five burning questions

With just one week of summer left — at least by Billboard calculations, with our official Songs of the Summer chart closing after next week’s Sept. 9-dated listing — it seems like a good time to look back at what has been an extremely unusual summer of pop music on the Billboard Hot 100.

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For one thing, unlike any other summer in recent memory — in some ways, unlike any in Hot 100 history — the chart has been absolutely dominated by country this year. Between Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and now Oliver Anthony Music, country has been holding down one or more of the top spots on the chart for the whole season. But we’ve still gotten plenty of more traditional pop, in the form of hits by Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and the Barbie soundtrack cast, as well as hip-hop smashes from Gunna and Toosii, and global sounds from Rema & Selena Gomez, Fifty Fifty and Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma.

How do we evaluate this summer on the whole? And do we anticipate the country takeover to last for the rest of the 2023 calendar? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” has been No. 1 on our Songs of the Summer chart for all 13 weeks of its existence so far — do you feel that’s an accurate reflection of how the song has (or hasn’t) dominated the summer?

Katie Atkinson: It’s hard to argue with its chart run given the data reflects the song’s unstoppable shelf life, but I can (and will) argue that it didn’t soundtrack my personal summer. That banner belongs to Taylor Swift’s surprisingly resurgent (or, I guess, just surgent) 2019 song “Cruel Summer.” I love how Swift had three concurrent hits (“Summer,” “Karma” and “I Can See You” were all top five on the Hot 100 this summer) as her Eras Tour positively dominated the pop culture conversation. It was fitting for the summer of 2023, and I especially love that her concert-opening “Cruel Summer” finally had its moment in the sun.

Stephen Daw: Yep. Love it or hate it, “Last Night” was the song of the summer in 2023. If there were a checklist for what makes a song the summer song, Wallen’s runaway hit checks all of the boxes; huge crossover appeal, chart domination and a level of inescapable ubiquity that almost begins to feel Lovecraftian in its scope. As much as some (myself included) may want us to collectively move on from this song, it doesn’t change the fact that “Last Night” monopolized summer listening this year.

Jason Lipshutz: Definitely. On the Hot 100 this summer, “Last Night” has functioned a lot like Harry Styles’ “As It Was” did last summer, piling up week after week at No. 1 and never too far from the top spot when something else momentarily knocked it out. Maybe Wallen’s smash wasn’t as culturally omnipresent as summer songs of the past, but that speaks more to the fragmentation of popular culture more than anything to do with “Last Night.” As it stands, Wallen clearly had the biggest hit of this summer, and when 2023 wraps up, maybe of the year, too. 

Joe Lynch: I suppose it’s hard to say no, because them’s the numbers. Unlike some No. 1s from this summer, “Last Night” is huge at radio and streaming and doing well in downloads, so you can’t chalk its success up to a coordinated base of supporters influencing the charts. But as huge as country is right now (it occupies the top three slots of the Hot 100), there are plenty of music fans who still haven’t hitched their wagon to that genre’s horse. We find ourselves in an unusual spot where this summer’s biggest hit isn’t resonating across all demographics. 

Andrew Unterberger: Eh. As an adult living in New York, it felt imminently ignorable in a way summer-conquering No. 1s rarely have. (Most of the conversations I had about the song were of the “Can you believe it’s still No. 1?” variety.) But if I were a teenager living in Tennessee? I’d probably feel pretty differently.

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2. Country music has dominated this summer in many different forms — do you see that lasting for the rest of the year, or will it prove mostly a warm-weather-month phenomenon?

Katie Atkinson: With the genre finally catching up in streaming, I think country’s command of the Hot 100 is just getting started. We’ve seen in the past couple of months how right-wing virality can boost a song (see: “Try That in Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond”), but “Last Night” and “Fast Car” are just traditional, sustained hit songs with undeniable reach. I expect more of both varieties of hits from the country world – and I also expect hip-hop to find its way back to the top after an unfathomable yearlong absence.

Stephen Daw: To me, it’s pretty hard to look at the last few years’ worth of chart metrics and try to justify calling the country music explosion we’ve been experiencing a summer-specific phenomenon. Country music is taking streaming more seriously than it ever has (as detailed in this excellent piece by Billboard‘s Steve Knopper), it has a coterie of young stars that are connecting with a multi-generational audience, and it’s gained enough attention and momentum over 2023 to make this inarguably the biggest year in recent memory for country music. That trend isn’t just going to disappear once the weather cools down a bit — if anything, I see the country boom continuing well into the fall — especially with a massive (and very good) album from Zach Bryan fresh on the mind.

Jason Lipshutz: It’s hard to say, because it will likely depend on the upcoming music. Zach Bryan’s newly released self-titled album has flooded streaming charts this week, but will those songs impact the Hot 100 for weeks on end? Will upcoming projects by Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj dominate the fall? What else can Taylor Swift and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) contribute to an already gargantuan year? And are there more out-of-nowhere country success stories like Oliver Anthony lurking in the autumn? With so many high-profile question marks, whether or not country music’s blockbuster summer continues beyond the season is anyone’s guess. 

Joe Lynch: I don’t think country’s chart surge – fueled in part by the genre’s core fans finally catching up the streaming era – can be waived away as a summer phenomenon. There are few signs of Wallen waning, and if anything, I expect that we’re increasingly likely to see established names such as Jason Aldean or new voices topping the Hot 100 in the next 12-18 months.  

Andrew Unterberger: Have you seen the early streaming numbers for the new Zach Bryan album? We’ve only just begun, my friends.

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3. Looking at the chart this week — are there any older songs you’re in mild disbelief were still big enough the past few months to be Songs of the Summer?

Katie Atkinson: It has to be “Anti-Hero.” The Midnights lead single came out way back in October (10 full months ago!) and spent eight nonconsecutive weeks atop the Hot 100, surpassing “Blank Space” as her longest-running No. 1 song — so it’s not like it toiled away in obscurity before climbing up the charts. The fact that “Anti-Hero” still has the legs to be one of the 20 biggest songs of the summer — after definitively being one of the biggest songs of the fall, winter and spring that preceded it – can only be credited to the power of Taylor Swift.

Stephen Daw: Part of me wants to be in shock that “Cruel Summer” is staying strong at No. 4 this week, but I know better than to doubt the power of Swifties. But getting to watch SZA’s “Snooze” keep creeping up the Hot 100 after coming out in December has been a continuously delightful surprise for me. “Snooze” has all of the elements of a crossover summer hit to me, and I’m glad to see SZA still getting her flowers for putting out one of the best albums of the last five years.

Jason Lipshutz: Six months after its February release, FIFTY FIFTY’s “Cupid” has not only become the rare K-pop single to cross over to U.S. streaming and pop radio without a household-name artist behind it, but after 23 weeks on the Hot 100 and a climb into the top 20 of the chart, the song has turned into one of the most successful hit singles by an Asian act of the entire decade. “Cupid” rules, but I wouldn’t have seen that coming! And I’m still surprised that it’s endured on the chart long enough to crack the Songs of the Summer tally. 

Joe Lynch: Obviously “Cruel Summer” is four years old, so it being a huge summer hit in 2023 is wacky, but it comes with an explanation (endless fan requests that led to a full-on label/artist push). For me, the fact that Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” and Miley’s “Flowers” are still summer staples is the most eyebrow raising, simply because it feels like they came out a lifetime ago in terms of pop releases. But it tracks: turn on the radio and just try to avoid ‘em.  

Andrew Unterberger: No offense to The Weeknd, 21 Savage or Metro Boomin, who have collectively been responsible for a fairly high percentage of my favorite hit singles of the past decade — but what the hell is “Creepin’” still doing on this list. And I liked “Creepin’!” But really already.

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4. What’s one song you had hoped would be bigger this summer whose chart success (or lack thereof) hasn’t quite panned out the way you’d wanted?

Katie Atkinson: Jason picked Coi Leray’s “Players” as a front-runner back in March, and I was thrilled by the idea of one my personal favorites climbing higher than its No. 9 peak and gaining steam over the summer – but it just never did. Maybe it needed a buzzy remix beyond the Busta Rhymes and David Guetta versions, like a guest verse (or verses) from Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande and/or other high-profile players.

Stephen Daw: I really thought “Rush” was going to be Troye Sivan’s ticket back to the upper echelons of the Hot 100 this summer. He hasn’t had a Top 40 hit since “Youth” all the way back in 2016, and “Rush” felt like the perfect opportunity for him to climb back up the charts. It’s got that up-tempo, ecstatic groove that you want from a sweaty summer banger, and it was certainly having a semi-viral moment on TikTok that seemed like it could blow up. Now, a No. 77 debut on the chart is nothing to shake a stick at; it’s Sivan’s highest-ever debut on the listing. But to see it quickly fall back off of the charts was a disappointment — especially because it’s been the staple song of every queer club I’ve attended throughout the summer.

Jason Lipshutz: In retrospect, my way-too-early song of the summer predictions from March were pretty solid this year – “Last Night” and the “Calm Down” remix were both listed as front-runners, and they’re currently in the top three of the Songs of the Summer chart. Also listed as a front-runner: Ed Sheeran’s “Eyes Closed,” a single I still really like from a pop radio mainstay, but simply didn’t connect the way Sheeran’s past smashes did. Maybe it was too contemplative for summertime, or maybe Sheeran should have gotten Luke Combs for this remix instead of for “Life Goes On.” Either way, Ed’s already on to the next project – perhaps Autumn Variations will fare better in the cooler months. 

Joe Lynch: For all the organic ubiquity of Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam” in the queer community – it was certainly the most inescapable viral hit on LGBTQ social media this summer – I was hoping it would at least enter the Billboard Hot 100. But unless you’re Dua Lipa, pushing dance-pop to U.S. radio is tough these days. And when you consider the industry’s entrenched ageism toward women in particular, it’s hardly shocking that “Padam” failed to get a real crossover foothold.

Andrew Unterberger: I remember the mid-July thrill of discovering Troye Sivan’s “Rush” and Myke Towers’ “LaLa” in quick succession and thinking that maybe this Hot 100 summer still had some surprise thrills left in store. Then they stalled in the 70s and 40s on the chart, respectively, while Oliver Anthony Music zoomed well overhead of both. As Sandy Olsson would say, it turned colder, that’s where it ends.

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5. As a pure fan of pop music, grade the collective hits of this summer on a scale from 1 to 10.

Katie Atkinson: I’m going to go 3, mostly because of the Barbie soundtrack infusing some much-needed variety into the chart mid-summer. Otherwise, things have been pretty stagnant. Is it too much to wish for a more literal Song of the Summer again, like Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” in 2010 or Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” in 2002?

