five burning questions

Last week, we counted down our Billboard staff picks for the 10 Greatest Pop Stars of 2023. While it was a pretty good year across the board for pop stars showing out at the highest levels, we’d be lying if we said it was ever a particularly close race for No. 1.
It was, after all, Taylor Swift‘s year, pretty much from beginning to end. With three Hot 100 No. 1 singles, two Billboard 200-topping Taylor’s Version re-recordings and a tour expected to end up the highest-grossing in recorded history (and a box office-topping documentary to accompany it), it was an absolute 2023 for the ages for Swift — one whose enormity is almost impossible to put in proper perspective.

Still, we tried this week to answer some of the bigger questions surrounding Swift’s year: How do we try to explain the dominance of it? And can she do it again? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. We were unanimous as a staff in agreeing that Swift was the No. 1 Greatest Pop Star of 2023 — and maybe even that no one else was particularly close. If you were trying to explain to someone what made her year so different (without using stats), what’s the main thing you’d focus on?

Katie Atkinson: Her ubiquity. Whether you’re a day one Swiftie or don’t know a single song (I honestly have no idea how this could happen, but let’s imagine), I guarantee you heard her name at some point this year. Every state she brought her Eras Tour to gave her a queen’s welcome, as she transformed local economies in her wake. And if you somehow missed her stadium concert tour, maybe you caught her stadium suite tour as she also infiltrated the NFL. She also released two re-recorded albums and brought two songs (one four years old, one originally conceived nine years ago and one holding over from last year) to No. 1 on the Hot 100. Taylor Swift was completely and utterly unavoidable this year and she somehow found new heights to her already-stratospheric levels of fame and acclaim.

Kyle Denis: Taylor understands pop stardom. She knows that the show doesn’t stop once you’ve stepped off stage, and that’s what made her year so different. From a whirlwind controversial boyfriend (Matty Healy) and a link-up with the year’s hottest new star (Ice Spice) to music videos that expand on her already storied lore (“I Can See You”) and a very public-facing romance with Travis Kelce, Taylor performed pop stardom better than anyone else this decade. Each new occurrence in her personal life came accompanied by a new single, re-release, music video, or tour announcement, further expanding and cementing her hold on the mainstream this year. 

Jason Lipshutz: The best way I could explain it would be to describe Taylor Swift’s place in popular music this year as an all-consuming force that anyone remotely paying attention to pop culture in 2023 was familiar with to some degree. Over the past 20 years, the proliferation of the Internet has weakened the monoculture by giving us more entertainment options to focus on and discuss — but Swift’s cultural standing harkened back to a time when we were all listening to the same hit singles and watching the same things on television, cultural moments that were far-reaching enough to be inescapable. I didn’t think an artist in our current culture could recall a fervor like Beatlemania or the peak of Michael Jackson’s reign; Taylor Swift proved me wrong.

Meghan Mahar: Aside from the money she has earned and records she has broken, Taylor’s No. 1 spot on our Greatest Pop Stars list stems from her cultural ubiquity. She was already a household name but this year, she was truly inescapable, whether you were trying to watch a football game and saw Swift in the stands or saw yet another Swift-soundtracked trend on social media. The Eras Tour gave superfans yet another reason to celebrate their fandom, encouraged new listeners to dive into Swift’s discography, and emboldened fans who may have been a bit shy with their support to be loud and proud. This year, liking Taylor Swift wasn’t just commonplace — it felt cool and exciting to be part of something so massive.

Andrew Unterberger: The thing I keep coming back to is just how much Taylor Swift’s star status this year transcended any one of her hit songs or albums. She had plenty of both of those in 2023, but you didn’t necessarily need to be familiar with any of them to know that she was the biggest pop star in the world having the best year of her career — you just kinda knew from living in the world. It’s not something I ever remember experiencing before, at least not on this level.

2. And if you were using numbers — what’s the one that you think best captures how dominant Taylor Swift was this year?

Katie Atkinson: I’d say our headline last week estimating that Swift grossed almost $2 billion this year from her music, movie, touring and concert merch is about as mind-blowing as it gets. So basically she’s racking up numbers that are akin to the GDP of a small country (we’re looking at you, East Timor).

Kyle Denis: Definitely the fact that she became the first living artist to simultaneously chart five projects in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. It genuinely doesn’t get much more dominant than that. 

Jason Lipshutz: It’s the five albums in the Billboard 200’s top 10, at the conclusion of a year in which Swift did not release a new studio album. Those five included 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the two re-recorded albums that Swift released this year and spent 5 combined weeks at No. 1; Lover, which included the non-single “Cruel Summer” that Swifties sent to the top of the Hot 100, four years after its release; Folklore, Swift’s 2020 indie-folk pivot which has proven to be one of the most lucrative left turns in pop history; and of course, Midnights, which boasts Swift’s longest-running No. 1 single in “Anti-Hero” and could win the album of the year Grammy in February. Half of the top 10 being Swift albums — all of which posted that chart ranking for a different reason — demonstrates just how massive her year turned out to be.

Meghan Mahar: $838 million: the projected dollar amount of gross ticket sales of the Eras Tour’s U.S. leg in 2023. In a post-pandemic concert boom, Swift made Eras likely the second highest-grossing U.S. tour of all time, only behind the iconic Elton John and his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. This achievement is insane when you consider how far along Elton was in his career when he set this record and how much music he had behind him. Swift is only 34 years old and putting numbers on the board. For scale: according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median price for a home in the U.S. is $431 thousand dollars. This means that Swift could buy almost 2,000 homes with her U.S. Eras grosses alone.

Andrew Unterberger: The Billboard 200 and tour stats are remarkable, but I go back to the first-week number for 1989 (Taylor’s Version): 1.653 million units. Not only is that the biggest debut week of Swift’s career — bigger than Midnights, bigger than the original 1989 — but it’s a full 1.15 million larger than any week posted by a non-Taylor Swift artist this year. And it’s not even for a new album — it’s for a re-recording, basically a deluxe reissue with some new bonus tracks. In 2021, we were talking about how impressive it was that Fearless (Taylor’s Version) moved 291,000 units in its first week; just two years and three TVs later, she’s doing nearly six times that. It’s mind-boggling.

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3. While Swift had three No. 1 hits and 53 Hot 100 entries this year, it wasn’t necessarily her biggest year in terms of new music. Nonetheless, if you had to define her 2023 in one song of hers, which would it be?

Katie Atkinson: Definitely “Cruel Summer.” The Lover song never had its moment in the sun when it was first released, so it was really magical to watch it become an honest-to-god organic hit four years later, even without a music video or other gimmicks. As the opening song on the Eras Tour setlist, it felt like a celebration of the career-defining trek to have it climb all the way to the top.

Kyle Denis: I think it would still be “Anti-Hero.” It felt like the Swift song people kept returning to despite the subsequent Midnights singles and From the Vault tracks. 

Jason Lipshutz: The obvious choice is “Cruel Summer” — Swift’s commercial enormity, exemplified in a years-belated hit — but I’m going with “Anti-Hero,” not only because it started the year on top and turned into Swift’s longest-leading No. 1 single on the Hot 100, but because it’s one of the best singles of her career, immediately catchy and self-lacerating, steeped in imagery but able to push a phrase like “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me” into the cultural lexicon. It’s easy to forget that the centripetal force of Swift’s gargantuan success still has to be great music; the tour, awards, visual projects and general celebrity don’t hit as hard if the hits are subpar. “Anti-Hero” was a revelation in the midst of Midnights, though, and if I’m explaining her recent musical success to someone, I’m starting there.

