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G-Eazy is a sponge for culture. Young Gerald traded the sunshine of California for the gridlock of the Big Apple in 2023 to avoid stagnation. He delivered his Freak Show album last year and quickly turned the page to a new era in 2025.
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The Bay Area native stopped by the Billboard offices in January ahead of his European tour run, where he opened up about rediscovering himself as the new music he’s been cooking up rejuvenated him creatively.
“The process of making this record almost felt like I had rediscovered myself. Everything was about having fun again and getting back to the essence,” he says. “When you lock in and you get in a good space and you have fun and you understand the mission and you feel motivated, then it should flow like water.”
G-Eazy continued: “This was almost a return to the sound of what’s the essence of Gerald? And what does he want to do? Ultimately, man, this new music, I feel incredible about and I’m really excited.”
Gerald dropped off his intoxicating “Kiss the Sky” single to kick off February, and has a project on the way.
He also touched on some of the high-profile collaborations in his catalog, such as teaming with Britney Spears in 2016 for “Make Me…,” which he looks back on with a new sense of gratitude. The track peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“These opportunities I always try to stay in a space of gratitude,” he adds. “Imagine your 12-year-old self was told one day you’re gonna grow up and see this person on TV and you’re gonna get to do that. Never take none of this for granted.”
Demi Lovato and G-Eazy united in 2021 for the vulnerable “Breakdown,” which found the pair candidly confronting their personal battles while turning their intimate conversations into a powerful song. Gerald calls Lovato a “kindred spirit” and a “powerful force of a human being.”
“It’s not a linear path it’s a difficult one those ups and downs those challenges — that’s real life. As friends, we’ve talked about that extensively,” he says of their collab. “It’s one thing to talk about that, it’s another thing to find a way to frame it in a song.”
Before any of the fame, Gerald first’s concert was seeing Ye (formerly Kanye West) perform The College Dropout in the mid-2000s, where he remembered the rapper being presented with a gold plaque on stage. “I was, like, a freshman in high school and went with some friends,” G recalls. “I still remember his stage presence. That struck me as much as anything.”
G-Eazy will hit the road once again in April for 26 dates across North America. Marc E. Bassy will serve as the trek’s opener. “I’m really grateful for all of it,” The Bay Area native concludes.
Watch the entire interview above.
Little Monsters have spent the last few months patiently waiting for Lady Gaga‘s long-anticipated seventh studio album. Now, Mother Monster is giving them yet another tease ahead of the LP’s release. In a post to Instagram Reels on Tuesday (Feb. 18), Gaga revealed the full tracklist for her forthcoming album, Mayhem. Featuring already-released singles “Die […]
Drake is performing in Australia as part of his Anita Max Wynn Tour, and during the Monday (Feb. 17) Sydney show, a fan launched a DeMar DeRozan basketball jersey on stage, which Drake threw down in disgust.
A clip from the show went viral, which saw Drizzy performing Her Loss standout “Rich Flex.” The OVO rapper unravels the camouflage Raptors No. 10 jersey and immediately spikes the DeRozan jersey like a football after realizing whose name was on the back before getting back to the show.
DeRozan was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2009 and spent the first nine years of his career north of the border. The Compton-bred baller and Drake were tight throughout his tenure in the 6, and even appeared on the cover of Slam Magazine together in 2016.
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“No matter what, when it comes to him, he’ll forever have a friend in me and loyalty out of me because he cared,” DeRozan said of Drake in 2021 after leaving the Raptors. “He was there for me when everything was kind of going crazy.”
The relationship appeared to go sour when DeRozan made a cameo in Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” video after K. Dot shouted out the hooper on the track. DeRozan also made an appearance at Lamar’s Pop Out concert on Juneteenth, where Kendrick performed “Not Like Us” for the first time live.
Even after the “NLU” cameo, DeRozan attempted to show love to Drake and play it down the middle.
“We love Drake, we always can play him,” he said during an interview last summer. “Kendrick been a friend of mine, family. Damn near family, for a long time, for a while. We’re from the same city, we grew up damn near in the same neighborhood … It’s always been there. It hasn’t always been publicized, but, you know, that’s basically family.”
