It's a slow week on the Billboard charts, as the July 4 holiday weekend brought little in the way of new releases. But a few albums and singles are still having a huge impact, starting with Drake's new single ("What Did I Miss?") and the burgeoning phenomenon of the Netflix original movie KPop Demon Hunters, whose soundtrack is storming the charts. And the shortage of new albums created an opening for none other than Toby Keith, whose 35 Biggest Hits surged back into the top 10 on the strength of holiday streaming.
TOP ALBUMS
This week's Billboard charts reflect a slow holiday weekend, as just a handful of major artists bothered to drop new music and many listeners took a break from their usual streaming routines. That means only one debut in the top half of the Billboard 200 albums chart — Kesha's . (Period), which bows at No. 17 — and precious little momentum for most recent titles.
How bad was the drop-off for last week's debuts? Lorde's Virgin, KATSEYE's Beautiful Chaos EP and Russ' W!LD all drop out of the top 10 seven days later — W!LD plummets out of the Billboard 200 entirely — despite facing virtually no competition from newer titles. Virgin and Beautiful Chaos remain in the top 25, but both are outperformed by vintage albums such as Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.
Speaking of vintage titles filling a vacuum, the late country star Toby Keith blows back into the top 10 with 35 Biggest Hits, the best-of compilation that briefly topped the Billboard 200 after the singer's death in 2024. That collection was one of several beneficiaries of Independence Day-themed streaming — Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits re-enters the chart at No. 107, presumably due to listeners streaming "Born in the U.S.A." — as Keith's 9/11-themed single "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" also re-enters the Hot 100 singles chart at No. 31.
Even in a down week for streaming, two albums remain recession-proof. Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem remains this summer's sturdiest juggernaut, as it holds at No. 1 for an eighth consecutive week thanks to blockbuster streaming numbers that have barely budged from week to week. And the soundtrack to the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters has graduated from "buzzy curiosity" to "bona fide sensation," as it rises from No. 3 to No. 2.
As with I'm the Problem, the chart success of KPop Demon Hunters' soundtrack is driven largely by streaming: Even in a holiday week when most albums posted lower numbers, streams for KPop Demon Hunters rose 24%. It's now one of just four soundtracks to hit the top two in the 2020s, following Wicked, Barbie and Encanto; in fact, this week marks the biggest streaming week for a soundtrack since Encanto was posting its eighth week at No. 1 back in 2022. KPop Demon Hunters still has plenty of room for growth, too, as its many earworms (lookin' at you, "Golden") get added to radio playlists and its physical editions (a CD in August, vinyl in October) finally drop.
Next week, the chart supremacy of KPop Demon Hunters — and I'm the Problem, for that matter — will likely be at least momentarily threatened by the surprise arrival of Justin Bieber's SWAG last Friday. But neither album is going anywhere.
TOP SONGS
For a sixth nonconsecutive week, Alex Warren's "Ordinary" sits atop Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, thanks in large part to an overwhelming presence on commercial radio playlists. But, even as the usual ancient suspects keep hanging around the top 10, two gate-crashing singles — one by a chart mainstay, one by a fictional newcomer — make their presence felt.
Drake's "What Did I Miss?" — the first single from ICEMAN, the rapper's forthcoming album — dominated the hip-hop discourse over the holiday weekend, as it assesses some of the fallout from Drake's feud with Kendrick Lamar. The song debuts strong this week, entering the Hot 100 at No. 2, and extends Drake's record for most top 10 hits in Billboard chart history. He now has 81 top 10 songs, with Taylor Swift coming in at No. 2 with 59.
The top 10's other entry comes courtesy of HUNTR/X; that's one of the fictional K-pop groups in Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters. As with Drake's newest hit, HUNTR/X's "Golden" — performed by real-life singers EJAE, REI AMI and Tiny Desk veteran Audrey Nuna — derives most of its chart heat from streaming rather than airplay. This week, it climbs from No. 23 to No. 6. (HUNTR/X's in-film rivals in Saja Boys are making a move of their own, as their song "Your Idol" climbs from No. 31 to No. 16; in all, eight songs from the soundtrack turn up in this week's Hot 100.)
Elsewhere in the top 10, the usual suspects just keep on keepin' on — including Teddy Swims, whose "Lose Control" extends its all-time records for longest Hot 100 run (99 weeks!) and longest stretch in the top 10. With Justin Bieber's new album slated to blow up on next week's charts and KPop Demon Hunters' songs on the rise, will Swims' run in the top 10 end at 69 weeks? That'd be nice.
WORTH NOTING
The top 10 chart success of HUNTR/X's "Golden" naturally raises a few questions about the history of fictional "bands" landing on the Billboard charts. Thankfully, Billboard itself has assembled a handy guide — in the process noting that four fictional acts have landed songs at No. 1 on the Hot 100:
- The Chipmunks, "The Chipmunk Song" (No. 1 in 1958). The first Christmas song to top the Hot 100, decades before holiday standards began to dominate the December charts. (The Hot 100 originated that year, but still, it was a feat.)
- The Archies, "Sugar Sugar" (No. 1 in 1969). The Archies were, of course, stand-ins for the Archie Comics characters.
- The Partridge Family, "I Think I Love You" (No. 1 in 1970). The Partridge Family was a wholesome ABC sitcom about a family band that bore the same name. Though most of the actors didn't actually sing on recordings attributed to The Partridge Family, David Cassidy and Shirley Jones do appear on "I Think I Love You," with Cassidy singing lead.
- The Heights, "How Do You Talk to an Angel" (No. 1 in 1992). Led by singer Jamie Walters, The Heights were the fake band that gave a short-lived Fox drama its name. The show got canceled while "How Do You Talk to an Angel" was still on the charts.
The Billboard piece goes deeper than that, as it runs through many fictional faves — The Wonders! The Banana Splits! Spinal Tap! Hannah Montana! 2gether! Sesame Street's Ernie! So many more!
If you read the article and find yourself wondering why Billboard never mentions MC Skat Kat — the cartoon cat who appeared in the video for Paula Abdul's 1989 chart-topper "Opposites Attract" — it's because MC Skat Kat is a real guy whose accomplishments in life should never be overshadowed by the lurid nature of his grisly death. (Okay, fine, it's because the actual "Opposites Attract" single is credited to Paula Abdul featuring The Wild Pair. The Wild Pair was a pair of real-life guys who were, according to reports, wild.)
All of which is to say that, should HUNTR/X land atop the Hot 100 in the weeks and months to come, the group will join some truly legendary company.
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