Meghan Mahar: “Karma.” Swift’s success can be traced back to various factors, whether it’s how she has stayed true to her art, employed brilliant marketing tactics, or built a strong relationship with her fans. However, the two things that stood out to me this year more than ever were how intentional and positive Taylor was with her actions. An artist can’t reach this level of success without being widely loved, and I believe that Taylor has made genuine connections in the industry that continue to fuel her success. Take Kelly Clarkson, for example, who suggested that Swift re-record her older works, laying the groundwork for all the Taylor’s Version releases. “Karma” is how Taylor turned a bad situation into everything her “eras” have become, including nearly $2 billion grossed across merchandise, movie tickets, and music sales.

Andrew Unterberger: Yeah, it’s gotta be “Karma” for me — the Ice Spice remix, the Eras Tour debut, the general victory-lappy vibe of it all. It won’t go down as her most beloved song from this period, but it’s the first one I’ll think of when recalling what the era felt like.

4. Is there anyone else currently impacting the pop mainstream who, if they do absolutely everything right from here, you think might one day be capable of a year comparable to Swift’s 2023?

Katie Atkinson: Whew. It’s hard to imagine, but it feels like the start of Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo’s careers mirror some of the hallmarks of Swift’s beginning – like starting out as a teenager, racking up both commercial and critical success. They’re building bases that could possibly rise to that level is everything is nurtured and continues at this A-list pace. But even then, it’s hard to imagine another pop star who is going to reach their commercial peak at age 34 like Swift has accomplished. And who knows? She could go higher.

Kyle Denis: Olivia Rodrigo. Her fan base is still relatively young so she can spend the next few years cultivating a special relationship with them to lay the foundation for a year like Swift’s one day. Her music and brand also have a comparable reach to Taylor’s, which will make it easier for her to reach those kinds of commercial heights. 

Jason Lipshutz: Not really? The two names that come to mind immediately, Adele and Drake, could release hits-packed commercial juggernauts, and possess the back catalogs to mount in-demand tours… but even if everything did go right in that promotional blitz, they probably couldn’t muster the level of all-out cultural fascination that Taylor Swift has reached. These runs come along once in a generation, so I’d guess that, if another artist could in fact replicate Swift’s 2023, we haven’t met them yet.

Meghan Mahar: There are two major keys to success that an artist would need to reach Swift’s level of 2023 success: a consistently rich, impactful discography and a wide-reaching, highly-favored public persona. Based on these criteria, I think the only pop star who’s fully active at the moment who can truly be in the conversation is Beyoncé. While she didn’t have as big a year as Taylor by the numbers, Renaissance and its corresponding tour proved that she can reinvent herself and still reach tremendous heights. If we are still waiting on two more acts of the Renaissance project, Queen Bey might bless us with a wild 2024. I think Ariana Grande could rise to this potential as well, and I’m excited to see how she returns to the spotlight next year. I’m hoping that she has a major comeback in which she releases a new album and does a press run for Wicked: Part One.

Andrew Unterberger: I don’t really see it happening for anyone else. Olivia Rodrigo would be the only newer artist whose trajectory to this point looks to be even remotely similar to Swift’s at this point in her career — but she’s got so long and so far to go to get there that it’s unreasonable to expect or even hope for. I wouldn’t say it’ll never happen again, but when it does, chances are it’ll be with someone totally unfamiliar to us currently, and in a totally new way that we never could have seen coming in 2023.

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5. If you had to bet right now, do you think Taylor Swift will also be the runaway pick for our Greatest Pop Star of 2024 around this time next year?

Katie Atkinson: I don’t want to bet against Taylor ever. I guarantee she’s on that list, given we have another full year of The Eras Tour ahead of us, but we’ll have to see whether she might take a (much-needed) break from the prolific pace of her album and re-recording releases next year. She’ll be top five regardless.

Kyle Denis: I won’t say she’ll be the runaway pick, but I do think she’ll be in the top five or top three contenders. The tricky thing with a year like the one Swift has had is that the pendulum eventually swings in the other direction.  

Jason Lipshutz: It’s simply too early to tell. I do want to point out a pattern, though: Swift released two re-recorded albums in 2021, then a new studio album in 2022, then back to two re-records in 2023… Could the cycle continue, and we get a new Swift album next year? If we do, then yes, she is the prohibitive favorite for our Greatest Pop Star of 2024. Bet against Taylor at your own risk.

Meghan Mahar: Absolutely. There are Eras Tour dates lined up through December of 2024, and every show will generate new content now that Swift’s slate of surprise songs will be reset at the top of the year. In addition to surprise songs, the Reputation and Taylor Swift debut eras that are incorporated into the show will continue to fuel the anticipation of the Taylor’s Version releases — and I would bet that we are getting at least one of those albums next year. The fact that Taylor has two more potentially career-defining projects in the pipeline is insane, and her dominance over the news cycle goes beyond her professional endeavors. Between her high-profile friendships and budding romance, I don’t think we will hear the end of Swift anytime soon.

Andrew Unterberger: Between her and the field I’ll probably take the field — there’s just too much competition out there, and it’s hard enough to sustain a year like Swift’s 2023 for 12 months let alone for 24 — but she’s certainly got the best odds of anyone on the field. It may come down to how much she wants that title again, or whether she’d rather give herself (and by extension everyone else) a little bit more of a break instead.

In late November, Billboard released its Year-End Hot 100 chart, ranking the 100 biggest hits of the 2023 chart year on the marquee songs listing. It was topped by Morgan Wallen’s 16-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Last Night” — one of his eight entries on the chart, most of any artist, all hailing from parent album One Thing at a Time — with Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” and SZA’s “Kill Bill” following behind at Nos. 2 and 3.
With a little time to reflect on it, Billboard‘s staff is taking a look at some of the more interesting entries and trends on the Year-End chart. What songs were higher or lower than we expected? And what songs on the current weekly Hot 100 will we expect to be high finishers on the 2024 Year-End rankings? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. A top three of “Last Night,” “Flowers” and “Kill Bill” feels about right for 2023. If you had to pick just one of the three to really capture the year in music, which would it be?

Kyle Denis: I’d have to go with “Kill Bill.” By all accounts, this was SZA’s year and the endurance of “Kill Bill” – even alongside another solo SOS single with comparable success (“Snooze”) – is a testament to how effortlessly she dominated 2023. 

Lyndsey Havens: It is pretty amazing that the top three songs really do represent what this year in music looked like, from country music’s dominance to pop music’s self-aware era. And while I’m tempted to pick the monster-hit “Flowers,” I have to go with the only right answer here: “Kill Bill.” Despite arriving in 2022, the way in which SZA remained front and center throughout 2023 — and the way in which this single alone never lost steam — makes it the obvious pick to represent the year. With the moody and menacing SOS hit, SZA not only made her long-awaited return but also helped other emerging R&B artists cut through — and proved that no genre is off limits for her, or anyone who is up next. 

Jason Lipshutz: While SZA’s SOS became a defining album of the past year, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” captured the year in music more than “Kill Bill” for me by functioning more like a traditional mega-hit. For the first few months of 2023, “Flowers” was absolutely everywhere — atop streaming playlists, on multiple radio formats, blasting in retail stores and across social media. “Last Night” owned the chart-topping longevity and “Kill Bill” was a months-long TikTok sensation, but I’ll remember the multi-quadrant enormity of “Flowers” most clearly.