Stephen Daw: It’s a 4 for me personally. This summer felt like a mixed bag when it came to straight-up pop hits — though shoutout to Olivia Rodrigo, Jung Kook and the entirety of the Barbie soundtrack for doing their best to deliver some bonafide pop winners during the sweaty season.

Jason Lipshutz: A 6. This wasn’t my personal favorite summer-song collection, but I danced along to “Calm Down” in my car when catching it on pop radio, bobbed my head to Gunna’s “Fukumean” while walking my dog, and sang karaoke to Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” just as the song was re-ascending the Hot 100. The delights may have been unexpected, but they were still there. 

Joe Lynch: That’s a tough one. Looking at the tunes on our Songs of the Summer chart, I like the majority of them – and I even love a handful. But when you think back to summer songs that resonated across damn near every part of the population (“Old Town Road,” “Despacito,” “Call Me Maybe”), it’s an underwhelming crop. Let’s say it’s a 3.  

Andrew Unterberger: I’ll say a 5. Can’t say I particularly enjoyed Morgan Wallen’s endless run on top, or having to repeatedly re-enter the culture war fray for Jason Aldean’s and Oliver Anthony Music’s reigns, or the way Taylor Swift’s massiveness occasionally blocked out the sun for the rest of the top 40 world. But there were still a decent number of quality pop, rap, R&B and country jams to be had, and with Zach Bryan’s new album out this week and Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore LP on the way, it’s (hopefully) better times ahead. No pop summer is ever really below a 5 anyway.

Doja Cat officially became one of the biggest and most exciting pop stars in the world with third album Planet Her, an inspired set that took over radio and streaming for a good year and a half. It proved that the singer-rapper’s “Say So” breakout from 2020 was far more than a viral fluke, and ensured that her upcoming fourth album would be one of the early decade’s most anticipated releases.

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But Doja — whether sincere, trolling or some combination — has since derided her prior two albums and expressed a desire to move away from their top 40-friendly sound, instead making music that allows her “to express the way I feel about the world around me.” To that end, she’s released two new singles: The more hip-hop-forward “Attention,” which debuted at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June, and the Dionne Warwick-sampling “Paint the Town Red,” which bows at No. 15 this week.

What do the new songs tell us about where Doja is really at right now as an artist? And what kind of commercial potential does “Red” have? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. “Paint the Town Red” debuts at No. 15 on the Hot 100 this week. Is that higher than, lower than, or about where you would have expected?  

Rania Aniftos: Definitely where I thought it’d land. If she didn’t alienate her fans so much and debut a pretty controversial, horror-inspired image recently, the song would have made the top 10 because it really is classic Doja circa Hot Pink era.

Katie Atkinson: About where I would expect. In all her impressive chart history over the last three years, Doja has yet to be the artist who makes a particularly splashy week-one showing; she’s the artist who has Little Songs That Could – tracks that improbably claw their way up the Hot 100 for a full year. Prime example: “Woman,” which peaked at No. 7 last year and spent exactly 52 weeks on the chart. “Red” is an out-of-the-gate fantastic, re-listenable song, so while it’s not a No. 1 or top 10 debut, it is the highest unaccompanied debut of her career so far.

Kyle Denis: Considering the lukewarm reception to “Attention” and the fact that Doja doesn’t have many splashy fist-week showings for solo singles, No. 15 is a bit higher than I expected. Part of me isn’t all that surprised because, unlike “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red” is much closer in sound to the singles that made Doja one contemporary pop’s biggest stars. Nonetheless, snatching a top 15 debut amid her various controversies is certainly nothing to scoff at. 

Jason Lipshutz: It’s where I expected. Doja Cat is no stranger to the top 10 of the Hot 100, but “Attention,” the single that preceded “Paint the Town Red,” debuted and peaked at No. 31 upon its June release. “Red” is a more immediate single, though, with a stronger hook and a smart flip of Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By”; plus, a lot of her past singles have grown into top 10 smashes after lower debuts on the chart. A No. 15 start for “Red” sounds about right, then.

Andrew Unterberger: A little higher than I would’ve predicted on first listen, but about right after a couple days. Initially the song sounded kinda messy to me — I’m still not totally sure about that chorus or title — but after hearing it a couple times and especially after seeing the music video, it sounds more like another Doja crossover smash to me. And No. 15 is a pretty decent start for it.

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2. Previous single “Attention” debuted at No. 31 and fell off the chart entirely just a few weeks later — do you think the chart run of “Red” will closer to that or to one of Doja Cat’s enduring Planet Her smashes?   

Rania Aniftos: “Red” has a catchier, more TikTok-friendly hook, and as we’ve seen in the past, that’s one of the main driving forces in Doja’s career. If it picks up more on the app, I could see it sticking around on the Hot 100 for a while longer.

Katie Atkinson: I do think it’ll be like those big hits. I love “Attention,” but I also think it was a purposely unconventional single tied to Doja making an explicit “rap album” after owning pop radio with Planet Her. “Paint the Town Red” still showcases Doja’s obvious rap skills (was there really ever any doubt?) but also has a memorable hook that gets lodged in your head, like all the best earworm pop hits (“Yes, bi—, I said what I said…”). I predict this will have staying power.

Kyle Denis: Based on its first week, I think that “Red” is well on its way to a run that mirrors the Planet Her singles. Now, I don’t think “Red” will end up matching that album’s biggest songs like “Kiss Me More” (with SZA) or “Woman,” but it should still have a successful run. Not only is “Pain the Town Red” closer to the Planet Her sound than “Attention,” “Red” is also more upbeat and has a much stronger hook, which should bolster its chances at radio.  

Jason Lipshutz: I’d expect “Red” to grow from here. Doja Cat has been adamant about adopting a more rap-leaning aesthetic for her Planet Her follow-up, and while she sounds as nimble as ever on the verses here, “Red” also contains a sneakily huge pop chorus – that “Mmm, she the devil” bit will get stuck in your head for hours. A top 20 debut is nothing to sneeze at, but I’d look for a top 10 push in the coming weeks. 

Andrew Unterberger: I think it’ll stick. It’s still performing consistently on streaming nearly two weeks after its release, and its radio play is already starting to explode. It seems well on its way to getting a good deal more attention than, well, “Attention.”

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3. Doja has talked a lot about putting her past work behind her and doing something completely different for her next work — do you see “Red” and previous single “Attention” as signs of a major career reinvention, or do they more feel in line with her past hits?  

Rania Aniftos: Sorry Doja, but neither of those songs offer anything notably different to me — especially given her comments lately. They have the same sing-rap vocal pattern she’s known for, the radio-ready hook and a wide-appealing melody. If you’re gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk!

Katie Atkinson: I don’t think they’re major departures, but there does seem to be less singing in general on both. Aside from the trip-hoppy chorus of “Attention,” in general, she seems to be more focused on rap this time around, as promised. But sonically, I think both of these productions would fit right in on Doja’s past projects.

Kyle Denis: Although she drew on boom-bap for “Attention” and increased the amount of rapping she normally does on both songs, I don’t think either track is a sign of a major career reinvention. “Attention” was pointing in an interesting, and genuinely different, direction, but “Paint the Town Red” wouldn’t sound out of place on either of her last two studio albums. Sonically and structurally, everything still feels very familiar. To Doja’s credit, her lyrics have shifted to reflect her thoughts and feelings on her recent controversies and perception by the public — and that’s a significant shift from most of her past rap verses. 

Jason Lipshutz: They both denote a pivot away from the vibrant pop textures of songs like “Say So” and “Kiss Me More,” but some of the best parts of Planet Her showcased her ability to rap circles around her competition, including the most ecstatic bars of “Woman,” “Need to Know” and “Get Into It (Yuh).” “Attention” and “Paint the Town Red” feel less like transitions into a new aesthetic and more like accentuations of the approach that Doja has previously explored, as if she’s stepping inside a room that she’s gestured toward previously. 

Andrew Unterberger: “Attention” was a little more of a detour, but both still feel quintessentially like Doja Cat. Which is not a bad thing! Whether you consider her more of a pop star or a rapper — and there’s no actual need to choose there — she’s been one of the most creative, compelling and all-around electric new artists from any genre of the past decade. I don’t really believe she’s that ashamed of her past work, either; she’s just a a true child of the internet, forever saying unpredictable stuff to see what kind of reaction it gets.

4. She’s also taken some heat in recent months for her somewhat contentious ongoing dialogue with fans over social media — which has reportedly cost her hundreds of thousands of followers. Do you think this backlash will end up actually being consequential for Doja’s career, or is it just one of many small hiccups for the artist on her an otherwise upwards pop star trajectory?  

Rania Aniftos: Depends on where she goes from here. If she continues to double down on her anti-fan dialogue, it’s going to affect her career greatly and alienate not only her current fans, but others who might be interested in her music in the future. If she grows into a more mature headspace, I can see us as a society putting that little hiccup behind us.

Katie Atkinson: I think it’s a hiccup. Her online persona has always been testy, whether she’s interacting with fans or haters. Doja’s supporters can’t possibly expect this woman to fawn over them like some artists do with their fans. That is simply not her way. If anything, this latest dust-up adds to her cryptic image.

Kyle Denis: Given that she just snagged her highest solo Hot 100 debut with a song in which she directly addresses said contentious dialogue, I think Doja will be fine. I don’t think any of the recent controversy will be consequential for her career. For what it’s worth, she’s weathered bigger storms than this when she was a comparatively less established artist. Now, if ticket sales for her tour start to significantly slow down the closer we get to the album release and opening night, then I think there should be cause for concern.

Jason Lipshutz: “Yeah, bitch, I said what I said / I’d rather be famous instead.” That’s how Doja Cat starts “Paint the Town Red,” a callback to her claim that she’d rather be famous than a false idol to be worshipped – and while that point of view clashes with modern stan culture, it’s a refreshingly honest perspective that differentiates Doja from other artists. Maybe Doja has lost a few followers on social media, but remaining her authentic self won’t slow her down one bit.

Andrew Unterberger: Eh. If the music was bad (and got a poor response) then that would make for a tough combination with a partial fan backlash. But if the music is good and people like it — usually a smart bet with Doja — she’ll probably be just fine. She’s weathered worse.

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5. The Dionne Warwick “Walk on By” sample: Fair or foul usage of one of the greatest pop songs ever?  

Rania Aniftos: I don’t know if everyone would agree, but I like it! I appreciate when an artist takes a sample and makes it completely fresh and different, so it doesn’t feel like a rip-off. We’ve been seeing it a lot with various pop artists lately, and I for one thing it’s fun. 

Katie Atkinson: Fair! I especially love the way the horns are used. And guess who else loves it? Dionne Warwick.

Kyle Denis: Eh, it’s not foul, but it’s not a particularly interesting or innovative flip of the sample, which is something of a disappointment considering how strong Doja’s musical ear is.

