State Champ Radio Music
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Joe Jonas and Aly & AJ are squashing all potential of “Potential Breakup Song” being about the DNCE frontman, with the trio reuniting in a hilarious TikTok posted Tuesday (May 20). In the clip on Jonas’ account, he mimes talking on the phone while singing the lyrics to the 2007 hit. “It took too long, […]
If not for TikTok, Connie Francis‘ 1962 tinkly organ bop “Pretty Little Baby” may have been forever obscure. It was never a hit, and Francis, reached by phone at her Parkland, Fla., home, barely remembers recording it. “I had to listen to it to identify it,” admits the 87-year-old pop legend, who became the first woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo act in July 1960 with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” one of her three Hot 100 No. 1s.
“Then, of course, I recognized the fact that I had done it in seven languages.”
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A friend recently informed Francis that “Pretty Little Baby” had turned up on TikTok as a “viral hit,” an upbeat soundtrack for people (including Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian) showing off babies, puppies, kittens and — befitting the lyric “you can ask the flowers” — flowers. Francis responded: “What’s that?” In a sense, TikTok is just a technological update of American Bandstand in the ’60s, when Dick Clark’s TV countdown regularly drew 8 million viewers and automatically turned songs into hits. “Without Dick Clark, there would have been no Connie Francis,” Francis says.
“Pretty Little Baby” was one of 40 songs Francis recorded during several recording sessions over four days in August 1961, according to her 2017 autobiography Among My Souvenirs: The Real Story Vol. 1. The track landed on her Connie Francis Sings Second Hand Love & Other Hits album.
On April 10, “Pretty Little Baby” was streaming 17,000 times per week in the U.S.; a month later, it was streaming 2.4 million times, an increase of more than 7,000%. The track has 10 billion TikTok views, hitting No. 1 on the app’s Viral 50 and Top 50 charts, and recently crossed over to streaming success, with 14 million global streams, landing at No. 67 on Spotify’s Global Top 100. Francis’ label, Universal Music, recently reissued the versions Francis had sung in Swedish, Japanese and other languages in 1962, when her label, MGM, hoped to score hits in regions outside the U.S.
Francis, who told Facebook followers in March she is awaiting stem cell therapy to treat a “troublesome painful hip,” discussed “Pretty Little Baby,” “Who’s Sorry Now,” Just In Time (the hit Broadway musical about her late onetime boyfriend Bobby Darin) and the domineering nature of her late Svengali father, George Franconero Sr. Of her newfound virality, she tells Billboard: “I’m getting calls from everywhere: ‘You’re a TikTok phenomenon.’”
Did the memory of recording “Pretty Little Baby” come back to you when you recently listened to the song?
Yes. I remembered after I heard it. It’s just a blessing to know that kindergarten kids know me and my music now. It’s really thrilling.
That song was on Connie Francis Sings Second Hand Love & Other Hits. Phil Spector co-wrote the title track.
Yes, it was Phil Spector’s first top 10 record.
What do you remember about working with him?
I didn’t work with him on it. He wasn’t even at the session.
Since you posted “What’s that?” on Facebook, have you learned about viral hits and TikTok?
Yes. [Laughs.] Now I know.
Have you seen Just In Time, in which Gracie Lawrence plays you on stage?
I’m planning on going to see it.
Lawrence told an interviewer at Nylon that the most difficult song of yours to sing is “Who’s Sorry Now,” from 1958. She said: “The balance of singing emotionally, going through the heartbreak she experiences every night, while also wanting to deliver a pitch-perfect performance is a really challenging task. It’s one I assume Connie herself was navigating while performing the song as well at the pinnacle of her career, and she’s just been put through the ringer emotionally behind the scenes. I think about that a lot.” Does that resonate with you?
Yes. It does resonate with me.
How did you get through that emotion when recording it?
I didn’t want to record the song. My father insisted that I record “Who’s Sorry Now.” I did three other songs at the session first, in the hopes of not being able to get to “Who’s Sorry Now” in the four-hour time allotted to me. I had 16 minutes left in the session and I said, “That’s a wrap, fellas, there’s no time for ‘Who’s Sorry Now.’” My father said, “If I have to nail you to that microphone, you’re going to do at least one take of ‘Who’s Sorry Now.’” So that’s what I did — one take of “Who’s Sorry Now.” And I didn’t try to imitate anybody else, as I always had on my recordings. By the time I was 14, I did demonstration records, and a publisher would say, “Connie, give us some of that great Patti Page sound, give me some of that great Kay Starr sound, give me some of that great Teresa Brewer sound.” I didn’t have a style of my own yet. But on “Who’s Sorry Now,” I was so turned off on the song that I didn’t try to imitate anybody else. I just sounded like myself for the first time. And it was a hit.
So not only was that a breakthrough on the charts, it was a breakthrough for you creatively.
