forrest Frank, “Your Way’s Better,” 2025

The rise of Christian music is no fluke, as the genre has been steadily growing in popularity. According to Luminate’s 2024 year-end report, Christian/gospel is one of the fastest growing genres among young audiences in the U.S., with the average listener is spending 19% more time with Christian/gospel music than in 2022.

Riding a hot streak that has already established her among 2025’s buzziest names, Doechii lands a historic win on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as the first artist to send her first three charting titles as a lead artist to No. 1 on the radio ranking.
The feat comes as “Anxiety” storms 6-1 to crown the list dated May 3 and was the most played song on U.S. panel-contributing rhythmic radio stations in the tracking week of April 18-24, according to Luminate, a 20% surge from the prior week. Thanks to the boon, “Anxiety” wins the week’s Greatest Gainer award, given to the song with the largest increase in play count.

Doechii, Billboard’s 2025 Woman of the Year recipient, traces her Rhythmic Airplay achievement to her first No. 1, the one-week champ “What It Is (Block Boy),” featuring Kodak Black, in June 2023. She returned to the summit in March with “Denial Is a River,” which reigned for three weeks, before “Anxiety” completed her third trek to the top spot. As noted, the trio makes Doechii the first act to send her first three entries as a lead artist to No. 1 in the 32-year history of the Rhythmic Airplay chart.

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Expanding to include lead and featured credits, Doechii is the third act in the overall club. There, she joins Ashanti, whose first two No. 1s were through featured slots on Ja Rule’s “Always on Time” and Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?,” before her own chart-topping “Foolish,” all in 2002. The next year, Beyoncé inaugurated her solo career with three Rhythmic Airplay champs — a featured slot on Jay-Z’s “’03 Bonnie and Clyde,” and her own “Crazy in Love,” featuring Jay-Z, and “Baby Boy,” featuring Sean Paul.

Beyond the three aforementioned No. 1s, Doechii has one other Rhythmic Airplay entry in her account, a featured slot on Sleepy Hallow’s “A N X I E T Y,” which reached No. 31 in February. That track, from 2019, received a second wind thanks to TikTok-fueled virality, that in turn sparked Doechii’s own “Anxiety” single’s release.

Elsewhere, “Anxiety” leaps 10-5 on the Pop Airplay chart with a 21% rally in weekly plays and pushes 15-11 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (up 14%), and even debuts on the Latin Airplay chart at No. 50. From the developments at pop, rhythmic and R&B/hip-hop and Latin sectors, “Anxiety” explodes 9-3 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart to 45.9 million in all-format audience for the week, a 24% improvement from 37.1 million in the week prior, and enough to win the Greatest Gainer prize.

“Anxiety,” initially a standalone single, was added to the digital and streaming editions of Doechii’s Grammy Award-winning mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, in March. The hit single’s inclusion has helped the project break barriers of its own, including its first time in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 this week.