Joe Lynch: SZA’s “Kill Bill.” With that woozy intro and the homicidal lyrics, it’s got a bit of an edge, but it’s total radio catnip. It works as pleasant background music for some and sing-along fodder for others – it’s well-suited for this era of vibey, low-key music, a market where listeners don’t seem to respond to maximalist pop or hip-hop that’s so hard it would net a 10 on the Mohs scale.  

Andrew Unterberger: I’ll say “Last Night,” which is representative of both the most most commercially ascendant genre of 2023 and of the way pop listening has become diffuse enough that a 16-week Hot 100 No. 1 could seem like the biggest song of the year to some and barely even make the notice of others.

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2. Do any of the songs in the top 25 particularly surprise you — either because you didn’t realize they were that big or because you don’t think of them as being that relevant to 2023? 

Kyle Denis: “Unholy” at No. 11 surprised me a little bit. For me, that song feels very attached to 2022 and it didn’t really seem to be driving much conversation during 2023, so a placement just outside the top 10 is impressive. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think what surprises me the most is just how prevalent country music was this year — eight out of 28 songs on the tally belong to the genre. But beyond that major takeaway, I’m most surprised by Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence”… a song I managed to go all year without hearing?… (And yes, I realize I am calling myself out ). My main thought is: “Must be from TikTok.”

Jason Lipshutz: If you gave me 100 guesses at songs in the top 20 of the 2023 year-end Hot 100, I don’t think I would have named Morgan Wallen’s “Thinkin’ Bout Me” — which is mostly a symptom of the song being the third-biggest Wallen hit of the year, as well as the slew of bigger country hits (Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” and Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place” among them) above it on the list. “Thinkin’ Bout Me” coming in at No. 19 on the year-end chart speaks to Wallen’s gargantuan chart impact in 2023, where his One Thing at a Time album wasn’t just limited to just one smash single; maybe “Thinkin’ Bout Me” doesn’t persist as a durable hit, but Wallen’s 2023 achievements will stand for a long time.

Joe Lynch: Perhaps it’s recency bias, but I didn’t think of the Ariana/Weeknd “Die for You” as such an enduring song to be in the year-end top 10. “As It Was” – which came out a year-and-a-half ago! — is a surprise to see in 2023’s top 25. But the real surprise for me is Miguel’s “Sure Thing” – maybe it’s just his low-profile these days, but that got an eyebrow raise out of me, as I wouldn’t call that a ubiquitous track of 2023.  

Andrew Unterberger: I still can’t believe that “Something in the Orange” (No. 13) was as massive as it was — it never felt unignorably huge (or like the kind of hit that ultimately becomes unignorably huge) in the moment. But it stuck around forever, and now it wouldn’t surprise me if Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” (with Kacey Musgraves) rates even higher on the 2024 Year-End Hot 100.

3. What song outside of the top 25 would you have sworn would finish in the chart’s top quarter?

Kyle Denis: I think I was most shocked to see the following placements: Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock” (No. 28), Gunna’s “Fukumean” (No. 31), Coi Leray’s “Players” (No. 33) and Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice & AQUA’s “Barbie World” (No. 46). For the Uzi, its placement is understandable considering some of their biggest chart weeks probably fell in the tracking period for the 2022 Year-End charts. Regardless, “Just Wanna Rock” felt like one of the most dominant hip-hop crossover hits of the year, alongside “Players” and “Fukumean,” so all three tracks being absent from the top 25 is pretty surprising. 

I also find it curious that none of the Barbie songs landed in the top 25. The Nicki/Ice track felt a bit bigger than its Year-End peak suggests, as did Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.” 

Lyndsey Havens: Coming in at No. 26 is “Ella Baila Sola,” the defining musica Mexicana song this year, and as such one of the defining Latin music songs overall this year. I’m pretty shocked it didn’t crack the top 25, though am at the least pleased it got so close. I’m also pretty shocked to see “Vampire” at No. 30, Olivia Rodrigo’s highest entry on this year-end chart. For an artist who seemed to have such a dominant presence this year, I would have guessed this song would have landed much higher.

Jason Lipshutz: I’m shocked that Gunna’s “Fukumean” only clocks in at No. 31 — mostly because it was released in July, so it missed out on more than half a year of chart points, but in my mind, that two-minute-and-change gem lingered in the top 10 of the Hot 100 for months on end. Regardless of where it ended up on the year-end chart, there won’t many more rap songs as year-defining as “Fukumean.”

Joe Lynch: Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red.” A three-week No. 1 on the Hot 100, a legit viral song, a radio hit and IMO one of the defining songs of 2023. I’m a bit surprised to see it rank just outside of the year-end top 50 – not even as high as Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” which seems like it came a million years ago. Maybe more listeners left “Red” on read than I thought.  

Andrew Unterberger: I’ll add to the chorus of support for “Fukumean” here, which not only felt like one of the defining hits of 2023, but — to my largely anecdotal experience — felt like it hung in or around the top 10 for most of the year. Maybe just a quirk of the math that it ends up so (relatively) low, but I definitely would’ve guessed top 20 for that one.

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4. It’s not unusual for songs from a Year-End Hot 100 chart to have been technically released the year before, but 2023 is unusual in that four of the top 20 (“Die for You,” “I’m Good,” “Under the Influence” and “Cruel Summer”) were either first released or first teased in the prior decade — while another two (“Creepin’” and “Fast Car”) are covers of songs from even longer ago. Does this fixation on the past say anything particularly interesting to you about pop music in 2023, or is it more of a coincidence than anything?

Kyle Denis: I think it definitely says something about the nostalgia loop we seem to be stuck in culturally. It makes sense that a year that saw a boom of nostalgia-bait podcasts for old T.V. shows and the dominance of a tour literally built on self-reflection (Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour) would be characterized by hit songs that consciously gesture to the past. 

On the other hand, I think that the success of more recent catalogue tracks like “Die for You,” “Cruel Summer” and “Under the Influence” is emblematic of how quickly we seem to move through album cycles nowadays. Outside of a few album campaigns lengthened by the pandemic year of 2020, the past few years have seen our biggest artists opting for quick follow-ups and lengthy tracklists – sometimes at the same time. This, in turn, leaves the consumer with a massive surplus of music to sift through, and, as it happens, not every gem is uncovered in an album’s original release year. 

“Cruel Summer,” for example, has always been a fan favorite from Lover, but Swift only pushed one singles from that record after its full release. She then dropped a pair of new albums the following year. That’s three album’s worth of new material in two years from an artist who used to plot exactly two years between LPs; of course, it took a minute for “Cruel Summer” to elbow its way into the limelight! 

Lyndsey Havens: I definitely think it’s illustrative of consumption habits today and not at all a coincidence. We’ve seen it happen before this year, where old hits become new again — the examples are plentiful — and while for some time that was credited to the all-mighty TV synch, it has become more and more possible due to TikTok, an app that seems to exist outside of linear time. More than ever, consumers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to selecting what songs — new or old — take off. From there, as we’ve seen particularly with a song like “Cruel Summer” or “Kill Bill,” it’s up to the artist to determine how much fuel they want to add to that fire.