Yes, it was.
You described in your book the “arduous work” to drive between radio stations and record hops in different cities, “from one dreary, depressing $3 or $4 a day hotel room to the next.” When did that dreary, depressing part of your career come to an end?
It came to an end with “Who’s Sorry Now.” I didn’t have to worry about staying in $4-a-night hotels.
You wrote in your book: “Bobby wasn’t merely a person, he was an experience.” If an actor and actress were to reach out for suggestions on how to play both you and Mr. Darin, what advice would you give them?
Well, Bobby was very cool. And I was very naive. When he said, “I dig,” I said, “You do? For what sort of company? Oil?”
What plans do you have to promote “Pretty Little Baby”? Interviews? Appearances?
I don’t feel like going on the road.
TV shows?
Yes, I’ll do TV.
What do you miss about the music business?
I miss the stage.
Is there ever an opportunity for you to perform again?
Those days are over. That ship has sailed.
For health reasons? Or too difficult logistically?
For a variety of reasons. It’s too much work.
Anything else you want to say to your new “Pretty Little Baby” fans?
I want to thank everybody. It gives me a new lease on life.
Three years after initially earning a top 20 pop hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 as part of the duo Surfaces, singer-songwriter Forrest Frank began to compile contemporary Christian music hits. He’s become one of the genre’s fastest-rising artists, melding elements of pop, hip-hop and gospel on songs such as “No Longer Bound,” a collaboration with Hulvey, which cracked the top 20 on Billboard‘s Hot Christian Songs chart. But it’s the ebullient, summer-ready “Your Way’s Better” that becomes Frank’s first solo Hot 100 entry — the hit has reached a No. 61 high on the chart and crowns Hot Christian Songs for the first time this week (charts dated May 24). Meanwhile, his recent team-up with country artist Thomas Rhett, “Nothing Else,” resides at No. 4 on the same chart.
Frank originally released the pop-inflected “Your Way’s Better” in October 2024, but the song’s success was spurred by TikTok momentum earlier this year, thanks to a viral TikTok dance that both resonated with fans — and took Frank, then on a social media hiatus, by surprise.
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In the past year, Frank has released music at a dizzying speed, stoking fervor in the industry and his growing fan base. His July 2024 album, Child of God, was nominated for a Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album and nominated for top Christian album at the Billboard Music Awards. By that November, he returned with a deluxe version of the album; on May 9, he released its follow-up, Child of God II. The two installments currently hold Nos. 1 and 2 on Top Christian Albums, with his more recent project leading the chart.
“That’s kind of a theme for me in my career,” Frank tells Billboard, calling while on the road during the second part of his sold-out Child of God tour. “I love pushing the boundaries, and I feel like my career is busting myths.”
Below, Frank talks about “Your Way’s Better,” Child of God II and Christian music’s current Hot 100 surge.
How did “Your Way’s Better” come about?
I was having a hard day and had gone for a drive. I remember pulling into my neighborhood and that chorus came spilling out. It was just a prayer that ended up having a melody with it. I recorded a voice memo of it on my phone and didn’t do anything with it for a few months. Then, backstage at [Frank’s 2024 Child of God tour], I pulled out my laptop and produced the beat for it. Then, my producer friend PERA came out to a session and we were jamming on this song and I said, “What if you play something kind of somber?” He starts playing it, and I freestyled the melody [and] some of the words that ended up on the track.
You released “Your Way’s Better” last October, but a dance that went viral on TikTok and social media helped boost it. How did that happen?
It was my 12th- or 13th-highest streaming song at a daily rate — it was not making a big splash. There’s a couple, David Myers and Bridgette [Nicole], and they post a new dance almost every day to different songs, and it was one they did [in February]. What’s interesting is that I was taking a social media break — I had posted maybe three times in a four-month period. At first, I didn’t really engage with it, but then I saw a significant jump in my streams. I’m seeing these kids doing the dance, and it’s kind of like this vacation Bible school type thing, [learning] the dance to go with the song and do the hand motions and stuff. It is like that energy, but not in an enclosed church space. It just kind of feels like it’s across the whole world.
You just released your new album, Child of God II, on May 9, just 10 months after Child of God, and six months after its deluxe edition. Why did you want to drop another full album so soon?
They say you have to upload a song about a month before it comes out to make sure that all the distributing partners have enough time to add it to playlists and can properly program. I remember a year or two ago thinking, “Is that really the case?” So, I uploaded music closer to the deadline, like 48 hours before a release and it made it on [Spotify playlist] New Music Friday.
With Child of God, I had a song with Connor Price called “Up!” and that splashed and two weeks later, we released “Good Day,” which became the next biggest one. We kept dropping songs every two weeks because that’s the pace I was writing music. Rather than hold back music for months, why not just put everything out there and see what happens? I feel like life is short: My time and moment is finite to a degree, so if I’m excited about these songs and the fans are excited, why would I hold stuff back?