Drake wasn’t going for it and blasted DeRozan along with the idea of the franchise ever retiring his No. 10 during a Toronto Raptors broadcast in November. “Unfortunately we’re playing this goof tonight,” he said at the time. “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll go up there and pull it down myself.”
The Sacramento Kings star brushed Drake’s comments off during a postgame presser. “He’s going to have a long way to climb,” DeRozan quipped. “Tell him good luck.”
Back in 2018, Paul Simon performed the final show of what he called his farewell tour. The gig at Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park in September 2018 came after Simon, 83, revealed that he was suffering from significant hearing loss, a situation that ramped-up significantly during the sessions for the singer’s 2023 song cycle, Seven Psalms.
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“Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he said at the time. “So everything became more difficult.” Simon said he thought the issue wold “pass” or “repair itself,” though it did not and he conceded back then that he would likely never tour again.
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Then, surprisingly, there Simon was on Sunday night (Feb. 16) opening the three-plus hour SNL50 Celebration special singing a duet with Sabrina Carpenter on his song “Homeward Bound.” And on Tuesday (Feb. 18), Simon announced that he’s hitting the road this spring and summer for a run of North American dates on the “A Quiet Celebration Tour.”
The shows that will have the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer playing multiple nights in a row in most cities, and it’s slated to kick off on April 4 at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans, followed by stops in Austin, TX, Denver, Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Milwaukee, Chicago, Toronto, Vienna, VA, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Long Beach, CA, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver before winding down with three shows at Benaroya Hall in Seattle; see the announcement poster here.
The gigs in smaller rooms than Simon has typically played, will allow the singer to perform the songs from Seven Psalms live for the first time. According to a release, the settings are “in intimate venues where the acoustics are optimal in consideration of the severe hearing loss that he incurred over the last few years.”
A presale for select shows on the tour will kick off on Thursday (Feb. 20) at 10 a.m. local time, with a public on-sale slated for Friday (Feb. 21) at 10 a.m. local time here.
Check out the dates for Paul Simon’s 2025 A Quiet Celebration North American tour below:
April 4 – New Orleans, LA @ Saenger TheaterApril 5 – New Orleans, LA @ Saenger TheaterApril 8 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert HallApril 10 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert HallApril 11 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert HallApril 14 – Denver, CO @ Paramount TheatreApril 16 – Denver, CO @ Paramount TheatreApril 17 – Denver, CO @ Paramount TheatreApril 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum TheatreApril 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum TheatreApril 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum TheatreApril 26 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland TheatreApril 28 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel TheatreApril 29 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel TheatreMay 7 – Dallas, TX @ AT&T Performing Arts CenterMay 8 – Dallas, TX @ AT&T Performing Arts CenterMay 11 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman AuditoriumMay 13 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman AuditoriumMay 14 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman AuditoriumMay 17 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside TheaterMay 18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside TheaterMay 21 – Chicago, IL @ Symphony CenterMay 23 – Chicago, IL @ Symphony CenterMay 24 – Chicago, IL @ Symphony CenterMay 27 – Toronto, ON @ Massey HallMay 29 – Toronto, ON @ Massey HallMay 30 – Toronto, ON @ Massey HallJune 6 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf TrapJune 7 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf TrapJune 10 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center, Wang TheatreJune 12 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center, Wang TheatreJune 13 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center, Wang TheatreJune 16 – New York, NY @ Beacon TheaterJune 18 – New York, NY @ Beacon TheaterJune 20 – New York, NY @ Beacon TheaterJune 21 – New York, NY @ Beacon TheaterJune 23 – New York, NY @ Beacon TheaterJune 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of MusicJune 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of MusicJune 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of MusicJuly 7 – Long Beach, CA @ Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts CenterJuly 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ Disney HallJuly 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Disney HallJuly 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Disney HallJuly 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Disney HallJuly 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Disney HallJuly 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Davies Symphony HallJuly 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Davies Symphony HallJuly 22 – San Francisco, CA @ Davies Symphony HallJuly 25 – Vancouver, BC @ The OrpheumJuly 26 – Vancouver, BC @ The OrpheumJuly 28 – Vancouver, BC @ The OrpheumJuly 31 – Seattle, WA @ Benaroya HallAugust 2 – Seattle, WA @ Benaroya HallAugust 3 – Seattle, WA @ Benaroya Hall
With the NBA All-Star Game returning to The Bay Area for the first time since 2000, Saweetie — a proud Bay Area native — is booked and busy throughout the weekend’s festivities.