Jason Lipshutz: Very fair! I love the way Doja re-contextualizes a classic single for a new generation, something we’ve seen across the now 50-year life span of hip-hop. Plus, the manner in which Doja flips the meaning of Warwick’s refrain – instead of a sense of loss, “walk on by” becomes a suggestion to naysayers – is incredibly smart. Great sample, great use of sample. 

Andrew Unterberger: Not totally sure yet, to be honest. “Walk on By” is pretty sacred to me, and while it’s been covered, sampled and reinvented pretty consistently for 60 years now, I’m still not sure I see it really fitting into the bigger picture of what Doja is doing here musically or thematically. Still, the song is growing on me, so perhaps the sample’s part in that will too. (And love to see “Walk” still having a central place in pop music, particularly so soon after Burt Bacharach’s death.)

The final results of the year’s closest race for No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart were announced on Wednesday (August 2) — with K-pop quintet NewJeans securing the top spot for their 2nd EP ‘Get Up’, with 126,500 units in its debut week (on the chart dated August 5).

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That was just 500 more units than the soundtrack to the blockbuster film Barbie, which posted 126,000 units — the best single-week tally for a soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born set in 2019. Both top-two finishers this week also have a major Billboard Hot 100 presence: NewJeans claims three songs on the Hot 100 (led by advance single “Super Shy” at No. 48) while the Barbie soundtrack accounts for five entries (led by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s Aqua-featuring “Barbie World” at No. 7).

How did NewJeans land such a stellar first-week performance with a six-song EP? And why has the Barbie soundtrack proven such an instant success? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. NewJeans just squeaked out the victory this week over the blockbuster Barbie soundtrack with their 2nd EP, with 126,500 units in its debut week. What do you think the biggest reason is that NewJeans has achieved such success so quickly on the Billboard charts? 

Rania Aniftos: They’re so cool. Simple as that. I’m (half) kidding, but I think with so many boy bands in the K-pop space breaking through into the global mainstream, we’ve been really craving some girl power. NewJeans do such a good job at reaching a global audience because their songs are not only catchy, but also appealing to fans of all ages. I’ve seen TikToks of kids dancing around to “Super Shy” and loving it just as much as their parents do, which is pretty unique when it comes to music.

Kyle Denis: I think NewJeans has arrived at precisely the right time. From the Stateside breakthroughs of BTS and BLACKPINK a few years back to the recent Billboard 200 triumphs of STRAY KIDS and TWICE, the U.S. market is very receptive to K-Pop across the board right now. Sonically, their new EP drips with the sounds that have been dominating America’s mainstream: U.K. garage and Jersey club. Couple that with their flourishes of Y2K aesthetics, sleek melodies and irresistible hooks, and you’re left with an EP that is very in tune with where American music and culture are at in 2023 while still feeling fresh. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think the biggest reason is the pacing of its releases — while NewJeans didn’t overwhelm the market, the act released just enough at just consistent enough of a rate that they always stayed sort of top of mind, without ever becoming oversaturated. Its first two EPs arrived just about one year apart, and the time between was filled with one-offs like “Ditto” “OMG” and “Zero” — plus collaborations and remixes with Jon Batiste and J.I.D. And not only have they been consistent with timing, but with quality as well, which is arguably even more important. 

Jason Lipshutz: NewJeans’ rapid ascent — first with songs like “OMG” and “Ditto,” and now with this chart-topping EP — is due to their combination of their K-pop fan appeal and their smart, natural deviation from traditional K-pop production. The group has been able to tap into a massive listenership while offering them something new, and reaching non-K-pop fans in the process: the video for “Super Shy,” for instance, contains the group choreography and individual personality showcases typically affiliated with a K-pop visual, but the song’s rhythmic base and shuffling hooks are just as likely to beguile R&B and hyperpop fans. NewJeans offer a new, broadly enjoyable flavor of popular music, and it’s connecting.

Andrew Unterberger: NewJeans are clearly on pop’s cutting edge for 2023 — their sound plays in any language, for any audience — and they have the songwriting, hooks and personality to back up the production. It’s a recipe for success — which, unlike with many of their peers, can already be seen in streaming hit singles as well as in robust album sales.

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2. While several K-pop outfits have topped the Billboard 200 already this year, NewJeans has separated itself from the pack of rising stars by scoring a trio of Hot 100 entries already — led by Get Up’s “Super Shy,” at No. 48 this week in its third week on the listing. Do you think it will grow into an even bigger pop hit, or is this the best showing it will likely have?

Rania Aniftos: It’s probably just the beginning. Now that the album has topped the Billboard 200, even more potential fans will get introduced to the group and check out their music. “Super Shy” is such a fun song, so I can’t imagine that NewJeans fans won’t continue to boost its success.

Kyle Denis: I think “Super Shy” can definitely grow into a bigger pop hit. Obviously, with TikTok anything is possible, and we just saw FIFTY FIFTY make history on pop radio for South Korean all-female groups with “Cupid.” Given the heavy Jersey club influence of “Super Shy,” the song wouldn’t sound out of place next to PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” or Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes,” so the potential for growth is certainly there. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think it’s both — and that’s sort of the genius of it all. The soundtrack was so perfectly tailor-made for the film — and yet, it also stands strong on its own as original songs by Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish would sound just as at home on projects of their own. (The real test will be if Eilish live debuts “What Was I Made For” during her headlining set at Lollapalooza this weekend). Plus, having physical formats available on release date allowed people to buy in right then and there, and helped the soundtrack to exist as a separate, tangible entity. 

Jason Lipshutz: I’m not sure exactly how high it will climb, but “Super Shy” is one of the most immediately enchanting pop singles of the year — catchy, bubbly, carrying a sense of space and a feeling of intimacy. The recent success of FIFTY FIFTY’s “Cupid” makes me feel even more bullish that K-pop singles can cross over to U.S. top 40 radio — a platform that has generally shrugged off tracks by non-stadium headliners — and I think “Super Shy” will make some inroads at pop stations in order to enter the top 40 of the Hot 100.

Andrew Unterberger: They’ll get one soon enough. “Super Shy” seems like a good bet to be that official crossover breakthrough, but if it’s not this one it’ll probably be another within a year’s time.

3. Meanwhile, Barbie posts the best single-week number for a soundtrack since 2019. Is that mostly just a function of how big the accompanying movie has already become, or do you think the soundtrack establishes a character of its own as a full listen? 

Rania Aniftos: Both! In my experience, I listened to the soundtrack because I was so excited about living the Barbie fantasy, but then realized that there are some really good songs on there that stand perfectly on their own without the movie’s context. I find myself listening to some of the soundtrack’s hits on repeat even though the Barbie hype is starting to subside, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Kyle Denis: As a complete package, I’m not crazy about the Barbie soundtrack. Nonetheless, there are enough songs on the album that double as memorable and pivotal moments in the film for the soundtrack to stick. Obviously, the record-breaking success of the film helped these first-week numbers, but with four tracks — “Barbie World,” “Dance the Night,” “Speed Drive” and “What Was I Made For?” — growing into legitimate streaming and radio hits, I anticipate some impressive stability for the soundtrack’s consumption numbers in the weeks to come. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think it will continue to grow, especially following the EPs impressive debut week. And while NewJeans has already explored the remix format, “Super Shy” seems like an ideal follow-up — and I would imagine the list of artists willing to hop on is quite long by now.

Jason Lipshutz: My wife and I were driving around the other day, listening to the Today’s Top Hits playlist on Spotify, and “Barbie World” played back-to-back with “Dance the Night” — a pretty good sign for a big-budget soundtrack! The success of the Barbie film, which has practically become a cultural phenomenon, obviously boosted the debut sales week of its accompanying album, but the main reason why the soundtrack has done so well is because it has hits that can stand on their own. Some function within the context of the Barbie film more than others, but when you have big artists delivering their A-games and scoring real chart achievements, your soundtrack is going to do big numbers.

Andrew Unterberger: The soundtrack is a very fun and fairly coherent listen front to back — not every song is a gem, but every song keeps the momentum up, and a handful of tracks do feel like real hits. As someone who still hasn’t seen the Barbie movie (I know, I know, I’ll get to it soon enough), if I was at a party or in a car ride and someone threw on the soundtrack, I’d still be able to enjoy myself pretty thoroughly — a rarity for OSTs in 2023, to be sure.

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4. Barbie also claims six songs on the Hot 100 this week: Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s Aqua-featuring “Barbie World” (No. 8), Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” (No. 12), Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” (No. 18), Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive” (No. 73) and Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” (No. 87). Which of the bunch, if any, do you think makes for the best listening when removed from the larger Barbie context?

Rania Aniftos: I’m torn between “Dance the Night” and “What Was I Made For.” As we’ve seen with “Levitating,” Dua knows how to keep a disco-pop track on the charts, on the radio, in the clubs and basically anywhere you can listen to music. “Dance the Night” is very similar to me, so I’m guessing it will have a similar impact. Meanwhile, I’ve already been seeing “What Was I Made For” striking a chord with listeners on TikTok, as this new generation of music listeners seem to be more existential. They’re connecting the songs with their own experiences of feeling used or unseen for who they truly are, and I think the song is going to stick around for a while. 

Kyle Denis: “Barbie World” is such a fun flip of the Aqua sample that you can’t help but bop along, but, for me, the real star of the soundtrack is Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” It’s an absolutely devastating ballad that boasts the best placement in the film, but the lyrics and production of the song are just as effective when removed from the context of Barbie. Sure, it’s a bit of a heavy song for the summertime, but you can’t deny its greatness. Then again, if you’ve truly tapped into the Kenergy within you, Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” is always a great listen. 

Lyndsey Havens: Personally, I have not been able to stop listening to “I’m Just Ken” — like really, it’s becoming an issue. But that song is arguably the most tied to the film… as is “Barbie World.” Which is why, I think, “Dance the Night” and “Made For” have been the most affecting for me; Both sound like they could have been left on the cutting room floor of Future Nostalgia and Happier Than Ever, respectively. But in the context of the film, they also sound like they were only made with Barbie in mind. That kind of duality — to resonate with something so specific and so universal all at once — is why I think those two songs will keep climbing. 

Jason Lipshutz: “Dance the Night,” for sure. Maybe the Barbie single isn’t Dua Lipa’s strongest glittery disco-pop single to date, but I’ll be damned if we weren’t starving for a new glittery disco-pop Dua Lipa single, now nearly three and a half years removed from the release of Future Nostalgia. The song has grown on me, sounds great on pop radio, possesses one of the best bridges of any hit single this year, and will keep performing well whenever the Barbie hype starts to dissipate.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s almost comical to me how good “What Was I Made For?” is — Billie and Finneas could’ve very easily phoned in their Barbie ballad, but instead reached so deep inside with this one that it sounds like a particularly emotionally wrought therapy session. Given how relatively uncommercial the song is and how much listeners are still responding to it, you can tell that it’s resonating far beyond the Barbieverse.

