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Katy Perry lands her sixth top 10-charting set on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Oct. 5), as her latest studio album, 143, debuts at No. 2 with 38,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 26 – her best sales week since 2017.
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She previously visited the top 10 with her five earlier major label full-length studio releases: Smile (No. 3 in 2020), Witness (No. 1, 2017), Prism (No. 1, 2013), Teenage Dream (No. 1, 2010) and One of the Boys (No. 9, 2008).
Also in the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart, Chappell Roan lands her biggest sales week yet – and first week at No. 1 – as The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess jumps 6-1. Meanwhile, the latest releases from P1Harmony, Lil Tecca, Keith Urban, Future, Grateful Dead and Seether arrive in the region.
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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Perry’s first-week sales were aided by 143’s availability across eight vinyl variants (including a signed edition), four CD variants (including a signed edition), a cassette tape and multiple digital download variants (including two exclusive to her webstore, each with bonus tracks).
As for Roan at No. 1, her album garnered a 328% week-over-week sales increase, selling 56,000 copies. The growth is owed to the release of four new vinyl variants and a cassette tape in celebration of the album’s first anniversary on Sept. 22. Of the album’s sales, vinyl comprises 50,000 – easily Roan’s best week on vinyl and the sixth-largest week for any vinyl album in 2024.
P1Harmony collects its best sales week yet, as Sad Song starts at No. 3 with 28,000 copies sold. It’s also the third top 10-charting set for the pop ensemble. The first-week sales were helped by the album’s availability across 24 collectible CD variants, a vinyl edition and a cassette. All variants contain branded paper ephemera like photocards and postcards.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet rises one spot to No. 4 with 15,000 sold (up 1%).
Lil Tecca nabs his best sales week ever, and first top 10, as his new album Plan A arrives at No. 5 with 13,000 sold. Previously, the rapper had never sold more than 4,500 copies of an album in a week. The new set’s sales were encouraged by two CD variants (including a signed edition) and multiple digital download variants (including three exclusive to the artist’s webstore, two of which included bonus tracks).
Keith Urban clocks his ninth top 10 on Top Album Sales as High bows at No. 6 with 12,000 sold. Its first week was helped by four vinyl variants, three CD variants – with some retail-exclusives containing branded paper ephemera.
Future’s Mixtape Pluto enters at No. 7 with 10,000 sold – his best sales week since 2020. Nearly 7,500 of that sum was driven by vinyl sales – aided by three vinyl variants. The set was also available on CD and as a digital download. The album was issued as an 11-song standard album (on vinyl, CD and download) and as an expanded 17-song set (on download).
Stray Kids’ former No. 1 ATE rises one rung to No. 8 with nearly 8,000 sold (down 13%).
Rounding out the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart are debuts from the Grateful Dead’s expansive archival live boxed sets, Friend of the Devils: April 1978, which starts at No. 9 (7,500) and Seether’s The Surface Seems So Far at No. 10 (just over 7,000).
The Dead package – sold exclusively via the band’s official webstore – captures eight concerts staged in April 1978 and is available either as a digital download or 19-CD boxed set, with pricing ranging from $159.98 to $199.98.
For Seether, the new Surface marks the band’s ninth studio album and seventh top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales.
LISA is back with a brand new single, the swoon-worthy “Moonlit Floor,” which arrived on Thursday (Oct. 3). The BLACKPINK singer has been teasing the track on TikTok leading up to its release, and debuted it live at Global Citizen Fest last month. The song interpolates Sixpence None the Richer‘s hit “Kiss Me,” which reached […]
DDG and Halle Bailey are going their separate ways. DDG announced that the couple has split with an Instagram Story post on Thursday evening (Oct. 3).
“After much reflection and heartfelt conversations, Halle and I have decided to go our separate ways,” he began. “This decision was not easy, but we believe it’s the best path forward for both of us. I cherish the time we’ve spent together and the love we’ve shared.”