Jason Lipshutz: We’re seeing the TikTok-ification of the music industry in real time: old songs becoming new hits after being revived on social media has become commonplace, particularly when, in the cases of “Die for You” and “Cruel Summer,” they involve superstars with huge promotional apparatuses ready to pounce upon bubbling trends. The success of “Creepin’” and “Fast Car” are extensions of that industry evolution in my mind, since their success was predicated upon listeners hoisting them up above the original tracks on Metro Boomin and Luke Combs’ respective albums. The year-end Hot 100 demonstrates that, today, music fans don’t care if a song is old or new, or an original or a cover — they just care if it’s good enough to stream on repeat.

Joe Lynch: I’m hesitant to wax philosophical too much, but here I go. I don’t think it’s coincidence. During fraught, stressful socio-political periods in history, audiences frequently go back to sounds and intellectual properties from the past. Familiarity is comfort for many, and consumers – whether they’re music listeners, movie-goers, Broadway regulars, video gamers or whatever – tend to seek out the familiar in times of national and international uncertainty.  

Andrew Unterberger: It’s about TikTok, for sure — but it’s also about radio essentially acquiescing to TikTok when it comes to determining what a hit is and should be. Two or three years ago, some of these songs might’ve gone viral without ever really being embraced by radio, and without that second wind to their chart fortunes they would’ve faded on the Hot 100 before they got the chance to really make enough impact for the Year-End ranking. But now, top 40 is following TikTok’s lead on songs like “Die for You,” “Cruel Summer” and Combs’ “Fast Car,” and it’s resulting in some of the biggest and longest-lasting hits of the year.

5. If you had to bet, what song that’s currently on the Hot 100 would you expect to finish the highest on the 2024 Year-End tally?

Kyle Denis: I’m putting my money on either Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me,” Tate McRae’s “Greedy” or Tyla’s “Water.” 

Lyndsey Havens: I’m going to guess Tate McRae’s “Greedy,” with my runner-up picks being SZA’s “Snooze” and Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” (as Lipa has said herself, her songs are slow burns… and if an album drops next year, “Houdini” will likely enjoy renewed attention). Even so, “Greedy” seems like the obvious choice here, largely given my answer above about the role TikTok plays in sustaining a hit today. And despite McRae recently saying she doesn’t want to make hits for TikTok, her fans have other plans — and they most definitely are using “Greedy” to soundtrack their clips on the app. Because of this, I do think the song will sustain through the holiday season and well into 2024.  

Jason Lipshutz: Let’s go with Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” which has peaked at No. 31 and spent 10 weeks on the chart thus far, but Kahan feels primed for a huge, arena-show-packed 2024, and as his signature song, “Stick Season” could keep hanging around the top 40 of the Hot 100 for months on end. Maybe it never reaches No. 1 or even breaks into the top 10, but I’d be pretty surprised if “Stick Season” isn’t high up on the 2024 year-end Hot 100.

Joe Lynch: Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night.” A song this unstoppable in 2023 is going to keep going on radio and streaming well into 2024, making this seem like a “Night” that just won’t end.

Andrew Unterberger: Alluded to this earlier, but “I Remember Everything” is my call for a song that unexpectedly catches a second wind (radio finally getting on board?) in 2024 and lingers on the chart for longer than anyone expects.

A short 65 years after its 1958 release, Brenda Lee‘s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” finally hits the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week.
The Christmas classic, which rose to No. 2 each of the last four holiday seasons but was previously unable to unseat Mariah Carey’s beloved “All I Want for Christmas is You,” gets all the way to the Hot 100’s apex on the chart dated Dec. 9 — making Lee’s third career No. 1, after “I’m Sorry” and “I Want to Be Wanted” both reached pole position in 1960. It comes after a major promotional push from both Lee and her UMG Nashville label, including a new music video, a new holiday EP, and a whole lot of new Lee TikToks, all timed to the song’s 65th birthday celebration this year.

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What was it that finally got the song over the top? And is the No. 1 spot now Lee’s to lose? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. After 65 years — and four years of finishing in the runner-up spot on the Hot 100 to “All I Want for Christmas Is You” every December — Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” finally claims the No. 1 spot this week. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the historical long-delayed triumph of “Rockin’” topping the Hot 100 in 2023?

Katie Atkinson: I’ll go with a 5, only because it was the most likely non-Mariah Christmas song to get to No. 1 next so it felt inevitable. But I also wouldn’t have been surprised if Mariah had just never ceded the top spot every December from here for years to come. But I love that this opens up the possibility of a revolving door of holidays hits that shift places in and out of the top spots every year. Justice for Bobby Helms!

Kyle Denis: 7. This is fun! It’s cool to see that “All I Want for Christmas Is You” really did a break a glass ceiling for the Hot 100 performance of holiday tracks in the streaming era.

Jason Lipshutz: A 10. As astonishing as it was when Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” finally reached No. 1 a few years ago, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” surpassing that season-defining juggernaut — even for one week — is even more shocking to me. I would have expected a newer Christmas song to become the next non-Mariah holiday single to top the Hot 100; instead, we have Brenda Lee’s 65-year-old standard getting over the hump. This is as improbable as chart feats get.

Taylor Mims: I would rate it a 7. December on the charts has become a lot more interesting since the Hot 100 rules changed to allow holiday music on the main popular chart. The holidays tend to be a slow time for the music industry, but with Mariah Carey and now Brenda Lee vying for those top spots, there’s certainly more to discuss. Carey has really made a holiday meal out of her Christmas song success, but to see a track like Lee’s standard reach the pinnacle is fun to watch and gives everyone an underdog to root for this year.  

Andrew Unterberger: At least a 9. Four years ago I would have assumed the race between “All I Want” and “Rockin” would prove essentially asymptotic, with Lee’s song always getting closer but never actually catching Carey’s. Last year was the first year it seemed like there was even a real chance that “Rockin’” would eventually capture the top spot — and I still would’ve assumed it was several years away at the nearest. This year… I’m still having a little trouble believing it, to be honest. Kudos to Lee and UMG for achieving the near-impossible.

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2. Many factors went into this chart race — but most of all, do you think “Rockin’” finally getting past “All I Want” was more a matter of public sentimentality, promotion from Lee and her label, or just good timing?

Katie Atkinson: I’m going to go with timing here. There were some steps taken this year – like Lee releasing her first music video for the song in early November – but I think it really came down to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” being the most popular song in that first full Christmas week this year. Yes, Mariah has the recent track record, but Brenda Lee has a 30-year head start on Christmas nostalgia. There’s also the possibility of fa-la-la-fatigue (sorry) for “All I Want for Christmas.” I have no doubt it will go back to No. 1 at some point, but it’s nice to give Brenda her moment.

Kyle Denis: I think it’s a combination of good timing and promotion from Lee and her label. In terms of timing, we aren’t in the midst of an incredibly dominant weekslong run atop the Hot 100, so reaching the summit proved a bit more feasible. Between a new music video, her active TikTok presence, and a promo run that has included collaborations with Kelly Clarkson and Dolly Parton as well as upcoming live performances, Lee and her team were clearly gunning for that No. 1 – and they got it. 

Jason Lipshutz: I think the extra promotion from Lee pushed “Rockin’” to No. 1 this year, after years of running a competitive race but coming up short against “All I Want.” The song has always been a major holiday hit, but this year’s not-so-subtle campaign — including a long-overdue official music video and TikTok appearances from Lee — boosted “Rockin’” just enough to give it a shot at No. 1. Public sentimentality and timing was on its side, but without that promo push, I doubt we’re talking about it finally reaching the top spot.