There are a lot of crossover efforts between contemporary Christian music and country happening now, such as your collaboration with Thomas Rhett on “Nothing Else.” Why do you think that’s the case?
I think including God is pretty common in country music, [but] I’ve noticed that transition in my heart and the fullness I get to experience in praising God specifically. I think the country space is starting to feel that as well. I could see in the next year or two, a lot of the A-list country artists just making straight-up Christian worship songs.
With Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah” also on the Hot 100, what’s your take on the surge in Christian music’s popularity?
I think it’s just the people. Yes, it’s the artists who are expressing their genuine love for God, but also, it’s the consumers that are supporting it and championing it. With my tour, there’s this family thing going on: We didn’t expect for families to come to the show, but “Your Way’s Better” has become the music for the car ride, the music on the way to school. It was like an invisible market. I knew that there was kind of a starving family market, but here it is.
A version of this story appears in the May 17, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Megan Thee Stallion is saying anything but “we can’t be friends” to Ariana Grande, whom the rapper said she’s eager to collaborate with again following the success of their “34+35” remix.
In a game of “Truth or Wear” for Who What Wear — the cover of which she appeared on Monday (May 19) — Meg had an immediate answer when challenged to name her dream duet partner. “I would probably have to say Ariana Grande,” the Houston Hottie said.
“I collabed with her one time, but now that I’m in a new space with music and such — and I feel like she’s in a new space with her life and her music,” she continued. “I would really like to see what we would come up with right now.”
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It’s been about four years since Thee Stallion and the Wicked star last teamed up, joining forces for a remix of Grande’s Positions single “34 + 35” with Doja Cat. After the two rappers added to the track, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Meg and the “Yes, And?” singer have been tight ever since, with Grande writing, “I adore @theestallion” on Instagram last year after the hip-hop star emphasized the importance of voting in the presidential election in her Billboard cover story.
For WWW, Meg reciprocated the love — “That’s my girl, that’s my queen,” she said of Grande — before setting things into motion. “Ariana!” the “HISS” artist said into the camera. “Call me.”
The interview follows the release of Thee Stallion’s new single, “Whenever,” which dropped in late April. This week, she also unveiled her new swimsuit collection with Walmart.
The past few days, however, have also presented some less pleasant news for the “Savage” spitfire; as rappers including Drake and Ye have started petitioning for the release of Tory Lanez, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted in December 2022 of shooting Meg in the foot three years prior, Lanez’s lawyers have claimed new evidence has surfaced proving he wasn’t the one who shot her. In response, Meg wrote in a post on TikTok Monday (May 19), “Ain’t no new f–king evidence yall been saying the same s–t for years … TORY PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE you are a f–king demon.”
Watch Meg reveal Grande as her dream collaborator above.
Phil Pulitano was deep into an ayahuasca ceremony when he knew definitively that it was time to move on from his longtime professional post.
In 2008, Pulitano co-founded the BPM festival, a January gathering of dance industry professionals — named for “bartenders, promoters, musicians” — that over the years grew into one of the electronic scene’s premiere indie festivals. During its nine-year tenure in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the event drew tens of thousands of fans and a perpetually strong collection of techno, minimal and house music producers and DJs.
Then in 2017, a shooting in a club adjacent to the festival left one person dead, made the threat of violence painfully real and effectively forced BPM out of town. A message spray painted in town read in Spanish that “This is to show that we are here, for not falling in line, Phillip-BPM. This is the beginning.” The message was signed by the Zetas drug cartel.
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“In 90 seconds, our lives completely changed,” says Pulitano says over Zoom from his home in Ibiza. “We went from being [on the verge of] a 50% buyout for $40 million to having to pick up one of our security guards and dear friends off the ground after he was shot.” While BPM continued its expansion plans, hosting editions in locations including Portugal and Tel Aviv, Israel and eventually finding a new permanent home in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, the 2017 attack was ultimately the first in a series of unfortunate events.
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After its 2020 debut Costa Rica edition, the 2021 festival was cancelled due to the pandemic. Then in 2022, BPM was forced to cancel 30 hours before it was set to begin due to emergency covid restrictions put in place by the government that banned large gatherings. BPM organizers got this news after roughly 7,000 people, half of the total attendees, had already arrived to town for the event. While the team was able to host several smaller, renegade parties on nearby private land, Pulitano says the situation was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” creating a financial blow that cost BPM millions.
The situation was compounded when the event’s ticketing company did not make good on its promise to refund the event’s 14,000 would be attendees, forcing Pulitano and his business partner, fellow Canadian and BPM co-founder Craig Pettigrew, to come up with the money to pay everyone back. Pulitano says his relationship with Pettigrew deteriorated under the strain. But “I couldn’t even walk away if I wanted,” he says. “My name was involved and people hadn’t received their ticket money back.”
