genre country

28 May 2025

Shaboozey Defends Megan Moroney From ‘Hateful Comments’ After Viral Side-Eye Moment at the AMAs

Shaboozey is coming to Megan Moroney‘s defense after a remark she made during the duo’s American Music Awards presentation landed her in hot water with some viewers Monday (May 26).

In a comment on the “Tennessee Orange” singer’s latest Instagram post Tuesday (May 27), ‘Boozey spoke out against the “hateful comments” Moroney has been receiving since the ceremony and called her “an incredibly talented, hard-working artist who’s doing amazing things for country music.”

His response comes a day after the pair presented favorite country duo/group to Dan + Shay at the 2025 AMAs, during which Moroney read off the teleprompter that the very first act to win the prize had been the Carter family, “who basically invented country music.” (The Carter family is comprised of A.P Carter, Sara Dougherty Carter and Maybelle Addington Carter, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which also refers to them as “The First Family of Country Music.”) 

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In that moment, the “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer seemingly gave Moroney a side-eye, with some viewers interpreting his expression as a silent disagreement or protest. Since the show, many people online have pointed out that Black musicians pioneered the genre and, despite being all-too-frequently excluded from history, influenced several of country’s earliest superstars — though some of that discussion has manifested in vitriolic comments on the “Am I Okay?” artist’s profile. 

But in his reply on Moroney’s post, Shaboozey clarified that his reaction “had nothing to do with” his partner on the AMAs stage. “I’ve got nothing but respect for her,” he continued. “I’ve seen some hateful comments directed at her today, and that’s not what this moment was about.”

“Let’s not twist the message,” added the Virginia native. “She is amazing and someone who represents the country community in the highest light!”

Both ‘Boozey and Moroney had big years in 2024, with the former tying Lil Nas X’s record for longest-running No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 after “A Bar Song” clocked its 19th week in the top spot, and the latter earning her first-ever top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with Am I Okay? reaching No. 9 on the chart. But Shaboozey’s success has been particularly meaningful in a genre that has historically struggled to recognize Black artists, even in modern times.

Shortly before commenting on Moroney’s post, the “Good News” musician refocused the conversation on what’s important following the AMAs. “When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased …,” he wrote Tuesday morning on X.

He added, “The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike.”

The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media. 

28 May 2025

Chris Stapleton’s ‘Traveller’ Is No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums of the 21st Century Chart

Chris Stapleton’s 2015 LP Traveller reigns as the No. 1 country album on Billboard’s recap of the first 25 years of the 21st century, as it crowns Billboard’s Top Country Albums of the 21st Century chart. The 100-position ranking is based on performance on the weekly Top Country Albums chart from the start of 2000 through the end of 2024.

Since debuting in May 2015, Stapleton’s Traveller LP has spent a staggering 525 weeks on Top Country Albums (through the chart dated May 31, 2025). Only one other LP has rung up 500-plus weeks on the chart: Willie Nelson’s 1978 collection Stardust (551), dating to the list’s launch in 1964.

Traveller hit the Top Country Albums summit on Nov. 21, 2015, and has dominated for 29 total weeks. (It also topped the all-genre Billboard 200 for two weeks.) Among its hit songs: perennial streaming favorite “Tennessee Whiskey,” which ruled the Hot Country Songs chart for two weeks in 2015, and “Nobody to Blame,” Stapleton’s first of seven top 10s on Country Airplay.

Reflecting the biggest albums in country from Y2K to today, count down the top 10 titles below on Billboard’s Top Country Albums of the 21st Century retrospective, and check out the entire 100-position chart in Billboard’s Greatest of All Time charts menu.

The ranking follows the May 27 reveal of Billboard’s Top Country Artists of the 21st Century chart. Plus, check back Thursday (May 29) for Billboard’s Top Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century chart, with all coverage of Billboard’s 21st Century charts here.

Billboard’s Top Country Artists, Top Country Albums and Top Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Country Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on Top Country Albums or Hot Country Songs in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Country Artists chart.)

27 May 2025

Jessie Murph & Sexyy Red Hit the Strip Club, Light Fireworks & Eat White Castle in Hedonistic ‘Blue Strips (Remix)’ Video

Jessie Murph had the ultimate girls night and turned the party up even more inviting Sexyy Red into the fold for the “Blue Strips (Remix).”

The hedonistic visual arrived on Tuesday (May 27) as Big Sexyy, Jessie and their girl gang hit the town to indulge on everything the nightlife has to offer.

The emerging country star wants to get over a trifling ex, so she reunites with her friends for a day of fun. They shotgun beers, shake some a–, and buy some fireworks to kick things off.