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Saweetie shined as part of DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! Bay Area celebration during the NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show on Sunday (Feb. 16) alongside fellow Bay dignitaries like E-40, Too Short and En Vogue.
A day earlier, while wearing a flashy top made of metallic keys, Saweetie rocked Chase Freedom’s Cashback Courts with a 20-minute set of hits from “My Type” to “ICY GRL” and “Best Friend.” Hundreds of San Francisco fans filled the City View Metreon with many little girls representing younger versions of Saweetie in the audience gawking at their hero.
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“I love that I’m able to reach out to girls who are able to identify with me because I remember what it felt like looking up to some of my favorite artists and finding a common denominator and making it that much closer to them,” she tells Billboard in her green room following the performance. “I love seeing my Filipina queens and princesses. It always feels like a magical moment.”
With the calendar turning to 2025, Saweetie says she still has her sights on finally dropping her long-awaited, much-delayed debut album. “Yeah, it’s coming this year,” she promises. “I feel like it will really encompass who I’ve grown into over these past couple of years. Lots of stories to tell.”
Elsewhere in our conversation, Saweetie recalled working with Sabrina Carpenter in 2019 on “I Can’t Stop Me,” whom she championed a “magical woman” and detailed the full-circle moment of collaborating with LL COOL J for his The Force album last year as her mom once starred in one of his videos.
Check out the rest of our All-Star Weekend interview with the rapper who touches on her hopes for more acting roles, getting the Jill Scott co-sign and why she can’t stop playing Kendrick Lamar’s “TV Off.”
It’s dope to see a lot of the little girls that look up to you out here. To live that out is cool. Are you used to that?
It always feels like the first time because you never know what kinda response you’re gonna get when you come out.
What’s it like partnering with Chase and having it come full-circle with The Bay having All-Star Weekend for the first time in forever?
Lots of full-circle moments because I’m from The Bay and participating in such a global activation is phenomenal. We just had rehearsals this morning and it felt like a surreal moment. And to be part of the Chase Cashback Courts is another full-circle moment too because I had a college card with Chase. It was my first debit card. I opened it on my own and went into the bank and sat and did the whole process myself. Lot of full-circle moments happening in my life right now so this whole weekend feels surreal.
Your bank account’s looking a little different nowadays I think.
Very different.
What’s next for you musically?
Me and OhGeesy just dropped. I love collaborating with West Coast artists. I was in Africa for some time and I did some collaborations out there, one with ODUMODUBLVCK. It’s nice to tap into different communities. I can see myself more international with my features this year.
How was linking up with LL Cool J?
That was so amazing. You know my mom was in her video? I think “Luv U Better.” All these full-circle moments. I showed him. That was really cool too, and the video was super hot. His team felt like family and it’s nice to be welcomed by a fellow icon. You never know how those moments are gonna go, but it was so much fun.
Another one is a throwback with Sabrina Carpenter. How did that come together?
She’s always been a magical woman. When we did our collaboration, we met and she’s full of light, talent and energy so to see her blossom into something bigger than life has been such a joy to see this past year.
I think you’re the only rapper she’s ever worked with.
Oh, wow! Well, shout-out to her — we gotta do something else.
How was getting the Jill Scott sample cleared? Did you end up talking to her?
Absolutely, she is such an icon. It took some time and I had to work for it. I’m happy that we’re here now and I’m able to gladly say that she blessed me with an opportunity to make something into my own and I’m really grateful for that.
You had a cameo in BMF — more acting on the way? What’s the dream role for Saweetie?