BPM 2023 created an opportunity for the company to recoup funds and pay off debts, despite it being the smallest ever edition of the festival, hosting roughly 3,800 people. Pulitano was proud of the festival but felt the brand had lost credibility. He also knew his stress about it all was also stressing out his then pregnant wife. As the dancefloors at this 2023 edition heaved with party people, Pulitano looked on knowing it would be his last time with BPM.
He’d by then participated in a pair of ayahuasca ceremonies — an ancient Indigenous ritual during which participants drink a psychedelic brew made of boiled leaves and vine and which Pulitano refers to by the colloquial term “plant medicine” — and found certainty and inspiration in the experiences. “I needed to do my own thing,” he says. “I had these sketches. I came up with a new idea.”
Phil Pulitano
Courtesy of Phil Pulitano
That idea is The Fifth Element, a festival Pulitano is producing this January in the Puerto Rican rainforest. As with BPM, the center of the seven-day event will be techno and minimal music. But the real nexus of The Fifth Element Pulitano says, will be deep meaning, spirituality and elevated vibes.
“I knew I needed to figure out a way to create a hybrid experience in dance culture,” Pulitano says. “Not going for a super hippie vibe that plant medicine can be… but doing something that’s in service and creates a bit more awareness and brings more consciousness to what we’re doing.”
In practical terms, this will involve bringing a crowd of roughly 4,000 attendees and 60 or so artists to the currently undisclosed site in the Puerto Rican rainforest. (This site has some infrastructure including a restaurant and ATV and horseback riding facilities, and while in nature, is not in a particularly dense or remote area of the rainforest.) Puerto Rico is in fact where BPM had hoped to relocate to in 2018, although these plans were set aside when a devastating hurricane hit the island in August of that year. With rainforests being sensitive ecosystems, Pulitano says The Fifth Element will be strictly leave no trace and also provide opportunities to participate in beach cleanups.
Pulitano says the goal is to book artists who “want to come and experience something more as well, not just come in out and just and make money and leave.” Set times for the event’s two stages will not be publicly announced. “Your journey starts when you arrive,” says Pulitano.
Programming will also include yoga, culinary experiences, art and ritual. (Pulitano advises that The Fifth Element “is not a plant medicine event, but it is a consciousness event.”) His staff of nine even includes shaman to advise on spiritual concerns. He foresees rituals like smudging happening on the dancefloor, and altogether hopes to create an experience with greater depth and purpose than escapist partying and revenue. The seven days will be structured with an “opening ceremony ritual” at the beginning before gradually ramping up the music, and then winding down into ritual in the latter part of the week.
The Fifth Element is being marketed towards socially conscious, experience hungry, wellness driven and reasonably well-moneyed attendees looking for bespoke experiences hat are more unique than most large-scale corporate events. (Funding for The Fifth Element is coming from a private investor.)
Altogether, he says the event “is something that’s giving me the same feeling I had when we created BPM back in 2008 and that [we had] in Mexico.” (He now refers to Pettigrew as his “ex partner,” says the two are not speaking and that his agreement to be bought out of BPM is currently “in a court situation.” He adds that the BPM brand was “destroyed” after the 2025 event was cancelled last minute due to permitting issues. The festival has to date not announced plans for a 2026 edition.)
But with his ceremonial visions now taking material form, Pulitano says he’s again feeling a passion that he personally partially lost after the 2017 shooting. It’s a concept he hopes will inject some heart into the dance world at large.
“I think that the scene has become this crazy bubble where the fees are too high for artists, which then ultimately fall back on the promoter, then the then the ticket buyer,” he says. “I feel like it’s losing its essence this way. There’s really no soul behind it. What we’re trying to create is something with soul and love and unity, that’s trying to find purpose within the chaos.”
Before this month, no hard rock act had topped the Billboard 200 albums chart in nearly a half-decade. Now, two have done it in three weeks.
Two weeks ago, Ghost nabbed the chart’s top spot with its Skeletá set, and this week (on the chart dated May 25), Sleep Token claims pole position for the first time with its new album Even in Arcadia. The album bows with 127,000 units, according to Luminate — with over 50,000 each in sales and streaming equivalent albums — while all 10 of its tracks appear on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, albeit in the chart’s lower half.
How did Sleep Token end up netting such explosive first-week numbers? And what does it mean for the mainstream embrace of hard rock in general? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.
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1. Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia debuts atop the Billboard 200 this week with 127,000 units – its first No. 1 on the chart. Is that performance better, worse or about what you would’ve expected from it?