Taylor Mims: “Rockin’” hitting the top spot seems primarily the work of really good promotion from Lee and her label. That’s not to say it isn’t a great song: It’s fantastic and has absolutely stood the test of time and millions have been and will be playing the song all month. But Lee and her team made a concerted effort to push this song over the threshold on this anniversary and with a star who is incredibly endearing. They got public sentimentality on their side, which is saying a lot considering how crowded the month is with holidays, shopping and general end-of-the-year stress. It shows that people are still interested in these personal profiles and good storytelling.

Andrew Unterberger: The promotion is probably the biggest factor, turning the race into something even non-obsessive Hot 100 watchers were aware of and making Lee’s hunt for the No. 1 one of the feel-good stories of the chart year. But you also can’t count out good old-fashioned playlisting, as Lee’s older holiday classic is privy to some coveted lean-back-listening territory that Carey’s modern standard is still deemed too new for. At this time of year, when a lot of folks are just reaching for the nearest, most-familiar and most-comforting set of Christmas songs available, that advantage is not to be overlooked.

3. Now that “Rockin’” has overtaken “All I Want” for one week, do you see it staying on top indefinitely, trading back and forth with “All I Want” week-to-week, or giving the top spot back up to “All I Want” and resuming its runner-up position?

Katie Atkinson: I see the two songs trading spots — and maybe even allowing for some other holiday favorites to slip in to No. 1 as well. I don’t think there would be anything that embodies the holiday season more than gifting a revolving door of legendary artists an unprecedented chart-topper decades into their careers or even after they’ve passed. Let’s shake it up!

Kyle Denis: I’m inclined to think it will probably concede the top spot to “All I Want” for a few weeks, but the points will be close. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a third holiday song sneak a week in at No. 1. 

Jason Lipshutz: Hard to say exactly — I’m still shocked that Brenda surpassed Mariah for a single week this year — but my guess would be that “All I Want” resumes its status as the biggest Christmas song on the charts and “Rockin’” dips back to No. 2. I respect Mariah Carey’s classic single as a culture-dominating holiday behemoth too much to entertain notions of “All I Want” staying in the runner-up spot, at least for the foreseeable future. While I’m very happy that Brenda Lee finally made it to No. 1, I suspect that this will be a one-week flare-up, and Mariah ascends to the top spot next week.

Taylor Mims: That all depends on how much work Lee and her team plan on putting in to this endeavor. “Rockin’” is officially a No. 1 Hot 100 hit, and I am not sure what a few more weeks at the top spot will mean for the track. I think it would take a lot more resources to keep pushing ahead of Carey and her well-oiled “Queen of Christmas” machine. As the month progresses, I also think it will be harder and harder to sustain attention on the subject and folks will go back to playing generic holiday music playlists. Without a PR push, I think it will go back to a close runner up position and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Andrew Unterberger: It seems like “Rockin’” might still have the advantage for this upcoming chart week, and with all this attention and momentum fully behind her, it seems possible that Lee might be able to hang on for the rest of the holiday season — though I certainly wouldn’t count out “All I Want” reclaiming the throne for a week or two. The bigger question will be who starts on top next year, and if it’ll be Carey’s time to turn up the anniversary-celebrating volume; next year will be the 30th birthday of “All I Want,” after all.

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4. With “All I Want” finally proving deposable, do you think more artists and/or their labels will be getting actively involved in trying to power their holiday staples up the charts? If so, is there anything they can learn from the success of “Rockin’”?

Katie Atkinson: Absolutely, but it’s pretty hard to take lessons from the decades of legacy “Rockin’” brings to the table. I mean, in addition to everyone growing up with the song, whether purposely or passively, it also has major moments in holiday movies like Home Alone, so you’re going to get your Brenda fix somewhere in the season whether you’re trying or not. But I think just providing a glimmer of hope that it’s possible to (temporarily) dethrone the reigning Queen means other artists, veterans and rookies alike, should shoot their shot.

Kyle Denis: I think we’ll absolutely see more artists trying to fashion chart contenders outs of their holiday originals. From the success of “Rockin,’” artists should take note of the effectiveness of relentless promotion that’s strategically spaced out to maximize chart timing. In the tracking week that ultimately culminated in the “Rockin’” reaching No. 1, Lee provided “part two” of an exclusive BTS music video set tour with appearances from Trish Yearwood and Tanya Tucker, stopped by the Bobby Bones show and visited Talk Shop Live. And this all happened about four weeks after she debuted the track’s official music video, which featured a 78-year-old Lee lip-syncing to her 13-year-old voice! Content is king!

Jason Lipshutz: No — if “Rockin’” hitting No. 1 decades after its release demonstrates anything, it’s that the holiday-song market is darn near impossible to game, especially when it comes to new singles trying to make a dent in the stronghold of the long-running classics. “All I Want” may be perceived as slightly more fallible now than it was last week, but it’s not like a recent holiday song upended its chart run; “Rockin’” is a beloved, generations-spanning single, and those are impossible to replicate within the music industry.

Taylor Mims: Artists and labels will absolutely be coming for Carey’s throne. Lee and her team had a great plan, took their time executing it and triumphed (please, everyone go watch the beautiful video of Lee finding out “Rockin’” hit No. 1). There is now a blueprint for challenging Carey for that No. 1 spot over the holiday season and I think she has a lot of adversaries ahead. Do I think they will all succeed? No. Do I think the public will get tired of holiday chart competitions? Yes. But when something succeeds as well as Lee’s campaign did, there will be copycats.

Andrew Unterberger: In all honesty, I think there’s only one song that has anywhere near the juice to properly challenge either of these songs anytime soon: Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” which is another undeniable classic that also seems to grow in public esteem every year (particularly after frontman George Michael’s death during the 2016 holiday season). If the duo’s Sony label label wanted to follow the “Rockin’” blueprint and do a big promotional push in time for a major anniversary — the song’s 40th anniversary is next year, though they might be better off waiting for the 10th anniversary of Michael’s passing in 2026 — I think the door is at least slightly ajar.

5. Ignoring all chart-related concerns: on another scale from 1-10, how much would you say “Rockin’” still rocks 65 years after its release?

Katie Atkinson: It’s a 10 for me. It’s just so cute and fun, and I’ve somehow never gotten sick of it. I still can’t believe a 13-year-old sang this stone-cold classic.

Kyle Denis: 6. It’s aight.

Jason Lipshutz: An 8. It’s not my favorite Christmas song, as is not as enthralling as “All I Want,” but I always enjoy hearing it on a holiday playlist, on the radio or within a too-crowded shopping mall, and get immediately transported back to the holiday listening sessions of my childhood. You could even say that when I hear it, I get a sentimental feeling.

Taylor Mims: That’s an easy 10. “Rockin’” is one of the most upbeat and cheerful Christmas standards and it is impossible to get out of your head after you’ve heard it once. It is the potato chip of holiday music — you can’t listen to it just once. It’s got guitar, a raspy voice, a touch of brass and a whole lot of heart. Every year we start hearing it earlier and earlier (pre-Thanksgiving now) and it warms the spirits in the cold months. Undoubtedly, “Rockin’” has another 65 years in it.

Andrew Unterberger: A 7. It’s not quite in the top tier to me, but I never really mind hearing it — which, after 65 years of annual overplay (37 of which I’ve been alive for), is still fairly impressive.