A lot of more acting. I want to play something with action — like sci-fi/action. Something fantasy. Like a superhero or supervillain.
How many Saweetie meals did you eat at McDonald’s?
I lost count. I’m happy you liked my concoctions.
What’s your favorite Zaytoven beat?
Personally, my song “Expensive.” I don’t think it made streaming platforms, but I remember falling in love with that beat to write over it so effortlessly.
Why is your Instagram profile picture Stewie Griffin giving the middle finger?
That’s my mood. It’s facetious.
What’s one song you’re rocking with right now?
I’m telling you this, if you’re in my car and “TV Off” comes on you’re getting a full performance. The volume is high — it gets a little crazy, so put your seatbelt on.
ROSÉ isn’t slowing down any time soon. Just over two months after she dropped her debut solo album, the BLACKPINK star revealed that her girl group also has new music coming out soon in a new interview with The Cut published Tuesday (Feb. 18), in which the Aussie performer also opened up about her relationship with collaborator Bruno Mars and her thoughts on K-pop trainees needing therapy.
Fans already knew that BLACKPINK was heading for a comeback in 2025, with the group announcing earlier this month that a world tour was imminent. But in the new interview, ROSÉ went another step further and confirmed that the band will soon have fresh songs to perform once they take the stage, telling the publication straightforwardly, “We will be coming out with new music soon.”
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Of the group’s reunion, the “Toxic Till The End” singer added, “We just knew there was no reason for us to stop it, right? As much as we all needed some time to go out and explore and be our own people, we still have business left to do. We’ve got to do some more damage.”
Whenever the new music does drop, it’ll follow 2022’s Billboard 200-topper Born Pink. After touring the album across the world throughout 2023, ROSÉ and bandmates LISA, JENNIE and JISOO temporarily paused group activities to focus on solo projects for about a year.
And in ROSÉ’s case, that year “off” has seen her drop her first-ever solo LP, rosie, featuring Billboard Global 200 No. 1 single “APT.” with Bruno Mars, with whom the “On the Ground” artist says she’s grown “very close.”
Detailing how the Silk Sonic star helped her finish rosie track “Number One Girl” when she was struggling, ROSÉ shared one of the most valuable lessons she’s learned from Mars: You can’t rush the songwriting process, no matter how much you might want to. “I’d always feel like, ‘It’s my fault, I should have an idea by this time,’ or, ‘Maybe I’m just not good enough,’” she told the publication.
“Bruno showed me that, as a creative, you have to listen to your intuition and your timing, and you’re allowed to trust in it,” she continued of her duet partner. “I’ve become more confident in what feels right to me and in doing whatever it takes to have that come to life.”
But before she was a chart-topping soloist or part of the world’s biggest girl group, ROSÉ was a teenager training for future superstardom at YG Entertainment. While reflecting on her career start, she shared her thoughts on whether young signees should have built-in access to therapy as K-pop trainees — echoing what Ariana Grande recently said about young stars needing counseling in their record label contracts.
“Oh yes, please,” ROSÉ said of the idea for mandatory mental health resources. “I think toward the end of my training, there was. But now if I were to do an academy, I’d give them a therapist. Once a week.”
See ROSÉ for The Cut below:
Fashion-forward singer Tyla dropped into the Jennifer Hudson Show on Tuesday (Feb. 18) to give a sneak peek at her new British Vogue cover and tease her anticipated look at the upcoming Met Gala. She also talked about performing at last year’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show and performing with her musical mirror, Sabrina Carpenter.
“She’s literally like me, like we don’t take things too serious, so it was a lot of laughing,” Tyla said of appearing on Carpenter’s first-ever holiday special in December, during which the two women collaborated on a rendition of “This Christmas.”
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“It was really fun doing that and being… because I haven’t done a duet like that with another artist,” Tyla said. “Yeah, it was cute.” Now that she’s got Carpenter ticked off her bucket list, Hudson asked if there is anyone else Tyla dreams of teaming up with. “Like a dream song, just passion, like not serious, I would want to do something with… an older artist,” she said. “Like Brian McKnight… or a Babyface, something like old R&B.”