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Eric Renner Brown: Frankly, any rock album – broadly defined – topping the Billboard 200 in 2025 surprises me; that Sleep Token managed to do 62% and 72% of Bad Bunny and Tate McRae’s respective first-week units from earlier this year is something the anonymous band should be proud of. But the fact that it was Sleep Token that slipped through in a somewhat quiet week on the chart tracks: This type of loud, rap-inflected rock music is what’s broken through to the mainstream most effectively in recent years.
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: This is about what I would have expected from them. Their buzz was incredibly strong before they even began to roll out Arcadia. Their last album Take Me Back to Eden hit No. 16 on the Billboard 200 back in 2023, which was very surprising considering all eyes were on Hip-Hop for its 50th birthday. Not to mention, all three of Arcadia’s advance tracks hit the Hot 100 heading into its release. You throw in dozens TikTok conspiracy theories surrounding the band’s lore, and yep, I think fans were really eager to dive into this album.
Kyle Denis: Definitely better. My Billboard 200 expectations for non-legacy hard rock bands in the 2020s are basically in the basement.
Jason Lipshutz: Better. The performance of the singles leading up to Even in Arcadia, combined with upcoming sold-out arena dates and the band’s new partnership with RCA Records, suggested a career-best bow for Sleep Token — but a six-figure, No. 1 bow for a hard rock act is increasingly rare, especially for a band that’s not a decades-running brand name like Metallica or Tool. Even the most bullish Sleep Token fans couldn’t have foreseen a debut with 127,000 equivalent album units, considering that it’s a number without much recent precedent.
Andrew Unterberger: I’m surprised by how not surprised I am. Sleep Token is exactly the sort of cult rock act who sells well with its devoted fanbase, and now that it’s also become the sort of act who debuts on the Hot 100 with all three of your album’s advance tracks — and not just in the 80s or 90s, but as high as No. 34 (with “Caramel”) — clearly its streaming prowess is quite considerable as well. I might’ve guessed a little lower for its final first-week tally, but I would have guessed six digits. And that’s pretty wild for a rock band in 2025.
2. One of the more notable things about Arcadia’s first-week performance – particularly as far as rock albums go — is its relatively even split in terms of sales and streams: 73,500 in sales and 53,000 streaming equivalent album units. Which of those two numbers is more significant, do you think?
Eric Renner Brown: The streaming figure is more significant to me, because it demonstrates that the album’s popularity extends beyond diehards who might have already been committed to buying it. With such a high streaming number, Even In Arcadia was likely making its way to plenty of new Sleep Token listeners – and resonating enough with existing ones that they were returning to it after release.
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: The sales number is definitely telling in regards to the chokehold Sleep Token lore has on the group’s supporters. Fans have been dissecting their lyrics and digging for easter eggs for months now, and it’s become less about trying to learn the band’s identity and more about engaging in the world Sleep Token is building. I think fans thought they’d learn more info if they bought physical copies of the record, which may or may not be true! Either way, it translates to a great sales week for them.
Kyle Denis: Arcadia pulling in 53,000 streaming equivalent album units during its first week is very impressive. Rock has had some difficulty finding its footing as the industry transitioned into the streaming era, and you really wouldn’t need more than two hands to count the amount of new rock bands that have broken through on a mainstream, Billboard chart-topping level in recent years. I think a hard rock band pulling these streaming figures – with just one career top 40 hit! — bodes well for not only their longevity, but also the general health of the genre in the streaming era.
Jason Lipshutz: The sales figure. Seeing multiple Arcadia tracks on daily streaming charts during the week following the album release was impressive, but the fact that the album moved that many copies right off the bat illustrates just how huge of a fan base Sleep Token has developed, and how hungry they were for another chapter in their story. Plenty of arena-level acts have struggled to get their fans invested in new material, but the Arcadia sales figure suggests that Sleep Token’s devoted listenership has not plateaued whatsoever.
Andrew Unterberger: The streams are certainly more newsworthy, but the sales are arguably more significant for the band itself. Once you become a band that can move physical units like that — and even without a single stream, Arcadia still would’ve sold enough for it to top the Billboard 200 this week — you’re basically golden; that fanbase investment is rock-solid enough that you’ll probably never be depending on living hit-to-hit again.
3. Also unusual for an album by a rock band: Arcadia notches all 10 of its tracks on the Hot 100 (though all in the chart’s bottom half). Do you think there’s a song that could endure as a lasting breakout hit, or is it mostly about the full album with Sleep Token?
Eric Renner Brown: Songs like “Look To Windward” and “Infinite Baths” are simply too long to have much crossover appeal on their own, outside of the album. But shorter tracks like “Past Self” are rhythmic earworms that call to mind Twenty One Pilots’ biggest hits – and could have similar breakout potential.