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Sexyy joins the party while twerking in a limo and the squad rides around to find a good area to put on a firework show, pop around to some bars and close out at a strip club where Sexyy Red takes command.

The St. Louis resident laces up her cowboy boots and brings her trap rhymes to the country tune while continuing the theme of exacting revenge on a spiteful ex. “I just bought a fast car, so I can run over you/ Everybody know how I get when it come to my boo,” she raps.

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No epic night out is complete without a greasy meal and they end up taking home a few crave cases at White Castle.

Sexyy Red has been on a feature run this year, previously notching collabs in 2025 with Bruno Mars, Tommy Richman and Snoop Dogg.

As for Jessie Murph, the Alabama native will be on the road this summer with her Worldwide Hysteria Tour kicking off in Phoenix on July 27.

Watch the “Blue Strips (Remix)” video below.

27 May 2025

Koe Wetzel & Girlfriend Bailey Fisher Welcome Baby Girl

“High Road” hitmaker Koe Wetzel is a dad. He and partner Bailey Fisher welcomed their first child, daughter Woods Madison Wetzel, on May 23.

Fisher initially shared the news with fans, posting a photo of the couple’s newborn daughter on Instagram and captioning it, “Woods Madison Wetzel, born May 23rd, 6:49 am, 5 pounds 11 ounces.”

Fisher also wrote in the caption, “My whole heart outside of my body.”

Wetzel also shared the news on his Instagram on Tuesday, May 27, with a photo of the singer with his daughter snuggled against his chest. “The most beautiful thing these eyes have ever seen,” he captioned the photo, adding, “The world is yours Woods Madison Wetzel.”

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Fans previously speculated that the couple’s child was on its way when, hours before Wetzel was set to open the initial night of HARDY’s Jim Bob World Tour, Wetzel canceled his first three opening sets on the tour over the Memorial Day weekend, missing the shows May 22-24 in California and Nevada.

Wetzel shared a statement on Instagram at the time, telling fans, “Unfortunately due to a family medical event, I’ve got to get back to Texas. We hate to miss this first weekend of the JimBob World Tour with our brother HARDY, so make sure y’all show Stephen Wilson Jr. and McCoy Moore all the love. Hoping to get back out next week and party with y’all in Salt Lake City, Utah. Thanks for understanding. Much love and see you soon. – Koe.”

The next scheduled date on the Jim Bob World Tour is May 29 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Last year, Wetzel’s collaboration with Jessie Murph “High Road” spent five weeks at the top of Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, while his album 9 Lives debuted in the top five on the Top Country Albums chart. Another track from the album, “Sweet Dreams,” also reached the top 10 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

27 May 2025

Dierks Bentley Teams With Music Health Alliance to Launch Broken Branches Fund Aiding Mental Health Initiatives

As Dierks Bentley gears up to release his upcoming 11th studio album, Broken Branches (out June 13), and his 30-city Broken Branches Tour launching this week, he is also giving back to the creative and touring communities — including songwriters, musicians and touring crews — that keep artists and their music in front of fans.

Bentley has established the Broken Branches Fund, with a multiyear financial commitment to offer mental health resources to the creative and touring communities. The fund will be administered in partnership with Music Health Alliance and will give mental health grants to qualified candidates and their families. The funds will cover outpatient counseling and plans for follow-up care. Music fans can also donate to the fund throughout Bentley’s summer tour stops and through MHA’s online donation site.

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“Making this album and prepping for the tour, I’ve never been more aware of the sacrifice that the people in this town make every day to keep country music playing,” Bentley said in a statement. “Whether you’re sitting in a room all day trying to write the perfect hook or leaving home on a bus for weeks at a time, it can be isolating and exhausting. This just felt like the right opportunity to make a bigger commitment on my part to supporting those folks and their families in a more direct and intentional way.”
 
“Dierks was one of the first artists to believe in and support Music Health Alliance, and from day one, he’s led with both heart and action,” Tatum Allsep, founder and CEO of Music Health Alliance, said in a statement. “Creating the Broken Branches Fund at MHA to support music’s mental health shows his deep commitment to the people who power our industry both on stage and off, and to their well-being for many years to come.”

Music Health Alliance launched in 2013 and offers advocacy and access to healthcare and mental health resources for music professionals and their families, with MHA’s services bing free to those who have earned a living in the music industry for more than three years. According to the MHA, more than 32,000 music community members across the United States have been aided through mental health resources, lifesaving transplants, health insurance and emergent dental care, saving more than $145 million in healthcare costs.