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The “Moonwalking in Calabasas” rapper and Halle Bailey went public with their relationship in January 2022. They welcomed a son, Halo, late in 2023 and announced his birth back in January.
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DDG and the Little Mermaid star gave the public its first glimpse of Halo when sharing photos of their baby boy in July following a trip to Italy.
Despite the split, DDG maintains that they will remain “best friends” and have plenty of love for one another as they navigate this co-parenting journey.
“Despite the changes in our relationship, our love for each other remains deep and true,” he continued. “We are still best friends and adore each other. As we focus on our individual journeys and our roles as co-parents, we cherish the bond we’ve build and the beautiful moments we’ve shared.”
The couple was swarmed with break-up rumors in April when DDG and Halle Bailey allegedly unfollowed each other on Instagram and took down some of the photos they had together, per Elle.
In the same month, Halle opened up about the “severe” postpartum depression she was experiencing as a mother. “It’s hard for me to be separated from my baby for more than 30 minutes at a time before I start to kind of freak out,” she said on Snapchat. “When I look at him, I cry because of how special he is.”
More recently, DDG and Halle attended Usher’s Past Present Future Tour in Los Angeles together last week.
The 26-year-old and Bailey are requesting fans’ “understanding and support” as they figure out what’s next for themselves. “As we navigate this transition, we ask for your understanding and support,” DDG concluded. “Thank you for your love and encouragement.”
Find the full statement from DDG below.
Halle Bailey and DDG have separated:“After much reflections and heartfelt conversations, Halle and I have decided to go our separate ways.” pic.twitter.com/Am5trZNlfn— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 3, 2024
For a fourth straight year, Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack to It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Kid Albums chart, largely powered by vinyl album sales. The set rises one spot on the Oct. 5-dated list, which ranks the week’s top-selling kid albums in the United States according to Luminate. The […]
The Boss has spoken. Bruce Springsteen took to social media on Thursday (Oct. 3) to officially announce that in the upcoming presidential election, he will be voting for the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz ticket. “We are shortly coming up on one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history,” he explains in the […]
Tommy Richman sent Rap Twitter into a frenzy last night (Oct. 2.) The singer out of Virginia — whose single “Million Dollar Baby” went viral and was on its way to dominating the summer until the Kendrick and Drake battle thwarted those dreams — sent out a now-deleted tweet seemingly distancing himself from the genre […]
Demi Lovato and Penn Badgley got deep on the latest episode of Podcrushed, with the 32-year-old singer/actress opening up about her ongoing eating disorder treatments, gender presentation and more in an interview posted Thursday (Oct. 3).
Sitting across from the You actor, Lovato gave an update on how they’re currently managing their body image and mental health — all things the Camp Rock star has previously been open about. “I have a treatment team that I work with that helps me stay in recovery, and I’ve been in recovery from bulimia for five, going on six, years now,” she said. “I’m trying to learn body acceptance rather than body positivity, because body positivity feels like, ‘I can’t even reach that yet.’ I have a nutritionist and a therapist that specializes in eating disorders.”
Adding that cooking meals at home feels like “the biggest ‘F— you’” to her eating disorder, Lovato continued that “the main thing that I’m working on is just body acceptance, and looking in the mirror and being like, ‘This body is strong … This body saved my life and fought for my life when I overdosed. This body is a miracle.’”
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The interview comes a few weeks after the Sept. 17 premiere of Lovato’s Child Star Hulu documentary, on which the vocalist further explored their past struggles and interviewed fellow celebrities — Christina Ricci, Drew Barrymore and Jojo Siwa, to name a few — about their own experiences with child fame. Lovato also recently dropped a companion single for the self-directed film titled “You’ll Be OK, Kid.”
But while Badgley had Lovato in his presence, there was another song he wanted to sing with her: 2021’s emotional ballad “Anyone” from Dancing With the Devil. In a clip posted to Podcrushed‘s Instagram, the Gossip Girl alum starts out the song before listening in awe as the “Cool for the Summer” artist took the floor.