5. It hasn’t always been the most exciting year for new pop blood on the charts, but the combo of NewJeans and the Barbie hits is one of the better infusions we’ve had in a bit. What other pop artist, currently scheduled (strictly or loosely) for an upcoming 2023 release, are you most excited to hear a new album from this year?

Rania Aniftos: Olivia Rodrigo, of course. She’s coming to save 2023 pop. Trust me.

Kyle Denis: I’m very excited for the upcoming records from Reneé Rapp (Snow Angel) and Holly Humberstone (Paint My Bedroom Black). 

Lyndsey Havens: Well, we already got a new album from Posty, so even if we call it here and now I’m ending the year on a high. That said, I’ve been listening to a lot of Selena Gomez lately and would be excited about a new album from her… And then, of course, there’s Ariana. Perhaps with production paused for Wicked she’ll venture back into the studio… There’s certainly a lot of inspiration for another hit (or several) these days. 

Jason Lipshutz: “Rush” has me buzzing with anticipation for the new Troye Sivan album, which is due out in October. Could he finally cross over as a hitmaker? How many songs will approach the sky-high quality of that lead single? I’m amped to see what Sivan has in store, and what he can accomplish commercially.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s been a long road to Chappell Roan’s debut album, and you just hope that it gets the attention it’s sure to deserve as one of the year’s most fun and funniest pop sets.

It was an eventful week on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated July 29), as the continued reign of Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” (14 weeks so far) was interrupted by two chart debuts: BTS alum Jung Kook‘s “Seven,” featuring rap hitmaker Latto, and veteran country star Jason Aldean‘s “Try That in a Small Town.”

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The high debut of “Seven” was more foreseeable, given the longtime success of BTS and its members on the Hot 100 and the song’s strong start in both streaming and sales upon its Friday (July 14) release. But the conservative anthem “Try That in a Small Town” came from close to out of nowhere, zooming up the sales and streams charts after its controversial music video (featuring images from the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020) led to it being banned on CMT last week.

How did the two songs make such rapid impacts? And which of the two is more likely to stick around the top of the charts from here? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. Jung Kook has scored a handful of Hot 100 entries before, most notably as a guest on Charlie Puth’s No. 22 hit “Left and Right,” but never really threatened the top spot before. What’s the biggest reason to you that “Seven” has launched him into a new chart stratosphere as a solo artist?

Katie Atkinson: Just like they did with Jimin’s “Like Crazy” back in April, the BTS ARMY clearly rallied around Jung Kook’s debut solo single. The streaming and sales numbers are absolutely massive, and that’s thanks to this tireless fan group. And thankfully, Jung Kook came through for them with an upbeat sing-along of a song that recalls my very favorite Craig David hit “7 Days” for a new generation of pop fans.

Eric Renner Brown: I’m not familiar with the personal fanbases for each BTS member, so my answer is more macro: As a group, BTS was so prolific for so long, and then in 2022 and even early in 2023, we were seeing a healthy flow of solo releases from its members; that flow now seems to have slowed to a drip, and I think fans are simply hungry for more BTS. And while some BTS releases – both group and solo – have featured Western artists, many haven’t, which makes me think Latto’s inclusion might’ve extended this track’s release to another base of listeners.

Jason Lipshutz: Casual chart watchers would probably chalk up the Hot 100-topping success of Jung Kook’s “Seven,” and Jimin’s “Like Crazy” before it, as the results of the BTS Army rallying behind any of the group members’ solo efforts. That’s partially true, but also, both “Like Crazy” and “Seven” are catchy, compelling pop singles that make sense sonically and stylistically atop the chart. The rhythmic, sexually suggestive “Seven” showcases more personality and a stronger hook than “Left and Right,” while Latto slots in nicely as a guest rapper with pop prowess; the single certainly received a boost from the fandom around Jung Kook, but the building blocks of “Seven” compose a successful whole.

Joe Lynch: The devotion and persistence of ARMY is certainly a factor here (regarding “Left and Right,” it’s only natural that Stans are gonna push harder for a song where their fave is the main credited artist and not the featured one). This sales total — 153,000 combined digital and CD singles — is a big part of this No. 1 debut, certainly. But compare it to the No. 1 debut for BTS bandmate Jimin’s “Like Crazy”: that one had a bigger sales total (254,000) but a smaller streaming total – 10 million as compared to the whopping 21.9 million streams for “Seven.” Part of that is the Latto boost, but to my ears, a lot of it has to do with the kind of song “Seven” is — it’s akin to the radio gold Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran have struck with similar mixtures of sweet acoustic guitars and swinging hip-hop beats. 

Andrew Unterberger: It helps that “Seven” is a really good song — and given its explicit chorus, a particularly ear-catching one. That may sound like a superficial explanation, but given how much better the song has streamed than most BTS-related songs (especially globally), it’s pretty clear it’s not just ARMY soldiers flocking to this one. You have to catch a decent amount of non-superfan interest to put up those kinds of numbers, and you do that by releasing undeniable pop singles.

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2. It’s also the first No. 1 for Latto, who came two spots away in early 2022 with her “Big Energy” and also scored a big hit this year along side Cardi B with “Put It on Da Floor Again.” Do you think this achievement is particularly notable for her career?

Katie Atkinson: It’s funny: When BTS first started making English-language songs, they often enlisted more established artists (Nicki Minaj, Halsey, Charli XCX) for features to boost their profile in America. But now, it’s often the opposite, with BTS and all its members boosting another artist’s profile via features. Latto is reaping the benefits of the ARMY putting their weight behind Jung Kook’s new song, and it can only help her in the long run to have the good will of this fierce fanbase behind her moving forward.

Eric Renner Brown: I don’t think the achievement is too notable, other than her ability to now say she’s topped the Hot 100 (which isn’t nothing!). No shade to Latto, but this chart success feels mostly predicated on its BTS affiliation; it’s easy to imagine this track going No. 1 with another American rapper on it.

Jason Lipshutz: The timing is certainly notable: Latto’s first Hot 100 No. 1 comes as the featured artist on a pop single, one month after she re-established herself as a ferocious rapper on “Put It on Da Floor Again.” Cardi B’s appearance on the remix helped the song reach the top 10, but Latto also sounded reinvigorated on the track after a few singles that had failed to take off. The success of “Put It on Da Floor Again,” followed by the even bigger win that “Seven” represents, secures Latto’s standing as a mainstream star, transcending the pop-rap success of “Big Energy” in 2022 by splitting those two sounds in half this summer.

Joe Lynch: It’s huge for Latto. Her follow-up singles to the undying radio smash “Big Energy” whiffed on the Hot 100, so even when she returned to the top 20 this year alongside Cardi, it’s fair to say she needed to keep the momentum going. And a No. 1 debut for a song she prominently features on is definitely a huge win that bodes well for the rest of her year.  

Andrew Unterberger: It’s another nice win during a particularly successful few months for Latto. I doubt it will change her career arc dramatically, but it may win her some new fans — and a pretty nice one-week financial windfall, given all the consumption.

3. Underneath “Seven,” Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” debuts at No. 2, largely thanks to a late-chart-week push after its video (and its subsequent CMT banning) resulted in an explosion of controversy. We’ve seen plenty of songs with implicit or explicit conservative leanings debut on the Hot 100 over the past couple weeks — by artists like Aaron Lewis, Tom MacDonald and Bryson Gray — but none quite with this velocity. What do you think the biggest reason is that “Try That” is speeding to new heights so quickly?

Katie Atkinson: The way the uproar unraveled, whether you agree or disagree with Jason Aldean’s political leanings, you wanted to watch the video to see what all the fuss was about. On top of that, it’s clear from the sales numbers that people who wanted to show their support for his musical message purchased the song in droves. We’ve seen the way Morgan Wallen’s sales and streams erupted following his own controversy when he was caught on camera saying the N-word in 2021, but this scenario is different, because the controversy was around a specific song and centered on a country star with an already-established fanbase after nearly two decades of Nashville stardom. It was a perfect storm for a political powder keg to explode.

Eric Renner Brown: “Who are Aaron Lewis, Tom MacDonald, and Bryson Gray?” That’s the biggest reason I think this track has blown up so quickly. Conservatives are eager to boost right-wing tracks, but those other three artists are relative no-names — Staind’s frontman and a pair of artists who had virtually no profile until they made MAGA-bait songs. Aldean, on the other hand, is an established, Grammy-nominated star who headlines arenas and is heavily decorated by the country-specific awards shows. It’s not surprising to me that his conservative dog-whistle track has outpaced similar songs by less-known performers; likewise, if an even bigger star than Aldean released this type of song, I bet they’d shoot up the chart quicker and stay there longer.

Jason Lipshutz: The commercial explosion of “Try That in a Small Town” rests in the coded messaging of the song and video: As Aldean pointed out, there are no explicit calls to violence or racist lyrics, but by implying that vigilante justice is justified as a pro-gun rights tactic in the song and depicting protesting as violent crime in the video, Aldean has created a conservative anthem with a degree of plausible deniability. Other hard-right songs in recent years haven’t climbed as high on the Hot 100, because they’ve been so straightforward with their agendas that they haven’t been able to court a wide amount of controversy. With “Try That in a Small Town,” however, left-leaning country fans became outraged by the obvious dog whistles, right-leaning country fans became outraged by their outrage, CMT banned the video, conservatives supported the song on iTunes in response, and Aldean rode the discourse all the way to the No. 2 spot on the Hot 100.

Joe Lynch: Those other artists aren’t exactly household names, so Aldean’s profile is the big difference here. He has 10 No. 1 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart. Plenty of people have a warm association with him already, so they’re likely to get more emotional and worked up when they hear he’s being criticized, and therefore more likely to engage with the song by streaming it, sharing it with others, buying it, etc. I could see this happening with another country artist of Aldean’s caliber in the next year — as long as conservative media picks up on it as a culture war cause célèbre.  

Andrew Unterberger: It’s a combination of Aldean’s existing stardom and sorta built-in credibility with country audiences, and the fact that pundits on one of the country’s most watched (and most influential) TV channels are actively calling on viewers to stream the thing on repeat to send a political message. It’s also just good timing, with the news story gradually building to a fever pitch over the course of the Friday to Thursday chart week.

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4. Both “Seven” and “Try That” achieve their top two positions largely on the back of sales, which usually (but not always) drop significantly from week to week. Do you think either of these songs will still be in the hunt for No. 1 next week?