The new Bentley-launched fund continues the partnership work Music Health Alliance has been engaged in through various areas of the industry. Earlier this year, Music Health Alliance expanded its partnership with Universal Music Group to launch the Music Industry Mental Health Fund, to offer “comprehensive, high-quality outpatient mental health resources for music industry professionals across the United States.”

Bentley’s Broken Branches album will continue his dedication to collaborating with and spotlighting many of Nashville’s top tunesmiths, musicians and artists. He teams with Stephen Wilson Jr. on the song “Cold Beer Can,” while Riley Green and Country Music Hall of Famer John Anderson join him on the album’s title track, and Miranda Lambert appears on “Never You.” Luke Dick, Kyle Sturrock, Jeremy Bussey, Jordan Reynolds, Jim Beavers, Connie Harrington and Lauren McLamb are a few of the writers whose work is highlighted on the album.

27 May 2025

Morgan Wallen’s ‘I’m the Problem’ & ‘What I Want’ With Tate McRae Launch Atop Billboard’s Country Charts

Morgan Wallen’s 37-song collection I’m the Problem blasts in atop Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart (dated May 31), as well as the all-genre Billboard 200. The set (which contains one more track than on his previous LP, 2023’s One Thing at a Time) grants the singer-songwriter from Sneedville, Tenn., his fourth and third leader, respectively.

In its first week (May 16-22), I’m the Problem earned 493,000 equivalent album units in the United States, according to Luminate — the biggest week by that metric of 2025.

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I’m the Problem (on Big Loud/Mercury/Republic) sold 133,000, marking Wallen’s best career sales week, inclusive of a personal-best vinyl sales frame of 48,000. The set’s sales were helped by its availability on vinyl across five variants. (One Thing at a Time wasn’t released on vinyl until its fourth week on sale.)

On the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart, Wallen boasts 37 tracks — the entirety of I’m the Problem — as he breaks his own record for the largest one-week share of the survey, surpassing the 35 that he logged on the March 18, 2023, chart when One Thing at a Time debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200.

“What I Want,” featuring pop star Tate McRae, Wallen’s first collaboration with a female artist, rockets in atop Hot Country Songs, marking his 11th chart-topper and record-extending eighth No. 1 arrival.

As for the 21-year-old McRae from Calgary, Alberta, she scores her first Hot Country Songs No. 1 with her rookie entry in the genre. “What I Want” launches with 31.2 million official U.S. streams, 3.9 million airplay audience impressions and 2,000 sold. As previously reported, the collaboration roars in at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

With five debuts in the Hot County Songs top 10, I’m the Problem has generated 13 top 10s (including three leaders), the most top 10s ever from a single album. Wallen infuses the entire top 10 on the May 31 chart, also a first, besting the nine that he logged on March 18, 2023.

Below “What I Want” (which is being promoted to pop and adult radio), “Just in Case,” Wallen’s current single at country radio, hops 3-2 on Hot Country Songs, rebounding to its best rank. The rest of his top 10 monopoly: “I’m the Problem” (2-3, following a week at No. 1 in February); “I Got Better” (No. 4, debut); “Superman” (No. 5, where it flew in a week earlier); “Love Somebody” (6-6, after a week at No. 1 last November); “I Ain’t Coming Back,” featuring Post Malone (8-7, after hitting No. 3); “20 Cigarettes” (No. 8, debut); “Kick Myself” (No. 9, debut); and “Eyes Are Closed” (No. 10, debut).

Wallen ups his career top 10 total on Hot Country Songs to 40. Dating to his first week in the tier, on the chart dated May 12, 2018, with “Up Down” (featuring Florida Georgia Line), his 40 top 10s are almost twice the amount of runner-up Luke Combs (21 in that span).

27 May 2025

6 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Lainey Wilson, Vincent Mason, Treaty Oak Revival & More

This week’s crop of new music features two-time ACM entertainer of the year winner Lainey Wilson‘s new track, which she performed during the recent American Music Awards. Meanwhile, Vincent Mason offers up a sterling new song with “Painkiller” and country-rock group Treaty Oak Revival reimagines a Goo Goo Dolls classic on its new EP The Talco Tapes. Also offering up new tunes this week are Elizabeth Nichols, Jessica Willis Fisher and the SteelDrivers.

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Lainey Wilson, “Somewhere Over Laredo”

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This piano and fiddle-laced ballad pays homage to the Judy Garland classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” though Wilson’s “rainbow” here is a border town near Laredo, Texas. She sings about traveling on a plane and as her travels take her over Texas, she’s reminiscing on the sights, feel and romance of a Lone Star State town. Wilson also turns in one of her most commanding, dynamic vocal performances to date, crescendoing from a soft-focus, tender vocal, before gradually reaching into her upper register for powerful moments that heighten the song’s emotional acuity.