Elsewhere in Badgley’s interview with Lovato, the Princess Protection Program star opened up about feeling more comfortable balancing masculinity with femininity as it pertains to their gender presentation. “I came out as nonbinary [in 2021]. I really shed that image of that hyper-feminine pop star that I had been for so many years. I cut all my hair off and it was really freeing for me.”
“I feel masculine and feminine,” Lovato continued. “I have both energies in me. At that point in my life, I really shunned the feminine energy in me, and now I’m able to embrace both.”
Watch Badgley interview Lovato above, and check out their mini-duet below.
Karol G holds strong at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart as “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” tops the Oct. 5-dated ranking. The tropical song ties with Los Angeles Azules y Emilia’s “Perdonarte Para Qué?” for the fifth-most weeks at the summit in 2024.
Here’s a review of the songs with the most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart in 2024 so far:
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Weeks at No. 1, Song, Artists11, “Hoy,” Valentino Merlo & The La Planta10, “Una Foto (Remix),” Mesita, Nicki Nicole, Tiago PZK & Emilia5, “Bésame (Remix),” Bhavi, Seven Kayne, Milo j, Tiago PZK, KHEA & Neo Pistea4, “Hola Perdida (Remix),” Luck Ra & KHEA3, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” Karol G3, “Perdonarte Para Qué?,” Los Angeles Azules & Emilia
Valentino Merlo and The La Planta’s “Hoy” remains at No. 2 for a fourth week, after the song’s 11-week coronation starting the July 6-dated tally.
Paulo Londra bounds back in the top 10 with his Valentino Merlo and Luck Ra collab, “Princesa,” which rallies 20-10 for its new peak. Londra last landed in the upper region with the No. 8-peaking “Party En El Barrio,” featuring Duki, in September 2022.
The Hot Shot Debut of the week goes to Feid and Yandel’s “Háblame Claro,” which launches at No. 57. The pair previously collaborated through “Yandel 150” which peaked at No. 6 in April 2023.
Elsewhere, Cris Mj and FloyyMenor take the weekly Greatest Gainer honors as “Después De La 1” climbs 24 spots, from No. 42 to No. 18. The Chileans also place two other collabs on the current ranking: while “Déjame Pensar” opens at No. 99, “Gata Only” rises 46-45, after the song peaked at No. 3 in March.
Buju Banton’s viral Afrobeats-lambasting Drink Champs appearance (Aug. 28) previewed a particularly contentious month for reggae and dancehall music, and September did not disappoint.
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After announcing the removal of the reggae recording of the year category from the forthcoming 2025 JUNO Awards, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has reversed its decision, allowing a new crop of competitors to join past winners like Leroy Sibbles, Exco Levi and Kirk Diamond. The news came just a few weeks before an update in the curious removal of Drake‘s “Blue Green Red” from streaming services. The dancehall-inflected track — which peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a part of the rapper’s 100 Gigs EP — allegedly lifted elements from Tiger’s “When” (1991) without proper clearance. Later disputes about who actually serves as Tiger’s publishing representative continues to keep the song off streaming services, but producer Boi-1da asserts that the song could “possibly be back up” once those issues are resolved.
In live performance news, R&B icon Usher brought out a pair of Jamaican powerhouses for his Past Present Future Tour: Grammy-nominated reggae star Barrington Levy delivered renditions of “Here I Come,” “Black Roses” and “Tell Them A Ready (Murderer)” at the trek’s final Brooklyn show (Sept. 10), while Caribbean Music Award winner Masicka performed “Fight For Us” at the final Toronto Show (Sept. 3). At the latter stop, Canadian rapper and producer Kardinal Offishall also joined forces with Usher for a special cover of Chaka Demus & Pliers’ “Murder She Wrote.”