It’s been quite a past week for Tate McRae in the Billboard realm — in a span of about five days, she made her first-ever appearances on the cover of Billboard magazine, on stage as a Billboard Music Awards performer, and in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
The last two appearances come courtesy of McRae’s breakout hit “Greedy,” which takes a more pop-forward, triple-threat approach to top 40 domination than her moodier prior hits “You Broke Me First” and “She’s All I Wanna Be.” In addition to delivering the song at Sunday’s (Nov. 19) BBMAs, McRae also performed the song (along with ballad “Grave”) on Saturday Night Live the night before — another first for the 20-year-old rising star.

How did “Greedy” become the song to take McRae to the next level of stardom? And what chances does it have of becoming her first No. 1? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. “Greedy” moves from 11-8 on this week’s Hot 100, becoming her first top 10 hit on the chart in its ninth week. Did you expect the song becoming this kind of breakout hit for her?

Rania Aniftos: Yes, the second I saw tube girl take over TikTok lip syncing “Greedy,” I knew Tate had found her hit. Every other video on the platform had “Greedy” in it.

Kyle Denis: Yes. I covered this song for Billboard’s Trending Up column back in September; the success of “Greedy” has been the result of a coordinated promotional effort beginning with a TikTok snippet strategy and adding several show-stealing live performances along the way.  

Lyndsey Havens: Oh yes. Tate has been developing as an artist and building the foundation for her career since 2018 — and even before that, if you count her teenage YouTube series Create With Tate. She’s already had a taste of success with breakout hit “You Broke Me First,” so the stage was set. And with a song like “Greedy” — with its endearing swagger and nostalgic production — the pieces finally fell into place.

Jason Lipshutz: No on the first listen, yes on the fifth listen. After a few plays, “Greedy” fully won me over, both from the standpoint of being insanely catchy and as a subtle showcase of the snappy rhythmic-pop sound in which Tate McRae has created a pocket. McRae is no stranger to top 40 radio — “She’s All I Wanna Be” and “You Broke Me First” both performed well in recent years — but “Greedy” is more immediate, charismatic, and downright memorable than those prior hits. As soon as it clicked into place for me, I expected “Greedy” to become her first top 10 hit.

Andrew Unterberger: I dunno if I could’ve ID’d at it as a sure top 10 hit in a blind taste test, but certainly once the TikTok hype of the song led to a top 40 bow for it on the Hot 100, clearly big things were in the works here — especially after the debut of its hockey rink-set music video, as star-making a moment for McRae as the song itself.

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2. What do you think the biggest reason is that “Greedy” has been the single to bring McRae to a higher tier of hitmaking?

Rania Aniftos: We’re still in this interesting time in music in which Gen Z is super nostalgic. They wish they got to experience the height of the Y2K pop star era with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, etc. So, when Tate came out with “Greedy” and it’s sassy and flirty and feels fresh out of 2002, it’s exactly what her demographic has been looking for. 

Kyle Denis: It’s probably her most singular offering yet. Tate McRae is clearly a talented performer, but despite her previous success, a lot of her those singles felt faceless and nondescript. While “Greedy” isn’t the most innovative pop song of the year by any means, its undeniable chorus and connection to the “It Girl” aesthetic allowed it to unlock a new level of hitmaking for McRae. 

More specifically, however, the TikTok snippet campaign is what really sewed up the success of “Greedy.” Thanks to the campaign, McRae has been prepping consumers’ ears and stoking their interest for “Greedy” since the beginning of August. Couple that with two back-to-back live performances that flaunt her impressive dance skills and you’re left with a good old fashioned pure pop smash. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think there are two main drivers here. The first is that she’s sort of talking her s—t a bit… It’s clear she’s coming at the song from a place of confidence and matured sass, two traits that are an easy sell for most pop fans. That self-assuredness is not only heard but also seen in the steamy music video, in which McRae flexes the fact that she is also a professionally trained dancer. I think the combination of a catchy pop hit and eyebrow-raising choreography is fueling this moment. 

Jason Lipshutz: The hook here works across formats — from isolated TikTok clips to pop radio to streaming playlists — in a way that makes “Greedy” fit into a ton of different listening scenarios. Scrolling through social media and stumbling across choreo routines? Rolling through a new pop playlist on Spotify, or top music videos on YouTube? “Greedy” is malleable, and can entertain within a variety of pop contexts, which is why it’s caught on with such force over the past few weeks.

Andrew Unterberger: May or may not be the biggest factor, but I think “Greedy” is one of a few singles to benefit from the (relative) absence of Ariana Grande in the pop landscape. Grande was such a mighty top 40 fixture from 2018 to early 2021 that these past couple years without her doing much has left an unoccupied lane on radio and in the culture when it comes to flirty, quippy, swaggering pop&B — one that McRae was more than ready to swerve into here.

3. McRae released her follow-up single “Exes” last Friday — do you think the song will follow “Greedy” to hit status, or does it feel like “Greedy” will be tough for her to match?

Rania Aniftos: While “Exes” is equally as catchy to me, it’s going to be tricky to grab onto the viral success of “Greedy.” It really found the balance of having a TikTok trend attached to it, as well as it being marketable for radio, TV and other mainstream channels. I am rooting for “Exes,” though! It’s such a good song.

Kyle Denis: “Greedy” still has plenty of room to grow, so I’m not sure “Exes” will even get to half of what “Greedy” can achieve. “Exes” is fine. It’s less instant that “Greedy,” which could delay how quickly it takes off. Nonetheless, McRae is already growing into an artist who can really move the needle for her singles through live performances. Perhaps with the right stage, “Exes” will explode into its full potential. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think “Greedy” will be tough to match. I think instead of trying to compete, “Exes” — and her entire forthcoming album Think Later — will only help “Greedy” sustain. If anything, “Exes” proves that “Greedy” wasn’t a lucky one-off or contrived — it’s Tate fully loaded.

Jason Lipshutz: “Greedy” is still going strong, so if “Exes” is going to have a moment, I’d guess that such a moment is still a couple months away. That said, I do like “Exes” quite a bit: the bruising confidence and deep percussion of “Greedy” is carried over, and McRae’s personality is even more on display on the follow-up track. I could foresee a world in which “Ohh, I’m sorry / Sorry that you love me,” followed by that indelible cackle, becomes a quick-spreading meme at the top of 2024, and McRae continues her recent hot streak. 

Andrew Unterberger: “Exes” has its moments and is off to a pretty strong start on streaming, so it’s probably going to be a factor on the charts in the weeks (months?) to come — but it will have to shine while remaining in the shadow of “Greedy,” which is certainly not going anywhere anytime soon.

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4. The last week has represented a major moment for McRae, not only with the top 10 ascent of “Greedy” and the release of “Exes,” but also a Billboard cover story, a BBMAs performance and a musical guest turn on Saturday Night Live. Do you think having so much Tate McRae in pop culture at once will ultimately have a positive or negative effect on her career momentum?

Rania Aniftos: Positive, for sure. People who had never heard about her before or aren’t on TikTok are now getting introduced to her via more mainstream platforms like SNL or awards shows. This is exactly the exposure she needs to transcend from social media star to full-fledged pop star.

Kyle Denis: Definitely positive. For the past few years, Tate McRae has been floating around the ever-revolving cast of mid-tier pop stars that aren’t necessarily popular by measure of celebrity or name recognition. This level of exposure both helps consumers visually differentiate her from her peers, and showcases why she’s a pop star who people should bother caring about beyond whatever radio hit they may have in rotation at a given moment. Not to mention, she has an album due before the year’s end – this is all great for her! 