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: A Sleep Token record as a whole is definitely more appealing to its core fans, but it’s clear this time around there are certain songs geared more heavily for general consumption. “Caramel,” “Past Self,” “Provider,” are all ready to conquer the algorithms, which is just what happens when you have a machine like RCA pushing your album. We’ll likely start to hear these songs outside more and more, but only time will tell if the general public goes for it.
Kyle Denis: I think it’s probably mostly about the full album, but I think both “Caramel” and “Damocles” could stick around longer than most expect. Both tracks offer fans who may traditionally fall outside of hard rock circles and easy entry point into Sleep Token’s genre-fusing world.
Jason Lipshutz: I loved how “Emergence” set the table for the rest of the album campaign as the first song released from Arcadia, but its follow-up, “Caramel,” is the single that has the best shot at enduring. Its summery beat and pop hooks are primed to reach a mainstream audience, and its twisting structure and intense second half make sure that the song doesn’t betray the band’s core appeal. Is a Sleep Token track really in the song of the summer race? You better believe it.
Andrew Unterberger: “Caramel” feels like the band’s greatest proof-of-concept single on the set, though it is interesting to me to see “Emergence” crack the top five on Rock & Alternative Airplay — it doesn’t strike me as a radio song, but neither does anything on this set, really. Still, that may say more about the popularity of the band overall rather than of the song itself.
4. A lot of people are probably hearing Sleep Token’s name for the first time and fumbling over the band’s now-undeniable popularity – in one sentence, how would you describe the root of its appeal/success to the uninitiated?
Eric Renner Brown: Rock might not be the mainstream cultural driver it once was, but there’s still a certain romance to heavy, high-concept rock music – and new generations want to find their own purveyors of that, rather than settling for the big arena-rock acts of yesteryear.
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: They don’t have restrictions on what can and can’t be in metal, and that’s ultimately cool even if it doesn’t always work.
Kyle Denis: An English hard rock band that incorporates genres like reggaetón and pop and anonymizes themselves with different masks for each album rode a combination of natural momentum and social media virality to international stardom.
Jason Lipshutz: Sleep Token combines old-school metalcore theatrics, modern fantasy-world mythmaking and forward-thinking breakdowns that can be turned up in a car stereos or chopped up into TikTok clips.
Andrew Unterberger: As with the steadily growing popularity of Ghost, modern audiences love a metal band that can generate a little mystery and drama to its world-building — and as with the recent resurgence for the Deftones, those same audiences also love a metal band who seems tuned into the existence of other musical genres (and of sex).
5. Between Ghost and Sleep Token, hard rock albums have now claimed the No. 1 spot in two of the last three weeks – and neither from legacy acts, but rather from bands who are still ascending. Does this feel like a particularly important and significant moment for rock music on the Billboard charts, or is it more just a coincidence of timing?
Eric Renner Brown: Ghost and Sleep Token’s success on the chart ultimately feels like a coincidence, given the relative lull in major new releases – after all, since April, two Billboard 200 toppers have been deluxe reissues of previously released albums, and one (Bad Bunny) was a re-entry of an album that last topped the chart in early February. But at the same time, these albums indicate that hard rock is doing much better commercially than many give it credit for. Both bands are headed out on high-selling arena tours in the coming months, and hard-rock festivals like Ohio’s Sonic Temple and Florida’s Welcome To Rockville, which this year were headlined by the likes of Disturbed, Slipknot, Shinedown and Korn, are reliably huge affairs.
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady: A little of both. Both Ghost and Sleep Token emerged as No. 1’s on relatively slow weeks, and there’s no denying that the latter will be washed away from the charts next week now that Morgan Wallen’s back outside. Still, I think it shows overall a renewed appetite for theatrical rock music, especially among younger listeners. To call it a full blown “resurgence” I think is a stretch, but it is nice to see there remains an appetite for a genre that the mainstream public deemed to be “dead” years ago.
Kyle Denis: I think the release dates are probably a coincidence of timing, but the fact that 2025 has had two Billboard 200-topping hard rock albums before the year’s midpoint is definitely significant. Especially since these aren’t legacy acts and – at least in Sleep Token’s case – they’re also landing several songs on the Hot 100 pre- and post-album release. Maybe the success of these albums indicates a forthcoming reversal of the current trend of groups and bands disappearing from the Hot 100. Even if Arcadia doesn’t spin out a massive crossover hit, its streaming success is already indicative of a new era for hard rock on that consumption format – and that’s certainly a win.
Jason Lipshutz: The timing is coincidental, but the hard rock world has been starving for new superstars for years, and bands like Sleep Token and Ghost are filling the void. Both bands abide by long-held rules of the metal scene while also gesturing toward pop fans with their melodies; the mystique surrounding both groups has also gradually built, and invited new fans year after year. The respective performances of their new albums on the Billboard 200 showcases how these bands have real selling power, and should be taken more seriously as commercial entities moving forward.