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Naturally, Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks column will not cover every last track, but our Spotify playlist — which is linked below — will expand on the 10 highlighted songs. So, without any further ado:
Freshest Find: Azato, “Disconnect to Connect”
As a global society, we’re probably past the point of no return when it comes to the unhealthy amount of time and energy we collectively give to technology and social media. With “Disconnect to Connect,” a warm, full-bodied mélange of soulful roots reggae and notes of soft rock and jazz, Hawaiian reggae band Azato deliver something greater than a finger-wagging “get off your phones” anthem. “Are we truly free, or just followers of likes?” he questions us, urging us to detox, if only for a moment. Roots reggae has proven to be rich soil for sociopolitical commentary for decades, and Azato offers up a distinctly 21st-century lens through “Disconnect to Connect.”
Runkus, Royal Blu & Kush Arora, “No Long Talking”
“Life In the Jungle” might be the main attraction, but “No Long Talking” is a much more intriguing offering from Jamaican artists Runkus and Royal Blu and Bay Area producer Kush Arora. A fiery amalgam of drill and dancehall, complete with machine gun sound effects, rapid fire flows, and a promise to get “straight to the action, don’t wanna play.” Built around Kush’s “Desi Cowboy” riddim, both Runkus and Royal Blu embody the lawless spirit of the Wild West with this slinky gun chune.
Morgan & Byron Messia, “Wheel Up”
It’s been over a year since “Talibans” dominated the summer across the Caribbean diaspora, and Byron Messia still stands as one of the biggest dancehall breakout stars in recent memory. On his new collaboration with U.K. pop/R&B arist Morgan, Messia proves himself a surprisingly strong supporting player. A sleek fusion of R&B and dancehall, “Wheel Up” is a sultry ode to Jamaican sound clash culture and the heated nights of passionate dancing and flirting that follow. “One more sin inna mi cup/ Dis ting we affi wheel up,” Morgan croons in the chorus of the Slim Typical-helmed track. Ain’t nothing with rewinding those fleeting moments of connection to make them last a little while longer!
Gyptian, “In the Dark”
Gyptian has been cranking out love and lust-minded dancehall classics for years now, and he’s showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. With his latest single, “In the Dark,” the Billboard chart-topping star zeroes in on the love affairs that thrive when the night falls. “She said, ‘I can come over tonight’/ ‘And do with you whatever’/ Wait till it’s dark outside/ And just make your way over,” he sings over the guitar-inflected reggae-pop beat, painting a thrilling narrative of a secret relationship that can only live in the darkness. It’s a less heartwarming story than the one he tells on “Hold Yuh,” but it’s equally enthralling because of the forbidden spaces it pushes his songwriting to.
Shenseea, “Dating SZN”
It’s wild to think that in 2024, people still (figuratively) clutch their pearls when women speak about balancing different partners, but leave it to Shenseea to render that faux outrage null and void. “You a nuh mi man, mi nah haffi explain/ Mi nuh have no obligation/ Journey might be slow/ But mi haffi sure say you’re the one/ So mi have couple a unuh inna rotation,” she explains in the first verse, letting it be known that she sets the terms of all these arrangements — nobody else. The Supa Dups-produced track references the iconic instrumental hook from TLC’s Hot 100-topping “No Scrubs,” an increasingly rare instance of a newer song referencing a classic track and building on that song’s narrative and concept. These guys are scrubs, why would Shenyeng ever lock herself down like that?
Jahmiel & Minto Play Da Riddim, “Self Worth”
Always good for a poignant, introspective track, Jahmiel delivers yet again with “Self Worth,” a tender collaboration with Minto Play Da Riddim. Emphasizing themes self-empowerment, the track balances somber piano keys, a spoken interlude, and an undercurrent of gospel melodies to create a sonic comforter of hope and reassurance. “A user nah go ever love you like you love yourself,” he croons, reminding us all that our sense of self should always be grounded in an intimate understanding of our own individual self-worth.
Popcaan, “Show Me”
The Unruly Boss is back with a new drop. “Show Me,” the dancehall icon’s latest offering is standard sexed-up dancehall fear, and that’s perfectly fine. Produced by Teejay of TJ records, “Show Me” is as playful as it sensual, with Popcaan begging his prospective lover to “show me what you can do.” His smooth delivery offers a nice complement to the hip-hop-inflected riddim, but there’s just enough fire in his exclamations and ad-libs to make sure the flame never dies.