Tyla also responded to silly internet rumors that she “stole” some wings at the VS runway special, telling Hudson that at one point someone told her she could go into the “wing room” and “pick any wing” she wanted. “So I was having the time of my life, trying on all the wings,” Tyla laughed, as the image of the white feather version she chose flashed on the screen behind her; at the time, she captioned a stunning pic from the special with the words, “Earned my wings” in the post that got a heart emoji from Carpenter.
“‘That’s mine!’” she remembered thinking when she saw them at the show where she walked alongside Angels Gigi Hadid, Tyra Banks and Adriana Lima, at the event that also featured a performance from BLACKPINK’s LISA.
And, not that she’s looking to take all the gigs, but asked if she’s interested in moving into acting, Tyla said she’d love to “do something more creative” with a fellow envelope-pushing musician, such as Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino or Tyler, the Creator. “Something more creative… but dream role? I want to be a princess,” she said with a smile. “Like an African princess. I think that would be cute.”
After making the scene at her first Met Gala last year, last week it was announced that Tyla will be part of the 2025 Met Gala Host Committee team alongside André 3000, Simone Biles, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Regina King, Spike Lee, Janelle Monae and Sha’Carri Richardson, among others. Though she’s not sure what her outfit will be yet, Tyla promised that it “will be hot… you know that,” without revealing any additional details.
In her new British Vogue cover, the 23-year-old South African native charted her quick rise to fame and gave a hint of what musical direction she is headed in after the worldwide breakthrough of “Water,” the debut single from her self-titled first album that topped out at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I really feel like I have changed so much since ‘Water’ and my debut album. I have grown into a different version of myself. A little more spicy, a little more bold. I’m excited to just put that into the music,” she told the magazine. And while her global acclaim could easily lead to product extensions into a beauty or booze line like other pop stars, Tyla said she’s focused on her main gig.
“Music is my first love,” she said, while keeping her options open. “Maybe one day I’ll want to dabble in acting, beauty, creative directing, fashion… I really have a love for it all and I know I can do it all.”
Tyla will appear alongside aespa, Erykah Badu, GloRilla, Angela Aguilar, Gracie Abrams, Jennie, Megan Moroney, Meghan Trainor and Muni Long at March 29th’s 2025 Billboard Women in Music event.
Check out Tyla on the Jennifer Hudson Show below.
Last year, the returns of Buju Banton and Vybz Kartel catapulted Jamaica back to the forefront of the global music conversation. With reggae and dancehall giants coming back to the stage as several subgenres of the two styles continue to gain traction worldwide, the future is looking particularly bright for Caribbean music.
Back with Blood & Fyah, his second full-length album (due late spring/early summer 2025), Keznamdi is looking to add his flair to that momentum as an independent reggae artist. Combining traditional reggae with dancehall, Afrobeats, R&B and hip-hop, Blood & Fyah continues Keznamdi’s yearslong exploration of the limitless potential of contemporary reggae. He introduced the new set with “Time,” a heartfelt single accompanied by a cinematic video shot in Ghana, one of several African countries that significantly impacted Keznamdi’s life and the new record.
“In the process of making the problem, the music just sounded like Africa,” he tells Billboard. “It was a far-fetched idea at the time [to shoot the video in Ghana] because we didn’t know anybody there, but we just packed up our things, brought two cameras and went down there with the whole team. The reception was crazy; [on] the second day, we were summoned by the Ghanaian president. At the time, his parliament won some kind of office, and they wanted to play my song with Chronixx called ‘Victory’ on the radio. They called the station, and the DJ told him that I was actually in Ghana at the time. Shortly after that, we were at his palace.”
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Before he received royal welcomes, Keznamdi lived a regular life across Africa for years. Born in Jamaica, he lived on the island until he was 13, by which point he and his Rastafari family moved to Tanzania, where they lived for three years. They then moved to Ethiopia, where Keznamdi lived for another three years, eventually graduating there as well. To support Blood & Fyah, Keznamdi is formulating a tour that will reach parts of the world that the reggae industry tends to neglect.