Katie Atkinson: I think they both could be in contention for No. 1 next week, but I’d say Aldean has the better shot as this controversy continues to smolder. A quick search of social media shows that Aldean’s supporters are not letting this high-profile musical moment die down anytime soon, so it could have a real shot to climb to the top next week – especially if some like-minded radio programmers give it extra play.

Eric Renner Brown: I doubt either will remain in the hunt next week. Conservative outrage cycles pass quickly, and with both artists, there’s probably a ceiling of how many people will buy the songs to support them – a ceiling that both Jung Kook and Aldean are likely approaching already. And for the week after, if we’re getting a new Travis Scott album this Friday after all…

Jason Lipshutz: I could actually see both challenging for No. 1 either next week or in the coming weeks. “Seven” sounds like a slam-dunk radio hit, and as sales dip following its first-week explosion, I’d guess that top 40 programmers help Jung Kook and Latto make up some of the difference in Hot 100 points. Meanwhile, something tells me that we’re just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the “Try That in a Small Town” controversy — Jason Aldean will continue drawing attention to the song, conservatives will continue downloading it, country radio will continue wading into the interest around it, and next week we might be seeing it atop the chart.

Joe Lynch: Definitely Aldean. The furor isn’t tapering here, as folks on various sides are chiming in with their hot takes, and it will likely last long enough to keep “Try That” in contention for reaching No. 1. Which would never have been imaginable if CMT hadn’t pulled the video in the first place (after all, this song came out months ago).  

Andrew Unterberger: Aldean certainly has the inside track, especially because while consumption of “Seven” was strongest on its Friday release date (as is the case with most new songs) at the beginning of the tracking week, the furor of the “Try That” backlash-to-the-backlash was only beginning to crest at the end of last tracking week, and was still very high at the beginning of this one. Plus, having already gotten their No. 1, “Seven” fans are likely less ravenous about keeping it there than “Try That” boosters are about pushing their anthem over the top. (I do hope “Seven” gets back in the mix soon, though, just as a result of the radio play it deserves to build.)

5. They’re hardly the only ones, but K-pop fans and conservative-leaning music listeners are two groups of consumers who have, over the past few years, shown a steadfast willingness to continue buying digital songs as a way to express support for songs and artists, even as song sales on the whole have continued to slide annually. Is there another group of music fans who you could see adopting (or who have already adopted) this strategy to support their favs?

Katie Atkinson: Not that she needs the extra help, but an artist like Taylor Swift has figured out how to deliver release-week digital extras that give her insatiable fans more ways to support her – I’m thinking especially of lead Evermore single “Willow” in late 2020 and its successive “Dancing Witch,” “Lonely Witch” and “Moonlit Witch” remixes that helped propel the ballad to No. 1 on the Hot 100. In that case, the artist is pulling out all the stops, but the fans are all too eager to collect ’em all.

Eric Renner Brown: I truly have no idea. Whenever I hear about these things, my first reaction is, “Wait, people still buy digital songs?” And my second reaction is, “Wait, people buy digital songs to prove a point, and not because that’s the only way to hear the music?” I’m a huge Deadhead, and I buy their CD-only archival releases, but that’s because there’s no other way to hear them. I can’t imagine buying the CDs as a form of virtue-signaling or to help ensure their chart success – but I also can’t imagine buying a case of Bud Light just so I can destroy it to protest something Anheuser-Busch did, or buying multiple versions of the same vinyl release for collectible reasons.

Jason Lipshutz: I’d expect this to become standard procedure for superstar acts around their biggest releases — which has already happened to some degree, but has not come to define every major pop rollout quite yet. Plenty of dedicated fan bases want to support their favorite A-lister, and digital downloads have become something of a fast track for that support. In the coming months and years, it wouldn’t be a shock to see digital sales ploys become further engrained into all types of big pop arrivals.

Joe Lynch: The LGBTQ community is already pretty good at doing this to support their faves, but to my mind, it’s hard to imagine this trend still being a thing in a decade as everything digital moves into the cloud. As for physical copies, even as tactile music makes an industry comeback, I can’t imagine CD singles (famous last words, perhaps) enjoying the same comeback staying power that full-length albums on CD and vinyl have.   

Andrew Unterberger: I’m a little surprised that influencers on TikTok and IG looking to get into music haven’t yet totally utilized the digital sales route via their rabid fanbases — though their audiences may be too young to properly motivate to actually spend money on digital music, many likely for the first time in their lives.

It’s a movie event like few others in 2023: Barbie, the Greta Gerwig-directed full-length film exploration of the Barbieverse, seems to have pressed all the right buttons in its years-long marketing campaign and is now finally set to debut in theaters this July.

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Part of the movie’s pre-release promotional success has come via its star-studded soundtrack, from which several advance singles have been released. Two of those have already hit the Billboard Hot 100‘s top 40: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” which climbed to No. 32 in June, and Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua‘s “Barbie World” — revisiting the latter artist’s signature ’90s pop classic “Barbie Girl” — which debuts at No. 7 on the chart dated July 8.

Which of the hits will ultimately prove the soundtrack’s biggest hit? And does this new redo do the Aqua original proud? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. “Barbie World” enters the Hot 100 this week at No. 7. Given the song’s buzz and the artists involved with it, is that higher, lower, or about what you would have expected for its debut?

Rania Aniftos: Given that the Barbie movie isn’t even out yet, it’s right where I expected. I think the song’s journey has only just begun, and I have a feeling a “Barbie World”-themed trend will hit TikTok after Gen-Z watches the film and gets a renewed obsession with the iconic doll. 

Katie Atkinson: I might have expected a top five debut – like “Princess Diana” earlier this year – so it’s around where I would have predicted, if a little low. While there is a lot of online buzz around the Barbie movie, I think a lot of the soundtrack love could come after its premiere, depending on how the songs are used in the film and just how big it turns out to be.

Kyle Denis: I expected a bit of a splashier debut for this song. “Barbie World” is the follow-up to Nicki and Ice’s last collaboration, “Princess Diana,” which hit No. 4, it’s the latest track from what is arguably the most anticipated movie of the summer — and it’s fun, catchy, and built around a sample that everyone knows and loves. Not to mention that multiple versions (sped-up, slowed down, extended, etc.) of the song were available during its first week of release. While a No. 7 debut isn’t bad by any means — and this launch certainly isn’t a death sentence for the song — it’s still quite soft.

Nonetheless, it’s always important to remember that soundtrack singles perform differently in comparison to regular radio singles. Take Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” the lead single from the Barbie soundtrack and her first unaccompanied single since her blockbuster Future Nostalgia era. “Dance the Night” is still yet to reach the Top 30 of the Hot 100, so “Barbie World” is doing just fine.

Jason Lipshutz: A little higher than expected, considering the song itself: “Barbie World” is less of a crossover pop track than recent smashes like Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” and PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2,” and more of a furious rhyming assault, with both MCs relentlessly rapping around the Aqua sample for less than two minutes. The previous offerings from the upcoming Barbie soundtrack didn’t grace the top 10 of the Hot 100, and even though the combined star power of Minaj and Ice Spice is always powerful, I didn’t think “Barbie World” would streak this high. Yet “Barbie World” is beguiling, even without a proper pop hook, and deserves the buzz it’s received.

Andrew Unterberger: Looks about right to me. A little lower than “Princess Diana,” sure, but we’re already a few singles into the Barbie soundtrack rollout, and soundtrack singles (even for movies as anticipated as Barbie) often underperform a bit on streaming. (Even a song as ultimately huge as Doja Cat’s “Vegas” from last year’s Elvis debuted outside the Hot 100 altogether initially.) Plus, “Diana” had the benefit of an original to piggyback off of when the Minaj-featuring new spin debuted, which “Barbie” doesn’t — unless, of course, you count “Barbie Girl.”

2. The song is the second straight top 10 debut this year for Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, with their “Princess Diana” starting at No. 4 in the spring. Why do you think their combination has proven so immediately potent?

Rania Aniftos: Ice Spice’s natural charisma always reminded me of Nicki’s when she first hopped on the scene, and I’m clearly not the only one who thinks that. You’re combining two fun, confident, lyrically clever female rappers on a song and it feels like the perfect team-up of rap generations every single time. 

Katie Atkinson: It’s the perfect pairing of a rapper with a dedicated fanbase who has been active (and dominant) for 15 years with a buzzy new rapper whose star keeps ascending as she collects new followers. Over the years, Nicki has handpicked female rappers to team up with, as evidenced by the “Queen Mix” of her Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Super Freaky Girl” last year, which featured City Girls’ JT, Bia, Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V and Maliibu Miitch. Ice Spice seems to be the newest member of that select group that Minaj has given her stamp of approval.

Kyle Denis: From a commercial angle, the union of Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice is probably the smartest one in contemporary mainstream hip-hop. Few hip-hop artists have fanbases that can rival the fervent devotion of Minaj’s Barbz. Their ability to effectively organize has helped provide a sturdy foundation for yet another era of Minaj’s commercial dominance. She’s the last artist to send a hip-hop song to the top of the Hot 100, and every song she’s released in 2023 has entered the chart (bar “Endless Fashion” and “Money,” as those songs will have a chance to debut on the Hot 100 next week).

Ice Spice is the hottest new rapper and overall artist of 2023. Outside of her collaborations with Minaj, she’s scored two additional top ten hits on the Hot 100 alongside PinkPantheress (“Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2”) and Taylor Swift (“Karma”). Even her songs that completely missed the Hot 100 are cultural touchstones (“Munch,” “Bikini Bottom,” etc.), specifically amongst the TikTok crowd and Gen Z consumers. Her commercial pull grows with every release, and people are genuinely enamored with her as an artist and person, hence their increased interest in each subsequent single. 

Moreover, the music is good. The songs are catchy and enjoyable, and the two artists clearly have stronger chemistry than almost all of Minaj’s collaborations with new-gen female rappers. 

Jason Lipshutz: Their collaborations have demonstrated a natural chemistry between their respective flows: Minaj raps with a more animated bounce, Ice Spice’s delivery is more smooth and subtle, and together, their energies form a symbiotic relationship. On “Princess Diana” especially, Minaj’s wild-eyed rhyming sounds like the perfect complement to Ice Spice’s unaffected swagger. Even though they’ve only made a couple of tracks together, I’m already anxious for a Watch the Throne-esque joint full-length.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s just a good pairing of artists with similar styles, personalities, and pop star instincts. Their breakthroughs might be a near-generation separated, but it’s pretty tough to imagine Nicki Minaj fans looking down their nose on the young upstart, or Ice Spice fans rolling their eyes at the older veteran. Plus their voices sound pretty cool together.