Andrew Unterberger: Coincidental, but still meaningful. These two bands who happened to be releasing albums weeks apart might have been the only two bands who you’d expect to combine for such a moment in 2025 — but that’s still two more than you would’ve expected to be capable of it five years ago.
The season finale of The Last of Us is approaching, and in honor of the popular post-apocalyptic drama series, Billboard is highlighting its season two star, Isabela Merced, who in addition to acting, leads a music career of her own.
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Isabela was cast as the last major addition to the show, joining series stars Pedro Pascal (Joel Miller) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie). In season two, Isabela portrays Dina, a freewheeling and loyal spirit who serves as Ellie’s romantic interest and Jesse’s ex.
“Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable,” said Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us‘ co-creators, writers, executive producers and directors, according to Deadline. “You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away. We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family.”
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In addition to the lovable character on the hit HBO series, Isabela has also portrayed roles in films including Transformers: The Last Knight; Sicario: Day of the Soldado; and Dora and the Lost City of Gold, where she portrayed Dora.
But beyond her remarkable screen work, Isabela is also a promising music star. Below, check out some fun facts about the actress and singer.
Her Artist Name
The actress was born in Ohio to a Peruvian mother and a father from Louisiana. Her real name is Isabela Yolanda Moner, and was formerly known as Isabela Moner when she kicked off her acting career. However, when she launched her career as a solo musician in 2018, she changed her artist name to Isabela Merced as a tribute to her grandmother, Yolanda Merced, and her Peruvian heritage.
Her Music Career
In 2019, Isabela officially launched her music career, and has already collaborated with artists including Sebastian Yatra, Matt Hunter, and Danna (formerly known as Danna Paola), to name a few. Her 2020 EP The Better Half of Me features five tracks —in English and Spanish — navigating from reggaetón to R&B rhythms, and best putting on the map her fresh bilingual pop sound. Isabela has also recorded songs for the Instant Family and Spirit Untamed movie soundtracks, and has two Christmas songs: “Caliente Navidad” and “Cuffing Season.” Billboard can confirm that she’s currently working on new music.
Her Latin Roots
Isabela is a proud Peruvian-American, and the official music video for her single “Papi” is proof of that. The clip included a modern twist to the traditional Peruvian dance called Marinera and the devil masks worn by her dancers, which represent the Diablada. “Different elements of my Peruvian culture, from the coast to the Amazons, are incorporated into every aspect of my music, wardrobe, dancing, and storytelling of my videos,” she previously said to Billboard. She’s also a UNICEF ambassador in Peru and has visited communities in the Amazon.
The season two finale of The Last of Us will air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 25 on HBO and stream on Max.
Katy Perry is defending her territory. In a viral moment from her recent show in Nevada, the pop star hilariously called out a fan in the crowd for messaging her fiancé, actor Orlando Bloom — with whom she shares 4-year-old daughter Daisy — on social media.
As captured in a video posted on X Sunday (May 18) by the KatyCat in question, Perry spots him in the audience and squats down to get closer to his level. “I know why you’re here,” she tells the fan, whose name is Kyle. “Listen, if you keep DMing my man …”
“You’ve been doing it for months, ever since the residency,” she continued, her eyes sparkling even as her tone remained serious. “If you keep DMing my man, I’m going to have you removed. Seriously, get your own life — I’m his wife.”
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As she then transitioned into her 143 single “I’m His, He’s Mine” — sans collaborator Doechii — Perry added as she walked away, “He don’t want you, Kyle!”
In the moment, Kyle looked bewildered that the musician had singled him out, smiling with his mouth open in shock. Later, on X, he shared a screenshot of what he’d sent to Bloom to warrant the talking-to: “Hey babes, can you pls tell Katy to sing Ghost?”
The “Firework” singer and Pirates of the Caribbean actor have been engaged since 2018. They welcomed Daisy in August 2020.
The Nevada show comes about one month into Perry’s Lifetimes Tour, which kicked off in April in Mexico City. After upcoming performances in Austin and Dallas, Texas, she’ll head overseas for a run of dates in Australia.
Her run-in with Kyle was just the latest viral moment to emerge from the trek, which follows a period of public scrutiny for the former American Idol judge due to her highly criticized trip to space on Blue Origin’s first all-women flight in April, as well as her controversial choice to work with Dr. Luke on single “Woman’s World” before that. But on stage in Chicago on May 12, Perry laughed off the scrutiny in a viral video.
“Well, I thought I was the most hated person on the internet,” she quipped in the clip as her crowd applauded. “I think that’s false!”
Fans who have always wanted to compete against their sports heroes will have their chance. Fanatics has launched Fanatics Games — a first-of-its-kind competition series — debuting at Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 in June.
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Fanatics is picking 50 fans to compete against a star-studded group comprised of 50 athletes, music artists, streamers, celebrities, WWE superstars, influencers, entertainers and more. The competition will include eight different sporting events showcasing various athletic skill sets.