“Reggae is huge for the next generation in Africa,” he stresses. “There’s a lot of countries like Burundi that listen to reggae every single day and not one reggae artist has gone there. Africa is a very untouched place for reggae, which is a genre that sings to Africa. Our generation is playing an important role in bridging that gap and continuing the work our elders have already done. We spend so much time touring in America and Europe, and, truly, Africa is where the music is really made for. We’re singing about that third-world struggle. Everything is pointed towards Africa, which was something that all of the elders inna reggae and inna Jamaica and inna Rastafari always prophesize.”
While reggae is the core of Blood & Fyah, Keznamdi is also treating fans to a pair of two blockbuster dancehall collabs. Dancehall superstars Mavado and Masicka – whose “Whites” single continues to dominate the Caribbean – will both appear on Keznamdi’s new record. Through Vas Productions’ Richardo Vasconcellos and producer Don Corleonie, Keznamdi (who also co-produced the track) was able to get in contact with Masicka for “Forever Grateful,” which features production contributions from Off Grid and Major Seven.
“I always envisioned him on this record,” Keznamdi gushes. “Masicka is the voice of the streets right now. He’s inspirational and uplifting; when you listen to him you want to get up and do better in your life, so I wanted him on this track.”
Vas Productions also helped Mavado and Keznamdi join forces. “Bun Di Ganja” — which also features Marlon Asher — was initially created for a Vas project, but the irresistible banger found a home on Blood & Fyah.
“Because I’m so focused on what I’m doing, it’s hard for me to do features unless the track is inspiring,” Keznamdi explains. “As soon as I heard it, I sent him my vocals the next day. It was a little struggle getting Mavado for the video because he’s an elite artist, but we were able to shoot it in Miami with him.”
Listen to “Time” below.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” blasts back to No. 1, from No. 15, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart (dated Feb. 22), sparked by his performance of the song during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show Feb. 9.
The scathing diss track – which on Feb. 2 won the Grammy Awards for record and song of the year, among its five victories – adds a third week atop the Hot 100. It debuted at No. 1 on the May 18, 2024, chart and became a pop-culture fixture, spending the next eight weeks between Nos. 2 and 6. It was further boosted by Lamar’s Juneteenth The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert – in which he performed the song five times. It rebounded for a second week at No. 1 on the July 20 chart, following the July 4 premiere of its official video.
“Not Like Us” leads the Hot 100 again after a break of 29 chart weeks (and 30 total, encompassing a week off the chart while holiday hits decorated the ranking) – the third-longest break between time at No. 1 in the chart’s 66-year history (surpassing two hits that waited nine weeks each between stays on top: Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” in 2023, and Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” in 2013).
Among all songs, the only longer breaks between No. 1 Hot 100 runs belong to Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The former returned to the top after a record wait of a year, three months and three weeks, between 1960 and 1962, after it re-entered the chart thanks to new popularity among adult audiences; Carey’s Yuletide anthem has led for 18 total weeks, via annual reigns since December 2019.
Meanwhile, “Not Like Us” becomes the first non-holiday song to top the Hot 100 three separate times with breaks of two or more months in between each domination.
Lamar additionally ties his longest Hot 100 command, as he first led for three weeks last April with “Like That,” with Future and Metro Boomin. He has earned five No. 1s, also ruling for a week each with “Squabble Up” in December (thus, in between his second and third turns at No. 1 with “Not Like Us”); “Humble.” in 2017; and as featured on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” in 2015.
Additionally, two songs reach the Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time, led by Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” (18-9), after she performed the song on the Grammys and won for best new artist and has drawn continued attention for her acceptance speech calling for improvements in artists’ healthcare. Plus, SZA’s “30 for 30,” featuring Lamar, leaps 22-10 after she guested during Lamar’s halftime show performance.
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 Feb. 22, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Feb. 19, a day later than usual due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the United States Feb. 17. 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.