3. “Barbie World” marks the second top 40 hit from the Barbie movie soundtrack, with Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” having recently climbed to No. 32. Which of the two do you think will ultimately become the most-enduring hit from the movie — or would you guess that song is still to come from the remainder of the star-studded soundtrack?

Rania Aniftos: “Barbie World” for sure. It’s just a better song overall, in my opinion, and something out of the ordinary. As much as I love Dua Lipa, “Dance the Night” gives very similar, disco-tinged energy to “Levitating” or “Don’t Start Now,” so it doesn’t stick out among her discography. Who knows though? I’m excited to hear the rest of the soundtrack. 

Katie Atkinson: I’m going to give the edge to “Dance the Night,” because it has a similar vibe to Lipa’s persistent smash hit “Levitating,” which was crowned the No. 1 song on our 2021 year-end Hot 100 even though it only peaked at No. 2 on the weekly chart. That shows what kind of longevity it had, and if “Dance” gets that kind of major push at radio plus a bump from the movie’s release, it feels like the top 10 could be in its future.

Kyle Denis: I think it’ll be hard to say until the movie comes out. “Barbie World” is in nearly every trailer, but “Dance the Night” will have a prominent placement in a massive dance scene in the film. There are also the other songs from popular artists on the soundtrack, as well as Ryan Gosling’s big power ballad moment, which could pull a “Peaches.” Right now, I’ll put my money on “Dance the Night.” 

Jason Lipshutz: “Dance the Night” has grown on me since its release — but the answer is “Barbie World,” thanks to the higher chart placement, the continued bond between Minaj and Ice Spice, and, most importantly, the amazing feat of returning Aqua to the top 10 of the chart after a quarter-century away, timed to the release of the Barbie movie. In my mind, Minaj and Ice Spice have full license to tell all of us, in full Max Fischer voice, “We revived Aqua. What did you ever do?”

Andrew Unterberger: Seems like “Dance” will have the advantage on radio and “Barbie” the advantage on streaming, so I bet they end up about evening out. That said, I would be 0% surprised if the defining song from Barbie comes from a lesser-known song by a lesser-name artist — just something that comes in the right point in the movie, strikes a nerve on the internet and ends up a TikTok sensation for the rest of the summer.

4. Obviously much of the hook — and the artist credit here for Aqua — comes via a prominent sample of Aqua’s late-’90s top 10 hit “Barbie Girl.” Do you think the sample is a particularly inspired or well-deployed one, or just another example of a 2020s hit being built off a relatively rote sample of a proven hit from a generation earlier?

Rania Aniftos: “Barbie World” is so clean and fresh! I was expecting the Barbie film to just find a pop star to cover the Aqua hit and call it a day, so the Ice Spice/Nicki remix was a pleasant surprise. To me, it perfectly captures the nostalgic feeling of the Aqua song but keeps it exciting with Nicki or Ice Spice, who never let anything feel outdated. They feel like two completely different songs, which is a testament to how well the sample was executed. 

Katie Atkinson: I actually wish it had been used more prominently! When I heard about the song weeks ago, I was imagining something more in the vein of Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” or “Anaconda,” but I think the Aqua sample was more quietly woven in than I expected. I was hoping for the “Barbie Girl” chorus to be the chorus here, but “Barbie World” has Nicki and Ice trading raps instead. Plus, its two-minute run-time shaves a full 80 seconds off the Aqua original. And where is Ken (aka Aqua’s Rene Dif)? I don’t know how you can have a “Barbie Girl” sample without the raspy “C’mon, Barbie, let’s go party” line.

Kyle Denis: Somewhere in between. Unless the sample was chopped and screwed beyond recognition (which probably would have made for a more intriguing song), “Barbie World” was always going to feel reliant on “Barbie Girl,” to some degree. Nonetheless, if the sample wasn’t recognizable, “Barbie World” would lose its most immediate connection to both the film and Aqua’s original track. 

I think Nicki, Ice, and RiotUSA strike a fine balance. The elements of drill and Jersey club make the “Barbie Girl” sample feel staunchly contemporary, and when they let the sample play uninterrupted in the song’s outro, it’s a nice way to hold space for and honor the impact of Aqua’s seminal hit. 

Jason Lipshutz: I wish the Aqua sample was utilized a bit more cleanly in “Barbie World” — give me a pop-rap song that lets that timeless hook rock as a proper chorus, similar to how Minaj presented the samples on “Anaconda” and “Super Freaky Girl” — but even as connective tissue between Minaj and Ice Spice’s traded rhyme, the “Barbie Girl” melody is too likable to ever be fully denied. It would be easy to adopt a cynical view of the whole affair as pop-song pilfering, but it’s even easier to just enjoy “Barbie World” as a new generation’s nod to a classic single.

Andrew Unterberger: I think the song does a pretty good job with its source material! The sample is big and unmistakable, but it doesn’t provide the entire skeleton of the song — just one of its most vital organs. It functions well as an obvious centerpiece for the Barbie soundtrack, but really, “World” also sounds like a song that could’ve been found on the expanded version of Ice Spice’s Like..? EP without making fans think twice about it.

5. On a scale from 1-10, how excited are you for the Barbie movie to finally arrive later this month?

Rania Aniftos: 8. Even though I was more of a Bratz doll girl growing up, I can’t get enough of childhood nostalgia movies.

Katie Atkinson: 10. I will be seated on opening day.

Kyle Denis: 11. I simply cannot contain my Ken-ergy. 

Jason Lipshutz: A 4. I love Greta Gerwig as a director, but do not love a popular toy being used as tongue-in-cheek Hollywood IP and then dominating pop culture for weeks on end! So I am excited for the Barbie movie to finally arrive, as a means of concluding the extended Barbie movie rollout.

Andrew Unterberger: A 5, mostly just so we can finally get a verdict on whether or not the final product was worth the months (years?) of internet Barbiemania that’s led up to it.

Though chart success is not exactly new to alt-folk singer-songwriter Noah Kahan — his Stick Season set debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in late 2022, while its title track has spent nearly 30 weeks on Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart — he certainly reaches a new level this week, as his Stick Season jumps to the top 5 of the Billboard 200.

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The album shoots all the way from No. 100 to No. 3 on the chart dated June 24, easily a new high for the set. That’s thanks to a combination of renewed interest in (and consumption of) the set following its We’ll All Be Here Forever deluxe reissue earlier this month — which includes seven new tracks, including the TikTok-teased “Dial Drunk,” a No. 43 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 this week — and robust sales numbers, spurred on by the set’s long-awaited vinyl release the same day.

Still, how has Kahan been able to build so much commercial momentum in a relatively short period of time? And how big might his new hit still get from here? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. We don’t see a lot of indie-folk-type singer-songwriters reaching the top five of the Billboard 200 in 2023, let alone doing so for the first time with a reissue. On a scale from 1-10, how surprised are you to see Noah Kahan’s Stick Season at No. 3 this week?

Eric Renner Brown: My surprise at seeing Kahan specifically would clock in around an 8, but my surprise at seeing A Guy Like Kahan is about a 3. Earnest, folky singer-songwriter fare perennially does well. The artists who break through can come as a surprise – and I’m not sure I or anyone else can always explain why one artist in this genre gets huge while others don’t – but indie-folk still has a huge audience, and where there’s an audience there will always be a desire for new blood.

Hannah Dailey: I’d say 5, and my surprise level is only that high because it was the deluxe version, not the actual album, to make it that far on the charts. But Noah in general has been long overdue for this kind of commercial recognition — he’s a talented songwriter with that rare but familiar gift for crafting hooks that resonate widely and deeply with the most versatile of audiences. As for his folksy acoustic sound, I’m not surprised he’s seeping into the mainstream — I think his style is one of the most timeless genres out there, and that there’s always been a market for it. But it’s one of those genres that’s often bigger than the individual artists who contribute to it. It’s only when someone like Noah, Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, etc. is positioned at the right time to rise above the rest of the songwriting pool that numbers like this are able to happen. 

Kyle Denis: I’m probably around a 7.5-8. I’m in a perpetual state of awe at how deep and dedicated music niches have become in the TikTok era. I would wager that the average person walking down the street doesn’t have a single clue who Noah Kahan is, but that doesn’t matter. He’s engaged his base in such a way that them simply showing up is enough to put him alongside global sensations like Taylor Swift and Stray Kids. I think that’s beautiful. I also think the fact that Stick Season hit No. 3 with a reissue is really important. It seems like artists are moving on from albums at an increasingly fast pace, but the success of Stick Season is a testament to the power of working a record to the fullest extent. 

Josh Glicksman: Let’s go with an 8. Granted, it wasn’t a week filled with new releases from perennial chart-topping artists (the only June 9 album to rank ahead of Stick Season on the June 24-dated chart is Niall Horan’s The Show). Even so, Kahan’s monumental leap from No. 100 to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with no prior history on the chart aside from this project, is nothing to gloss over — particularly during a year when it’s been difficult to break ground among the mainstays.

Andrew Unterberger: About an 8. It was obvious from Stick Season‘s debut last year that Kahan was an artist to watch, and that a true breakthrough moment was likely coming down the road — but I thought “down the road” would mean “at least one album cycle away” for Kahan. That it came with a well-timed, well-planned reissue of Stick Season itself eight months after its initial release is definitely not what I expected, but that’s music in 2023 for you: No album cycle is ever truly over anymore.

2. Kahan has obviously been able to harness a certain amount of momentum and virality from his presence on TikTok. What do you think about him or his music has allowed him to be so successful there? 

Eric Renner Brown: Kahan’s songs are hooky earworms, have vivid and memorable lyrics, and exude a stylistic nostalgia that conjures indie-folk stalwarts of yesteryear like The Lumineers (who, it should be noted, sell out stadiums in the year 2023, even if lots of people reduce them to their 2012 smash “Ho Hey”). It all adds up to an immediate and organic simplicity that can stand out on the platform while appealing to the sensibilities of many of its younger users – who, now, have an indie-folk hero of their own.

Hannah Dailey: I don’t think the answer is much more complicated than that his music is objectively good and has built-in mass appeal. His lyrics are beautiful and widely relatable, his songs are intrinsically cathartic and beg to be sung by thousands of fans in arenas — a tried-and-true formula for commercial success. Does it hurt that he’s hilarious and clever, and has learned to communicate his hilariousness and cleverness to fans on social media while also fostering personal connections? Definitely not. 

Kyle Denis: I think there are two key things happening with Noah Kahan: 1) he satisfies Gen Z’s penchant for relatability from their music stars and 2) his folky analog sound is a far cry from the dominant dance-centric sonics of current mainstream pop. Kahan has been very open about his struggles with anxiety, and that kind of transparency resonates very deeply with a generation that is more open about mental health conversations than their elders were. Musically, he’s a smart lyricist and offers a different sound. It also helps that he engages with fans on a level beyond “here’s this song and tour ticket, buy it.” He’s complimenting and reacting to fans’ covers of his songs and throwing his support behind fans rewriting “Dial Drunk” from the other point of view. He feels accessible even though he isn’t actually just a phone call away for most listeners. 