Vincent Mason, “Painkiller”

Vincent Mason keeps rolling out a string of solid songs with this toe-tapping, guitar-fueled track he wrote with Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird and Chase McDaniel. His laid-back voice floats over an easygoing groove as he sings a post-heartbreak sentiment about moving on (however briefly) with an enthralling new flame, only to find the memories of their romance stay with him long after their final moments together. “She’s red dirt raised with them blue jean eyes,” he sings, offering a vivid portrait of the one who has captured his heart. He’s steadily building upon his previous hits, such as “Hell Is a Dancefloor,” to become one of country’s most buzzed-about new troubadours.

Treaty Oak Revival, “Name”

Treaty Oak Revival offers up a version of the Goo Goo Dolls three-decade old hit “Name” as part of TOR’s new acoustic project The Talco Tapes. Instead of offering up a faithful rendition of the classic, they envelop it in their signature rustic, country-tilted rock, a musical fusion that placed TOR lead singer Sam Canty’s commanding voice at the forefront. While TOR is known for its hard-charging, rock-infused shows, this Taylor Kimbrall-produced track showcases the breadth of the band’s creative skill.

Elizabeth Nichols, “Somebody Cooked Here”

Nichols turns in an exquisite track rich in striking details as she crafts a narrative of a woman visiting her lover’s residence for dinner and taking note of details — heart-shaped cookie cutters and perfectly-baked salmon — that are still there from his previous relationship. “It must’ve been love/ ‘Cause you kept all her stuff,” she sings with bittersweet realization. Nichols’ tender twang elevates the song’s storyline and furthers her reputation as both a gifted songcrafter and country vocalist with a penchant for stick-in-your-head lyrics that uniquely put forth a song’s message.

Jessica Willis Fisher, “Healing”

Willis Fisher returns with her sophomore album, the nine-song Blooming, which released May 16. Among the project’s fresh tracks is this sunny slice of pop-country that finds Fisher celebrating the strong and lasting love of her marriage to husband Sean Fisher (the couple wed in 2017). This earthy, romantic track feels like an auditory equivalent of a late-spring breeze wafting through a field after a long, frozen winter, as she revels in a soul-heartening romance.

The SteelDrivers, Outrun

As this soulful bluegrass outfit celebrates two decades of genre-expanding music, it’s weathered lineup shifts over the years while staying true to their blues-meets-bluegrass sound. Now, with the new album Outrun, the group has issued its first project under the iconic Sun Records label. The album’s tightly constructed dozen songs highlight the Drivers’ enduring top-shelf vocal harmonies and an excellent musicianship that time has only further refined, on songs such as the somber “When the Last Teardrop Falls,” the honkytonk country-tinged “Booze and Cigarettes” and the foreboding “Cut You Down.”

27 May 2025

Morgan Wallen Charts Record-Breaking 37 Songs on Billboard Hot 100 Simultaneously

Morgan Wallen claims a massive week on Billboard’s charts (dated May 31), as the country superstar breaks his own record for the most songs ever charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week. He sends a staggering 37 songs onto the latest chart, with all except for one from his new album, I’m the Problem.

The 37-song set debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 493,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate, marking the biggest week of 2025 for an album by that metric.

Of Wallen’s 37 entries on the current Hot 100, 36 are from the new album. The one track missing, “Lies Lies Lies,” reached No. 7 last July and wrapped its run in January. Wallen’s one entry on the chart not from the new project is Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” featuring Wallen; it ranks at No. 19 in its 54th week on the chart, following six weeks at No. 1.

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Before this week, the record for the most titles on the Hot 100 in a single week was also held by Wallen: 36, on March 18, 2023, powered by his album One Thing at a Time. That week, he broke Drake’s five-year-old record of 27 songs in 2018 from his album Scorpion. (Drake’s then-unprecedented record has since been broken six times.)

Here’s an updated look at the most simultaneous Hot 100 hits in a single week.

Songs on the Hot 100, Artist, Chart Week:

  • 37, Morgan Wallen, May 31, 2025
  • 36, Morgan Wallen, March 18, 2023
  • 32, Taylor Swift, May 4, 2024
  • 31, Playboi Carti, March 29, 2025
  • 31, Taylor Swift, May 11, 2024
  • 28, Morgan Wallen, March 25, 2023
  • 27, Drake, July 14, 2018
  • 26, Taylor Swift, May 18, 2024
  • 26, Taylor Swift, Nov. 27, 2021
  • 25, Taylor Swift, July 22, 2023
  • 25, Lil Baby, Oct. 29, 2022

Plus, here’s a rundown of Wallen’s tracks on this week’s Hot 100 (all are debuts except where noted):