The stars slated to compete in Fanatics Games include Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Kevin Hart, IShowSpeed, Druski, Logan Paul, Micah Parsons, CJ Stroud, James Harden, Alex Rodriguez, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyreek Hill, Jayden Daniels, Liv Morgan, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and Rhea Ripley.
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Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin is on a mission to find the best athlete in the world. Fans and the superstars will compete in a quarterback challenge, an NBA 3-point contest, baseball pitching accuracy, hockey puck shooting, UFC striking, a WWE superstar entrance, soccer goal scoring and a closest to the pin golf contest.
Contestants — both the stars and fans — will have the opportunity to win a grand prize of $1 million. Second place will receive a new Ferrari 812 GTS, while third place takes home a 2003 LeBron James rookie Topps Chrome card, which is estimated to be worth $250,000.
Quavo and Gillie Da Kid hopped into Rubin’s comments section on Instagram looking to throw their names into the ring, and Huncho is feeling good about his chances. “Come on now u kno u gonna win,” the Migos rapper wrote.
It’s all going down at Fanatics Fest NYC 2025, which is taking place at the Javits Center June 20 through June 22. Tickets are still available for purchase.
Watch Michael Rubin’s explainer of the competition below.
A new era of rap beef is upon us. One where diss tracks get dropped left and right, forcing curious fans to scramble around trying to catch up.
Enter Joey Bada$$.
Since the Brooklyn rapper kicked things off on New Year’s Day with “The Ruler’s Back,” there have been 22 tracks released (and counting), with a flurry of them coming after Joey’s recent “Red Bull Spiral Freestyle” verse, where he addressed the drama that he started. “Since ‘Ruler’s Back,’ they been tryna measure up,” he rapped. “Look, my name ain’t Rick, but I talk slick, don’t press ya luck/ And I ain’t taking no words back, I’m with all that (All that) But this ain’t gotta turn to nothin’ else, let’s keep it all rap.”
He then referenced Kendrick’s infamous “Control” verse from 2013 when he named names and invited his peers to a friendly competition. “First off, I could never hate the West Coast,” Joey rapped. “But since n—as comin’ for Joe, f—k it then, let’s go/ N—as must’ve forgot what Dot said on ‘Control’/ There’s still a buncha sensitive rappers in they pajama clothes, I guess/ This ain’t no East versus West, I just think that I’m the best, as a matter fact, I know.”
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And you know what? He’s right.
So far, Ray Vaughn, Daylyt, Reason, and AZ Chike have stepped up for the West Coast with a couple decent tracks here and there, but nothing really to write home about. I was into AZ Chike’s decision to step into the ring with his song “What Would You Do?,” but that effort was squashed when Joey called him “Ass Cheek” and brought along battle rap vet Loaded Lux to add insult to injury on their reply entitled “My Town.”
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Speaking of Lux, a handful of New York rappers have stepped up to the plate in Pro Era member CJ Fly, Brooklyn rapper Kai Ca$h and Jadakiss’ son Really Jaewon. And while I dug Kai’s “Knicks in 6” record, the offerings from the East Coast heir have been mainly forgettable already — but they’ve managed to show the type of solidarity the West showed during the Kendrick and Drake battle, which I have to commend them for. Somebody else from NYC needs to drop a crazy diss record over a Cash Cobain beat or something, though. Let’s get everybody involved.
Anyway, there have been fans clamoring for the Griselda guys to get involved, but they haven’t taken the bait yet. Rome Streetz tweeted out a popular meme clip of Stephen A. Smith to express how he feels about people trying to drag him into this thing — and Benny the Butcher seems perfectly fine being a spectator like the rest of us, tweeting out earlier that he felt like Joey was “handling himself exceptionally well.”
And you know what? He’s right.
The Brooklyn rapper hasn’t dropped a full-length project since 2022 and has been focusing on a bubbling acting career in recent years. So, when he randomly dropped his Conductor Williams-produced track with a shot at the West Coast’s recent dominance, fans were taken aback. He then followed that up with a three-song EP in Pardon Me in February, which included the already released “Sorry Not Sorry” and the aforementioned “The Ruler’s Back,” and he told Red Bull that he’s planning on releasing a lot of new music this year in an interview.
If that’s the case, then he’s doing a good job with his album rollout — even if the stakes of this battle are pretty low compared to others in rap’s history. His songs “The Finals,” “My Town” and “Crash Test Dummy” are the strongest out of the bunch to me as of press time. Filing a TDEast trademark and buying the domain so that his new battle releases can live there was also a nice touch.
Call it East Coast bias, or maybe blame it on the Knicks being in the Eastern Conference Finals — but Joey is winning this thing so far, and I’m not sure it’s been close.