Josh Glicksman: Though there are trends, it can be difficult to point to definitive rationale for virality on TikTok — though it’s notable that he’s been able to build momentum on the platform over the course of a full 21-song re-release, as opposed to a singular hit. That said, Kahan seems to have built a strong following thanks to frequent interaction with his fans, whether it be showcasing duets of those singing his songs, thanking concertgoers from tour stops or previewing new music.

Andrew Unterberger: If we’ve learned nothing else from the absurd level of success Zach Bryan has reached in the last 18 months, it should be that a relatable small-town artist with a strong voice (both in the technical and artistic sense), big choruses and a good understanding of internet promotion should never be underestimated. Kahan really seems like he’s following the Bryan playbook to the last X & O — most importantly, in terms of having huge-sounding songs that connect with listeners in a really personal way — and it’s certainly paying off for him right now.

3. Though he’s had breakout hits before – particularly with Stick Season’s title track – his new “Dial Drunk” seems to be a new level of breakthrough for Kahan, bowing at No. 43 on the Hot 100 this week. Do you think it will continue growing from here, or is its chart success more of a one-week wonder based on anticipation for its full debut? 

Eric Renner Brown: With its plucky banjo, “Dial Drunk” has a slightly different flavor than some of Kahan’s other most-streamed tracks, while still excelling in the ways those other songs do. I could see it being his next hit – but at this point, Stick Season‘s high chart placement seems the most likely explanation for the song’s Hot 100 appearance.

Hannah Dailey: I’m not sure. If I had to guess, I’d say that Noah’s magic really lies in his albums as full bodies of work, not his songs on their own. So while “Dial Drunk” may not continue its upward trajectory, I’m hopeful Stick Season will. 

Kyle Denis: I think the song might tumble a bit and then remain steady in the weeks to come. It may or may not re-peak, but I think, at this moment, the song’s longevity is of utmost importance for Kahan. People seem to really be latching onto the bridge and the storytelling aspect of the song. It also helps that songs with a similar sound, like Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange,” have stuck around on the Hot 100 for 60 weeks, so clearly there’s a sizable market for songs like “Dial Drunk.”

Josh Glicksman: While I don’t expect the song to climb into the highest reaches of the Hot 100, I’d expect for it to stick around in the weeks to come. Even if the viral momentum that spurred it to the chart begins to fade, “Dial Drunk” seems like a bankable hit on the radio throughout the summer. It debuts at No. 3 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs — one of an eye-popping 18 entries that he holds on the chart this week.

Andrew Unterberger: I gotta say, I am really rooting for this song. I don’t know how big “Dial Drunk” can get on the charts without a major place on radio — it doesn’t quite fit on pop or country, and rock and alternative radio only takes you so far in 2023 — but it’s certainly rousing and replayable enough to remain a fixture on streaming and stick around on the Hot 100 for some time still. It might need a big synch or music video or remix to push it past its current placement, though.

4. Kahan is still in the midst of a U.S. tour that will take him through most of the summer. If you were on his team, would you be advising him to do anything else right now to capitalize on the momentum of this moment, or is he better off focusing on the tour and letting his newfound success essentially promote itself? 

Eric Renner Brown: The guy has a No. 3 album on the Billboard 200 and headlined Radio City Music Hall two weeks ago! I don’t think he or his team needs to mess with his current trajectory.

Hannah Dailey: He’s clearly doing something right on his own, so I wouldn’t want to risk adding any pressure to inorganically capitalize on something that came together so naturally and beautifully. I also like to think that he’s proof of that if your music is really good and you just keep at it, people will eventually start to notice — as naive and over-simplified as that notion may be. 

Kyle Denis: At the risk of looking too try-hard and accidentally stepping towards the hyper-glossy inaccessible pop stardom he exists in opposition to, I would advise Kahan and his team to just keep doing what they’re doing. Maybe book some more televised performances but continue to prioritize the tour and nurture that unique fan connection. Part of the buy-in for supporting any new artist is feeling as though you have discovered them, and a calculated promotional push mitigates that feeling. The momentum will carry itself, and if recent tours from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are anything to go by, touring — in any capacity — is still the most effective and authentic way to promote an artist’s music and brand. 

Josh Glicksman: Be visible, but don’t feel the pressure to immediately follow-up with something else. I’d be advising him to continue interacting with fans on social media, as well as doing the radio circuit and applicable press, but let Stick Season and “Dial Drunk” have their respective moments to shine in the sun. Spend the next several months continuing to build your fan base, and allow them to become familiar with your discography before trying to add another release in there.

Andrew Unterberger: Just chill for the rest of the season. Keep playing to bigger and bigger crowds on the road, keep engaging with fans online, but otherwise just marinate in the moment and don’t mess with what’s gotten you this far. And perhaps most importantly, maybe take a few months off, and then get to work on that next album: You’ve set yourself up beautifully for whatever comes next, but folks won’t wait around forever — and as good a handle as you have on the current rules of the game, they’re probably just a year or two away from changing into something totally unrecognizable.

5. Who’s another still-somewhat-under-the-radar singer-songwriter from the folk and/or indie worlds right now who you think might be due for a breakout moment of their own soon? 

Eric Renner Brown: Sure, this is partly wishful thinking on my part, but Alex G has an extremely passionate following in the indie world that only continues to grow, and it wouldn’t catch me totally off guard if one of his more folky tracks – and his 2022 album God Save the Animals has some of his folkiest material yet – broke through. Not that I think it’s particularly likely.

Hannah Dailey: Angel Olsen, Ethel Cain or Leith Ross! 

Kyle Denis: I’d love to see P.J. Harding and Ruel have their proper breakout moments sometime soon. 

Josh Glicksman: Samia. Go back and listen to her newest album, Honey — and while you’re there, check out 2020’s The Baby, too.

Andrew Unterberger: A little more country and grunge than folk and indie, but Koe Wetzel seems like another singer-songwriter in this did-it-himself mold who is really resonating with young fans right now and might not be long removed from his own mainstream breakout moment.

While Morgan Wallen has been reigning atop the Billboard charts for the better part of the spring, Taylor Swift has been dominating nearly all other facets of pop culture — largely due to her continent-crossing Eras Tour, which seems to make a week’s worth of headlines with every additional stop.

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This week, Swift’s chart presence again matches her general ubiquity, as her Midnights album — boosted by a number of goodie-boasting new reissues and physical variants — returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated June 10). One of those deluxe bonus cuts is the much-hyped remix of Midnights‘ “Karma,” featuring rising star Ice Spice, which also propels that track to a new peak of No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

How important was it for Taylor Swift’s big year to have a chart week like this? And is she reaching the point of overexposure — if such a point even exists for Swift in the first place? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. While Taylor Swift has unquestionably dominated 2023 from a discussion standpoint, she’s been a little less present at the top of the charts. Do you think it’s at all significant that she returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week with Midnights, or does that not even make it near the top of the Swift-related headlines for this week?

Rania Aniftos: We all know that the whole Matty Healy situation has greatly overshadowed this chart accomplishment, but Taylor always deserves her flowers when it comes to her ability to re-ignite interest and extend the lifetimes of her albums. With the Eras tour in full swing and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on the way, we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of that as we enter the summer. 

Katie Atkinson: I think it’s significant, especially considering that she toppled the seemingly unstoppable One Thing at a Time with a six-month-old album. But every headline adds up to the same thing: Swift is currently at the absolute pinnacle of her pop powers. The record-breaking success of Midnights late last year snowballed into her blockbuster, marathon Eras Tour, which is now leading into her latest re-recording — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) — next month. The continued success of Midnights might not be surprising, but it is momentous nonetheless.

Kyle Denis: Given that Midnights has already spent several weeks at No. 1 and that Tayloris already in rare air in terms of her success across the Billboard charts, this return to No. 1 isn’t all that significant. Midnights has remained in the Top 10 for the entirety of its run so far, so it’s not like the album is rising from the dead. At best, it’s a testament to her ability to keep fans interested and invested in her albums several months post-release, which seems to only get more difficult as the streaming era progresses. Realistically, her reported breakup with Matty Healy is the biggest T-Swift story of the week. 

Jason Lipshutz: While a return to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, thanks in part to the release of a deluxe edition of Midnights, isn’t too noteworthy for a superstar of Taylor Swift’s caliber, she did accomplish something that a whole bunch of artists haven’t been able to muster over the past three months: upend Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time for the top spot. After 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1 and a flood of new releases relegated to runner-up chart placements, Wallen’s latest album finally cedes the floor this week — and for Swift, those circumstances make the achievement slightly more significant than usual.

Andrew Unterberger: Was it needed? Probably not. But part of the reason enduring superstars like Taylor Swift stay at their level is because they seize opportunities to make a splash when presented with them. With Swift already looking to give the chart momentum of the slowly climbing “Karma” an adrenaline shot, why not make the most of it and do a full new reissue (or two or three) and do what no other artist could the past three months — knock Morgan Wallen out of No. 1? It helps her historically in the record books, and it helps her stay winning in real time. And this year is all about winning for Taylor Swift.

2. While Midnights unseats Morgan Wallen at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, “Karma” comes up one spot of doing the same on the Hot 100, with its new Ice Spice-featuring remix propelling it to No. 2 but ultimately proving unable to unseat Wallen’s “Last Night.” If you’re Taylor Swift, is being denied the top spot there a disappointment – and do you think it still has a shot at hitting No. 1 later in its run?

Rania Aniftos: I can’t speak for how Taylor feels, because she’s probably got so many other things on her mind right now, but I personally am disappointed. I really thought this was going to be the song to knock Wallen off the No. 1 spot, but now I’m not sure it’s going to be able to climb to the top. At this point, if Taylor couldn’t do it, if Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’s “America Has a Problem” couldn’t do it, if Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes” couldn’t do it, I don’t know what can.  

Katie Atkinson: While it might be disappointing for Taylor, No. 2 is an impressive showing for an album cut that’s been out since November — and while Ice Spice is having a moment, she hasn’t yet scored a Hot 100 chart-topper, so her addition to a remix wasn’t a guaranteed rocket to No. 1. I think its chances to eventually top the Hot 100 rest almost entirely on airplay. If radio decides to play “Karma” half as much as it played “Anti-Hero,” it has a chance at the top, but it just couldn’t compete with the established success of “Last Night” this early.