  • No. 1, “What I Want,” feat. Tate McRae
  • No. 2, “Just in Case” (up from No. 11; new peak)
  • No. 3, “I’m the Problem” (up from No. 6; peaked at No. 2)
  • No. 7, “I Got Better”
  • No. 8, “Superman” (up from No. 16; new peak)
  • No. 10, “Love Somebody” (up from No. 18; peaked at No. 1 for one week)
  • No. 15, “I Ain’t Coming Back,” feat. Post Malone (up from No. 25; peaked at No. 8)
  • No. 19, “I Had Some Help”; Post Malone feat. Wallen (down from No. 13; peaked at No. 1 for six weeks)
  • No. 20, “20 Cigarettes”
  • No. 21, “Kick Myself”
  • No. 22, “Eyes Are Closed”
  • No. 25, “Falling Apart”
  • No. 29, “Skoal, Chevy, And Browning”
  • No. 31, “TN”
  • No. 32, “Where’d That Girl Go”
  • No. 34, “Kiss Her in Front of You”
  • No. 40, “I’m a Little Crazy” (up from No. 52; peaked at No. 17)
  • No. 41, “If You Were Mine”
  • No. 42, “Missing”
  • No. 45, “Smile” (up from No. 68; peaked at No. 4)
  • No. 46, “Genesis”
  • No. 48, “Don’t We”
  • No. 50, “Dark Til Daylight”
  • No. 51, “Interlude”
  • No. 52, “Number 3 and Number 7,” feat. Eric Church
  • No. 54, “Revelation”
  • No. 60, “Jack and Jill”
  • No. 63, “Come Back as a Redneck”
  • No. 65, “Miami”
  • No. 69, “The Dealer” feat. ERNEST
  • No. 70, “Leavin’s the Least I Could Do”
  • No. 72, “Drinking Til It Does”
  • No. 73, “Nothin’ Left”
  • No. 79, “LA Night”
  • No. 83, “Whiskey in Reverse”
  • No. 84, “Working Man’s Song”
  • No. 88, “Crazy Eyes”

With 29 debuts, Wallen ups his career total to 105 Hot 100 chart hits. He becomes the 21st artist to join the elite 100 Hot 100 hits club — and is the first artist that primarily records country music. He also pushes his career sums to four No. 1s, eight top five hits, 17 top 10s, 29 top 20 entries and 48 top 40 hits.

27 May 2025

Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Countdown for May 31, 2025 | Billboard News

Morgan Wallen takes over the top 10 of the Hot 100.

Tetris Kelly:
It’s a Morgan Wallen takeover after the release of his new album. This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated May 31. Jumping back in the top 10 is “Love Somebody.” “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” falls to nine. “Superman” moves up to No. 8, while “I Got Better” debuts at No. 7. “Die With a Smile” is down to six, while “Luther” slips from No. 1 to five. “Ordinary” drops from two to four. “I’m the Problem” is in at three with “Just In Case” climbing to No. 2. And debuting at No. 1 is Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae with “What I Want,” her first No. 1.

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27 May 2025

Morgan Wallen & Tate McRae’s ‘What I Want’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

Morgan Wallen’s “What I Want,” featuring Tate McRae, blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The collaboration between the country and pop stars – from Wallen’s new album, I’m the Problem, which soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 2025’s biggest week by equivalent album units – is Wallen’s fourth Hot 100 leader and McRae’s first. She surpasses her prior No. 3 best set by “Greedy” in January 2024. In March, McRae notched her first Billboard 200 No. 1 with So Close to What; she’s the first artist this year to lead both lists for the first time.

Wallen previously topped the Hot 100 with “Love Somebody,” also on I’m the Problem, for a week upon its debut in November; as featured on Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” which bowed at No. 1 in May 2024 and led for six weeks; and with “Last Night,” for 16 weeks beginning in March 2023, before wrapping as the chart’s top hit that year.

Wallen boasts six songs in all in the latest Hot 100’s top 10, with “I Got Better” also debuting, at No. 7, and “Superman” flying 16-8 in its second week on the chart. He has now charted nine top 10s from I’m the Problem; only Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department and Midnights (10 top 10s each) have yielded more, with Drake’s Certified Lover Boy also having generated nine.

Meanwhile, Wallen claims the top three spots on the Hot 100, with “What I Want” followed by “Just in Case” at No. 2 and “I’m the Problem” at No. 3 – as he becomes the first artist that primarily records country music to have monopolized the top three in a single week over the chart’s 66-year history.

Browse the full rundown of this week’s top 10 below.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated May 31, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, May 28 (a day later than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday May 26). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.