Vybz Kartel, “The Comet”
As the whole world knows by now, Vybz Kartel is finally free. He’s already dropped off a collection of new bangers since his release and in a wholly characteristic move, he’s given us some more. If anything, “The Comet” feel like a foreboding prelude to a new set of bangers ahead of his highly anticipated return to the stage in Jamaica later this year. “Mi f–k yuh madda thru di prison grill/ Mi f–k yuh gyal thru di prison window/ Wet up ‘e p—y wid mi middle finger/ Then mi dig it out hard wid di timber,” he snarls in trademark badman fashion before chanting, “I thought I told you that the comet is comin’” in the chorus. Who knows what “The Comet” is warning for, and, honestly, it doesn’t even matter — it’s a heater all on its own.
Bamby, “Guyane”
Guyanese dancehall and shatta singer Bamby infuses those two Jamaica-indebted genres with a healthy dose of her own Creole roots. Complete with a video shot in her home country, Bamby sings in both French and Creole as she waxes poetic about the beauty, strength and virtue of Guyana. “Yé ka mandé pou kissa nou fâché (They ask why we are angry)/Babylon pa pé rété (Babylon can’t stay)/ Malè ki zot voyé (This misfortune they sent)/ Lanmè ké fine pa chariél (The sea will no longer carry it),” she croons over a sparkly, thumping dancehall beat.
Amanda Reifer & Sean Paul, “Sweat (Part II)
A sequel to the opening track from her Island Files project earlier this year, “Sweat (Part II)” finds Barbados’ Amanda Reifer joining forces with Jamaica’s Sean Paul for a sexy reggae-pop jam. The new version of the song changes very little from the original, but Sean Paul’s mellow guest verse offers a nice male perspective to complement both Amanda’s POV and her loftier vocal register. “You waan me touch it girl/ Me well conscious me want you trust it girl/ The stars and the moon shine for us girl/ You are my Isis , I am Osiris girl,” he proclaims to close out his verse. Who said the breezy reggae love jams have to stop when the weather gets chillier?
Luke Bryan is sharing his thoughts on Beyoncé not receiving any CMA Award nominations for Cowboy Carter.
The country music singer opened up about the controversy with Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, two months before the CMA Awards take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. “It’s a tricky question because, obviously, Beyoncé made a country album and Beyoncé has a lot of fans out there that have her back. And if she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you, as fans should do,” Bryan explained, noting that “a lot of great music is overlooked” at the awards ceremony.
“Just because she made one … just ’cause I make one, I don’t get any nominations,” he continued.
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Cowboy Carter not only topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks, but reigned at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart for a full month. Plus, lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” made the 32-time Grammy winner the first Black woman to hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs ranking, a position it held for 10 weeks.
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However, country radio didn’t fully embrace the album. The lead single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” peaked at No. 33 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. A follow-up, a reworking of Dolly Parton’s 1974 classic “Jolene,” peaked at No. 56.
“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it,” Bryan added. “But where things get a little tricky — if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit. Like, Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to. She’s probably the biggest star in music. But come to an award show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family, too. And I’m not saying she didn’t do that … but country music is a lot about family.”
However, Bey may have a reason to keep at arm’s length from the country music family. Back in 2016, Bey performed her country-leaning song “Daddy Lessons” at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards alongside The Chicks.
A pre-show announcement teasing her performance sparked calls for a CMAs boycott on social media, with some people blasting the awards show for including Bey, whose tribute to the Black Panther Party during her performance of “Formation” at the 2016 Super Bowl had also earned pushback. After the performance, there was no mention of her appearance on the CMAs website.
In a March post on Instagram, the “16 Carriages” singer wrote that the album was “born out of an experience” she’d had years prior where she “did not feel welcomed,” which many fans took to be the 2016 controversy.