Kyle Denis: For the simple fact that this remix was a clear play for No. 1, I think “Karma” missing the top spot is a disappointment. Between a new music video, three live performances with Ice at her New Jersey Eras Tour stops, and several interlocked controversies, “Karma” was clearly primed to be the next No. 1 hit from Midnights. The union of the world’s biggest pop star and hip-hop’s hottest new artist getting blocked by a song that’s several months old isn’t the best look. Then again, Midnights went back to No. 1, the Eras Tour is still a phenomenon, and Ice Spice picked up her third top five hit of the year, so it’s only a minor loss. And Taylor also has her fair share of No. 1 hits already, so I’m sure the disappointment — if there is any — doesn’t sting too badly. 

Anything is possible, but I think “Karma” will have to settle for a No. 2 peak. The general consensus around the song feels pretty tepid, so I doubt it sticks around the upper regions of the Hot 100 for the rest of its run. 

Jason Lipshutz: I do think “Karma” has a chance to hit No. 1 over the next few months, especially if it’s embraced by pop radio in the same way that “Anti-Hero” was in late 2022 and early 2023. The song zooming to No. 2 on the Hot 100 this week is a byproduct of the Ice Spice remix being unveiled, but even before the new version dropped, the song was steadily climbing the chart, aspiring to become the next big single from Midnights. Regardless of how well the remix performs, the original version and Ice Spice version will find audiences as Swift’s summer-song offering — and with their powers combined, may prove strong enough to take over the top of the Hot 100.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s probably a little disappointing for Swift given the lead-up — but it’s also not like The Weeknd’s “Die for You,” which was already inside the top 10 when it lept to No. 1, and added a superstar with chart-topping pedigree of her own (and established history with The Weeknd) in Ariana Grande. For “Karma” to jump from the 30s to No. 2, buoyed by an artist who’d never hit the Hot 100 at all before 2023, is still pretty impressive — and it could still get to No. 1 if Taylor wanted to give it the full “Anti-Hero” spread of remixes for sale. (That said, if this remix was a little better, I think it probably would’ve gotten there this week.)

3. The “Karma” remix isn’t the only new goodie helping movement for Midnights this week – there’s also an extra Lana Del Rey-ier version of “Snow on the Beach,” a full digital release for the previously physical-only bonus cut “Hits Different,” and a CD-only release for the previously unreleased “You’re Losing Me.” Are any of them significant new entries to the Midnights era to you, or all just fun but mostly frivolous extras?

Rania Aniftos: Besides “You’re Losing Me,” which feels particularly heartbreaking in the wake of Taylor’s split from Joe Alwyn, the other two additions are nothing special to me — only because I feel like there are other songs on the original Midnights that haven’t gotten the attention and praise they deserve. I desperately want a piano version of “Midnight Rain,” or a lesson in manifesting via a “Mastermind” music video, both of which could extend the success of the album. 

Katie Atkinson: I really appreciate the fan service of the “More Lana Del Rey” version of “Snow on the Beach,” and I have a feeling it will replace the original on more than a few Swiftie playlists. Fans asked; Taylor listened. The other two are solid and clearly fit in with the Midnights vibe, but I don’t think Taylor made a mistake by leaving either off the core album last year.

Kyle Denis: For me, the Midnights Til Dawn goodies are forgettable. “Hits Different” is enjoyable but feels bland in comparison to the original album’s strongest tracks. If you’re someone who was aching for more Lana on “Snow on the Beach,” then the new version should satisfy you, but there simply isn’t enough of a difference between the two versions to justify a second Midnights purchase if you’re a casual listener. “You’re Losing Me” is the crown jewel of the Til Dawn additions, and it’s a shame that it’s not yet available on all platforms. None of the songs are significant new entries to the Midnights era, but, at least “You’re Losing Me” provides a bit of insight into the demise of Taylor’s relationship with Joe Alwyn. 

Jason Lipshutz: “Hits Different” sounds like a surefire fan favorite, its shimmering guitar and fizzy emotion creating a sense of wanderlust that harkens back to Swift’s Red era. Maybe it won’t be an excavated deep cut-turned-hit single a la “All Too Well” or “Message in a Bottle,” but “Hits Different” contains a gravity that’s hard to dismiss, and a chorus that’s going to be belted out by Swifties in stadium parking lots for the rest of the Eras Tour. I’m already mad that I didn’t get to see it performed as the in-set acoustic track!

Andrew Unterberger: Title/main hook aside — c’mon with that, TS — I love “Hits Different,” and am kinda stunned it didn’t make the proper Midnights tracklist. Plus, “You’re Losing Me” is destined to become a key cut in the larger Taylor Mythology, and its heartbeat chorus is a for-sure stunner. The fact that Swift has songs like those in reserve as third-wave bonus tracks shows just how on top of her game she’s been during this whole era. All that said, I do still wish the “Karma” remix was a little stronger — it could’ve been a real moment.

4. Oh yeah, in the midst of all of this, we also have a Hot 100 re-entry from Swift that long pre-dates the Midnights era: Lover deep cut “Cruel Summer,” which hit the Hot 100 for the first time since Sept. 2019 last week, buoyed by recent TikTok virality, prime placement on the Eras Tour setlist and perhaps some crescendoing warm-weather appropriateness, and rises to No. 45 on the chart this week. Is there a chance “Cruel Summer” actually ends up blazing hotter than the rest of Taylor’s more contemporary jams this upcoming season, or do you think it cools off soon?

Rania Aniftos: Yes! The love for “Cruel Summer” has been building up for years and it’s now finally bubbling over. All it needs is something to propel it to the next level, perhaps an onstage collaboration, a remix or hopefully the overdue music video fans have been begging for ever since it came out. 

Katie Atkinson: I would love a world where “Cruel Summer” becomes a late hit! It originally peaked at No. 29 on the Hot 100 but was never a Lover single. Imagine Swift’s four-year-old song becoming the 2023 Song of the Summer thanks to a seasonal surge. I’m going to put out in the universe that “Cruel Summer” will continue to blaze up the charts and become an unexpected top 20 hit this summer. Hell, maybe it will have a Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You” moment and return to the charts every June.

Kyle Denis: I really hope that “Cruel Summer” is the next deep cut that rides TikTok virality to legitimate chart success; it’s one of Taylor’s best pop tracks. If handled correctly at radio and streaming, this could absolutely follow a similar trajectory to The Weeknd’s “Die For You” or Miguel’s “Sure Thing.” “Cruel Summer” has been a fan favorite since the night of Lover’s release, so it’s only right that it finally gets its day in the sun. Personally, I’m hoping we at least get some fun remixes out of this resurgence.  

Jason Lipshutz: The answer is: it’s up to Taylor. If Swift puts her muscle behind “Cruel Summer” — a new remix? A viral moment? A TikTok on a particularly warm day? — then I could see the Lover track continuing to climb and overtake a current hit like “Karma.” Yet as the Ice Spice remix and other Til Dawn goodies suggested, Swift’s focus (understandably) remains on promoting her most recent project. “Cruel Summer” will always swoop back up in streams as we approach its titular season, but I doubt the song gets more lift than “Karma” unless Swift purposely wants it.

Andrew Unterberger: I wouldn’t bet against it. The song (which pretty much every Swiftie holds near and dear) has been climbing, climbing, climbing for months — years, maybe — and now that it’s finally crossed the threshold into official new-old hit territory, I can’t imagine it’s gonna slow down anytime soon. Once Swift has moved on from giving “Karma” her full push, I have to imagine “Cruel Summer” is next: As previously mentioned, she’s not the type to leave opportunities like this on the table, and she’s still got a month to kill before Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) officially takes over her promo life.

5. Between the weekly dispatches from the Eras Tour, the tabloid updates on her personal life, the chart entries new and old and the usual ubiquity that comes with being the biggest pop star on the planet, Taylor Swift is currently hitting a level of exposure that only a handful of artists in our lifetime have previously reached. Do you think she’s at risk of hitting an overexposure tipping point, or can she just kinda do no wrong in 2023?

Rania Aniftos: One thing about Taylor Swift is that we as a society can’t get enough of her. She’s been “overexposed” since she arrived on the scene and I think that adds to her appeal. To the world, Swift has been a superstar that is relatable because of her personal songs, and whether you love her or hate her, you’re invested in her life because she feels like someone from your hometown that made it big. She’s aware of her longevity no matter what happens in her career, and she even said it best herself in “Karma” when she sings, “Ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here.” 

Katie Atkinson: I’m not exactly sure what overexposure looks like for Taylor Swift. She’s seemingly found her groove in delivering a steady stream of music to her insatiable fans and also picked up new fans along the way. And even though she’s playing three-plus nights at stadiums in cities across the country, there are still people struggling to get a ticket to her concerts. While it feels like she’s already bringing an impossible level of material to the world, people somehow still want more.

Kyle Denis: I think that the heated responses to the “Karma” remix and her whirlwind fling with Matty Healy were glimpses of what the tipping point looks like for Taylor. I think there was enough significant backlash to prove that she can do wrong in 2023, but she’s still big enough that her brand isn’t irreparably damaged. Seeing that she’s already starting to distance herself from Healy, it’s clear, to me, that Taylor is aware that she may have been flying too close to the sun. 

Generally, between such a massive tour, an active album campaign, and yet another re-recording due next month, Taylor will remain at risk of overexposure until she completely steps away from the limelight for a bit. Although her work-centric approach to social media helps solidify some boundaries to counterbalance her ubiquity, the volatility of online discourse and attitudes will ensure overexposure remains a constant threat. Nonetheless, if there’s any pop star who can take on that challenge and come out alive, it’s probably Taylor Swift.

Jason Lipshutz: After 2022 was jam-packed with A-list album releases — Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, SZA, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and of course Swift, to name a few — this year has been relatively light on superstar activity, which has helped Swift dominate headlines and attention even though she hasn’t actually released much new music. That’s a testament to the gargantuan scale of the Eras tour, as well as how enormous Swift is right now in general. As the Eras tour winds down in the United States and we start getting word of some major releases for the second half of 2023, however, I’d predict that think some of that attention will naturally melt down. Or who knows? Maybe Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) conquers the world upon its release next month, and I’m totally off-base.

Andrew Unterberger: After proving herself on a commercial level all her own last year, Taylor Swift definitely seems to be viewing 2023 as a victory lap year — and she seems to be determined to make the most of it. And she should. This is what great pop stars do when they’re in their imperial phase (or in Swift’s case, her second or third imperial phase): They kinda do any and everything, knowing that as great as things are going for them at the moment, there’s no telling what the next year holds, and they should take advantage of that rare moment when the public’s thirst for them seems unquenchable. And maybe that’ll run out in 2024, but it doing so at any point in 2023 seems pretty unlikely right now.