Lyndsey Havens: I think this succession of major wins will only have a positive impact overall, simply because these things are not happening to her right out of the gate. These things are happening as she’s promoting her second album. They are happening after years of development and key internal changes (like new management) that are finally paying off. I think this moment is happening because of the momentum she already had — and not necessarily because of the momentum from this moment. 

Jason Lipshutz: Positive, for sure. McRae has had hits in the past, but has not had the wider name recognition to turn those hits into sustained pop stardom; “Greedy” has functioned as a best-case breakthrough scenario, though, by not only becoming her highest-charting hit to date, but concurrently introducing McRae, the artist, to a mainstream audience. We’ll see how far that introduction takes her in the coming months and years, but she has her foot in the door now, and that’s all that matters.

Andrew Unterberger: Honestly, flooding the zone is rarely a bad move for pop artists in 2023. There’ll be some backlash, sure, but being at the center of discussion is something precious few artists can manage for any (not career-killing) reason in 2023 — so if you have the opportunity, may as well grab it.

5. Now that the song has reached No. 8 on the Hot 100, how much higher do you think it can still climb — will it get to the top five? How realistic a goal would a No. 1 be?

Rania Aniftos: Top five seems doable to me, but as long as Taylor Swift keeps releasing re-recordings and as long as “Cruel Summer” still exists, No. 1 is tough for anyone to reach.

Kyle Denis: I think the sky is the limit for “Greedy.” I can definitely see this growing into one of those songs that holds throughout the holidays season and enters the new year as one of the most dominant songs in popular music. She still has ample opportunities for live performances, the built-in boost of album release week and potential remixes. The song just hit the top five on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart this week, so its journey is far from over – especially as older 2022 hits and Taylor Swift’s vault tracks continue to free up space in the Hot 100’s uppermost regions. 

Lyndsey Havens: I would love to see “Greedy” enter the chart’s top five — and I do think once Think Later arrives in a few weeks that could happen. And hey, call me crazy but… historically, songs that end one year near the top can often begin a new year with even more attention as a result of how slow January can be. So, while a No. 1 spot seems a bit unlikely, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. 

Jason Lipshutz: Top five is realistic for sure, although No. 1 will be difficult with a flood of holiday music about to return to the top of the chart. Who knows, though? It’s not like Burl Ives is performing intricate choreography in hockey pads!

Andrew Unterberger: Top five should definitely be in Mcrae’s sights for “Greedy,” which is still clearly on its way up, and if she and her RCA label have a remix in reserve — maybe even one featuring AG herself? — it could absolutely have a shot at No. 1. The key will be timing, and in fact it may be best for McRae & crew to wait out the Holiday crush and go for the gusto in early 2022.

Five years ago, the Billboard 200 had never had a predominantly Spanish-language album top its rankings. Now, Bad Bunny has done it three albums in a row.
The recent SNL host’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana completes the hat trick this week, as the new set follows 2020’s El Último Tour Del Mundo and 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti to No. 1, debuting with 185,000 equivalent album units (while charting all 22 of its tracks on the Billboard Hot 100). Though the first-week number is easily tops for the week, it is down a decent amount from Verano, which bowed with 274,000 units in May 2022.

How does the Nadie Sabie debut compare to our expectations? And where do we rank Bad Bunny among the greatest pop stars of 2023? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana debuts with 185,000 first-week units — easily the top mark for the week, though nearly 90,000 shy of the 274,000 posted in May 2022 by Un Verano Sin Ti in its first frame. Is that 185,000 number higher, lower or about what you expected from the new album’s early performance?

Leila Cobo: Honestly, the number is a little lower than I expected, especially given that it had the most single-day Spotify streams of any 2023 album so far. Having said that, it’s still an enormous showing, and the fact that Benito has managed to score his third consecutive Spanish-language No. 1 on the Billboard 200 is a huge feat, unprecedented in Latin music. 

Kyle Denis: I would say it’s lower that what I was expecting. I wasn’t necessarily expecting a bigger debut than Un Verano Sin Ti, but after the unparalleled success of that album, I’m a bit shocked and underwhelmed by a decline of almost 90,000 units.

Isabela Raygoza: It’s possible that the 185,000-unit debut number for Nadie Sabe is slightly lower than some might have expected. However, it’s essential to recognize the remarkable feat of Bad Bunny maintaining a strong and lasting presence in the music industry. Even if the numbers didn’t quite match his previous albums, his influence on pop culture keeps expanding. The fact that he hosted and performed on SNL last Saturday, alongside icons like Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga, is a testament to his ever-rising star. So, while the sales figures may be a bit lower, his overall impact and significance continue to grow.

Jessica Roiz: From the get-go, I didn’t think this album would have higher numbers than Un Verano Sin Ti. I feel that last year, not only were many fans eagerly waiting for Un Verano to drop but it also garnered a whole new wave of curious listeners due to its very experimental titles that included merengue, dembow, bossa nova, and indie-pop. Nadie Sabe, on the other hand, is more niche and mostly all Latin trap, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, one thing’s certain, Bad Bunny is a master at reclaiming his throne.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s a little lower than I expected, though there was definitely a perfect-storm element to Verano‘s debut that I’m not surprised he didn’t quite match a second time. And what really defined the success of that album was more its endurance anyway — including 13 weeks atop the Billboard 200 — so the real test of whether this album can match its predecessor’s impact is still to come.

2. Bad Bunny stayed fairly active as a recording artist in between his two albums, releasing a number of one-off singles and collaborations — a few of which appear on Nadie Sabe, but most of which do not. Do you think those in-between releases helped excitement for the new album, hurt it, or had no major impact on it?

Leila Cobo: Bad Bunny is a maverick when it comes to promoting (or not promoting) his albums. You truly don’t know what he’s going to do, or as he says, “Hago lo que me da la gana”. I think his fans revel in the uncertainty: Will he release an album? Will he not? Is he taking a break? Is he going on tour? Which is a long way to say that I don’t think anything he did or didn’t do affected the performance of this album. Bad Bunny is at a stage in his career where he can do no wrong, where people are eager to hear his music and where he now has broad, universal recognition — not just for his music, but as a cultural phenomenon.

Kyle Denis: I’d say that some of those in-between releases hurt the excitement for the upcoming record. Neither “Where She Goes” nor “Un Preview” did much damage on the charts outside of their respective release weeks, and his crossover collaborations with Travis Scott (“K-Pop”) and Drake (“Gently”) weren’t received particularly well either. In fact, outside of “Coco Chanel” (with Eladio Carrión), Benito’s biggest song of the year is his “Un x100to” team-up with Grupo Frontera, which is rooted in a regional Mexican style that Nadie Sabe mostly avoids. Perhaps more importantly, his romance with Kendall Jenner put a damper on his likability for a significant chunk of his core fans, which could very well have impacted how many of them tuned into the album upon release.

Isabela Raygoza: It’s challenging to determine the exact impact of Bad Bunny’s in-between releases on Nadie Sabe. Each artist has their unique strategy, and what worked for him in the past, like surprise album drops, may not necessarily yield the same results every time. While he did provide fans with a brief heads-up this time (even if it’s 4 days in advance), it’s a departure from the approach of artists who announce their album releases months in advance. So, it’s possible that the in-between releases had some impact on the album’s reception, but it’s difficult to quantify precisely how it affected the excitement for the new album.