‘Not Like Us’ Streams, Airplay & Sales
This week’s crop of new music features a surging and steamy new video from Riley Green, while Lainey Wilson teams with Myles Smith for a countrified version of his 2024 hit “Nice to Meet You.” This week’s slate of new music also features songs from Dierks Bentley, Muscadine Bloodline, Tigirlily Gold and bluegrass duo Nefesh Mountain.
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Riley Green, “Worst Way”
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Green released “Worst Way” as part of his 2024 album Don’t Mind If I Do, but the song has surged on the strength of his risqué, passionate video for the track. That clip has garnered more than 2.3 million views on YouTube, rising to the top of YouTube’s trending music video list. The video is primarily sensuous, but also adds in some mood-lightening humor — in one scene, couple draws stares as they take their romance to a public restaurant, with one grandmotherly-type older woman looking on in clear amusement and fascination. Elsewhere, the couple recreates the humorous kitchen scene from the 1988 movie Bill Durham. Musically, the song makes it clear he can deliver a sultry country track with aplomb.
Myles Smith and Lainey Wilson, “Nice to Meet You”
Grammy winner and four-time Country Airplay hitmaker Wilson teams with “Stargazing” hitmaker Myles Smith for a country revamp of Smith’s 2024 hit. In this song, he’s nearly ready to head home from a night at the bar, when a chance meeting develops into a chance to spend the night dancing away their worries. Wilson’s signature soul-twang vocal is front and center and meshes well with Smith’s smooth, pop voice, bolstered by stomps, handclaps and laid-back but hooky, folk-pop groove. Given the plethora of pop-country fusions that have proven bona fide hits over the past few years, look for this track to make an impact.
Dierks Bentley, “She Hates Me”
Bentley is known for his trademark humor on hits such as “Drunk on a Plane,” and he puts plenty more of that comedic side on display on his this radio-ready song, the Valentine’s Day-released “She Hates Me.” This polished country track finds Bentley offering a tale of a guy who ruefully realizes that his dreams reviving a former romance have been derailed by one thing — or several things. In fact, she despises nearly everything about him, from his dog and his hair, to his truck and his music. This is classic, comedic Bentley.
Nefesh Mountain, Beacons
Married duo Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff highlight the through-lines between bluegrass and Americana on this two-part project, with Zasloff’s pristine, airy vocal leading this 18-song musical tapestry that runs through songs about trusting in the meaning of regrets (“Regrets in the Rearview”), the Rodney Crowell classic “Song for the Life,” and the fleet-fingered, fiddle-fueled “This Is Me.” They take inspiration from not only their personal journey, but current events, on the clear-eyed but optimistic “Better Angels,” fusing traditional bluegrass song constructions with modern lyrical inspirations–and proving both the depth and breadth of their musicianship in the process. Further evincing their musical acumen, they are joined by a top-notch group of collaborators throughout, including pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz, dobro player Jerry Douglas, mandolinist Sam Bush, banjoist Rob McCoury, guitarist Cody Kilby, fiddle player Stuart Duncan and bassist Mark Schatz, crafting a project that feels wholly progressive and creatively complex.
Tigirlily Gold, “Forever From Here”
This balmy new love song, fueled by jangly, breezy acoustics, serves as both a love song and a love letter to this sister duo’s North Dakota roots. Lyrically, the song brims with imagery of rural living — wide open plains, John Deere tractors and glowing red sunsets — while the song’s protagonist dreams of building a family and a future in those same, slow-rolling rural settings. “Forever From Here” was written by the duo’s Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh, along with co-writers Pete Good and Shane McAnally.
Muscadine Bloodline, “Chickasaw Church of Christ”
This duo returns with this acoustic-driven song from their upcoming album, … And What Was Left Behind, out April 11. Here, the song’s protagonist knows a breakup is unavoidable as his lover is moving away, but he still wants to see if one last meetup will lead to a spark for old time’s sake. Written by Muscadine Bloodline’s Gary Stanton, this tender, yearning track embodies both heartbreak and lingering love — paying tribute to the love the couple had, as Stanton expresses his determination to make the most of the rapidly dwindling time they still have together.