Jessica Roiz: No Bad Bunny song can ever be hurtful, IMO. But I do feel that tracks such as “Where She Goes” and “Un Preview,” though they are two of my personal favorite ones in the new album, did not have the impact they should have — at least not on TikTok, where so many of his songs created a buzz in the past. With the former release, fans were uncertain if it hinted at a new album or not; whereas the latter release, because of its title, built real excitement and curiosity that more music was on the way.

Andrew Unterberger: I do wonder if the steady stream of music in between the two albums had a bit of a dampening effect on Nadie Sabe‘s debut — especially since the biggest hit of the bunch, “Un x100to,” was the least likely to be included on this album or even really feel like it’s part of the same era. I wouldn’t mind seeing what Bad Bunny could do on his next album if he released it without any advance tracks and after a (brief) time outside of the spotlight.

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3. All 22 of the album’s tracks debut on the Hot 100 this week, led by the No. 5-entering “Monaco.” Do you think it will end up the biggest hit from the album, or is its highest debut mostly due to its top New Music Friday playlist placement and early appearance in the album’s tracklist?

Leila Cobo: I personally love “Monaco.” I love its moodiness and its Charles Aznavour references (who knew??) But I don’t think it will be the biggest hit on the album. I think that will go to one of the more rhythmic tracks that are still finding their way into listeners’ ears, much as what happened with “Tití Me Preguntó” and Un Verano. However, unlike with “Titi,” I’m not clear on what that peak single would be –although I’m a fan of “Hibiki”; I like the dance beats and I think Benito is particularly good on these more melodic, uptempo tracks.

Kyle Denis: The “Dime (Ey; dime), dime, ¿esto es lo que tú quería’?” lyric is already catching on over at TikTok, so I can definitely see “Monaco” growing into a steady hit, and perhaps the album’s biggest single. I would also keep an eye on “Fina” (with Young Miko) and “Perro Negro” (with Feid).

Isabela Raygoza: We were quick to recognize the potential of “Monaco” by ranking it as the album’s second-best track, just below “Acho PR.” “Monaco” stands out due to its lineup of featured artists (De La Ghetto, Arcángel, and Ñengo Flow) and a captivating sample that gives it a timeless quality. We’ve seen that songs with more featured guests tend to generate more streams, but even as a solo Bunny track, “Monaco” boasts a menacing violin riff that immediately grabs the listener’s attention, and his conviction in the track is powerful.

However, it’s also possible that “Acho PR” might gain more popularity over time. In fact, I’m placing my bet on that possibility. The dynamics of music popularity can change, and while “Monaco” had an impressive debut, it’s challenging to predict which track will ultimately become the biggest hit from the album. Both songs have their unique strengths, and it will be interesting to see how their popularity unfolds in the coming weeks and months.

Jessica Roiz: Given that it’s the song he used to announce his new album and it’s the actual focus track of the set, I can see why “Monaco” charted high on the Hot 100 and is No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs. I’ve also seen a lot of people use the sound on social media, mainly drawn by its avant-garde trap fusion backed by the elegant violin and piano melodies heardon French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour’s 1964 song “Hier Encore.” Now will it remain the biggest hit from the album? Only time will tell. But I do see two fan-favorites already boiling up on social media with the potential of becoming even bigger bangers: “Perro Negro” with Feid and “Fina” with Young Miko.

Andrew Unterberger: I wasn’t sure on it the first time I heard it, but I was sold on “Monaco” from Bad Bunny’s impressively staged and delivered performance of it on SNL last weekend. I dunno for sure if it’ll end up the album’s biggest, but it does sound like a real hit to me.

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4. Does Bad Bunny try anything on Nadie Sabe that you find particularly new and/or exciting? What song would you like to hear take off from it in the weeks to come?

Leila Cobo: I think Benito is becoming more and more atmospheric the more his career develops. Case in point is the aforementioned “Monaco,” which really goes out on a limb. It’s a bravado track through and through, but it’s set to an almost romantic beat; it throws you off, those lyrics against that musical backdrop. The tone was set with “Where She Goes,” which also has multiple mood layers.

Kyle Denis: I’m really enjoying Benito’s foray into drill alongside Eladio Carrión on “Thunder y Lightning.” It’s a nice reprieve from the Latin trap that dominates Nadie Sabe, and it would be cool to see drill get some real chart success in Spanish after dominating the Top 40 space with “Barbie World” this summer.

Isabela Raygoza: Bad Bunny’s exploration of new and exciting territory on Nadie extends beyond the album itself. This year, he showcased his versatility by delving into Mexican cumbia alongside Grupo Frontera and releasing “Where She Goes,” a single from the album that incorporates Jersey Club elements. Notably, the music video for the song features a cameo by Lil Uzi Vert, symbolizing a seal of approval from the Jersey Club purveyor. There’s also the Dominican dembow of “Cybertruck.” While the album may not represent a radical departure from his previous work, Bad Bunny’s return to trap is a full-circle moment for the artist who gained fame in 2016 for globalizing Latin trap. If there’s a song I’d like to hear take off it’s the intro track “Nadie Sabe,” a personal statement of Bad Bunny in 2023 that brims with conviction and authenticity. 

Jessica Roiz: More than his ever-innovative trap beats (for example in “Monaco” and “Vou787”), what excites me most about Nadie Sabe is its lyrical content. Unlike Un Verano, which was about being in love and summers in Puerto Rico, Nadie Sabe is about the downfalls, the wins, the life lessons. The heartfelt opening partial title track, “Nadie Sabe” — all about the good and bad of being as famous as he is — is testament to that, and “Los Pits” is all about conquering the world and being the best in the game. As for songs I would like to hear take off from the set … without a doubt, “Acho PR.” The track is an honest ode to his Puerto Rican culture and those who believed in him, featuring three artists that paved the way for the new generations: Ñengo Flow, De La Ghetto, and Arcangel.

Andrew Unterberger: Give me the dark, Drive-ready electro-pop of “Baticano.” And while we’re at it, give me a remake of Drive starring Benito in Ryan Gosling’s role as The Driver.

5. Last year, Billboard‘s staff named Bad Bunny the greatest pop star of 2022. We’re not done yet with 2023, of course — but based on his year so far, when we do our 2023 rankings, around where do you think he should fall: still No. 1, in the top 5, in the top 10, or not on the list at all?

Leila Cobo: I think he should definitely make the top five. I don’t think he’ll be No. 1 simply because this is a late-year release, and also because he hasn’t toured in 2023. But Benito has definitely become a staple of pop music and culture.

Kyle Denis: Off his consistent streaming numbers, the deafening buzz for his upcoming tour, and Nadie’s handsome debut, I’d say he’s got a spot in the top 10 secured.

Isabela Raygoza: I’d place him in the top five for 2023. The last few years have undoubtedly been dominated by Bad Bunny, and his consistent success on various mainstream charts is a testament to his influence. The fact that Nadie Sabe is the fourth all-Spanish album to top the Billboard 200 further underscores his achievement. However, it’s important to note that the rise of música mexicana on a global scale, and Peso Pluma’s Hot 100 dominance could present a challenge.

Jessica Roiz: Bad Bunny has achieved historic records that no other artist has in Latin music, and even if he’s on tour or not, releasing music or not, he will always be a force to be reckoned with. But if I were to choose, I think Karol G should be at No. 1 in this year’s ranking, with Bad Bunny in the top five. 

Andrew Unterberger: Top 10 for sure, and maybe an argument for top five if he ends the year strong — but tough for him to immediately repeat the dream season he had in 2022.