Category: Music

The JACKBOYS 2 project from Travis Scott and his JACKBOYS collective debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 26), earning 232,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending July 17, according to Luminate.

The set was announced in March and is the follow-up to the first JACKBOYS set, which debuted at No. 1 on the Jan. 11, 2020-dated chart. A release date wasn’t shared for the new album until July 10, when Scott announced the set would drop on July 13. (Thus, JACKBOYS 2 debuts on the Billboard 200 with five days of activity in its first week on the chart. Most albums are released on Friday of each week; Luminate’s tracking week for the chart runs Friday through Sunday.)

JACKBOYS 2 (also the top-selling album of the week) leads a busy top 10 on the latest Billboard 200, where five albums debut in the region — the most in more than two years. Plus, a former No. 2-peaking album reenters the chart in the top 10.

Justin Bieber’s surprise album SWAG starts at No. 2 (with Bieber’s biggest streaming week ever, it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums); Clipse’s first album in nearly 16 years, Let God Sort Em Out, debuts at No. 4; TWICE’s THIS IS FOR launches at No. 6; ATEEZ’s GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3 (which debuted and peaked at No. 2 in June) re-enters the chart at No. 7 following its deluxe reissue; and GIVĒON’s BELOVED starts at No. 8.

The last time the top 10 housed at least five debuts was on the July 17, 2023-dated chart, when six albums premiered in the region.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 26, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 22. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of JACKBOYS 2’s 232,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 17, album sales comprise 160,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart), SEA units comprise 72,000 (equaling 94.86 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs — it debuts at No. 4 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

JACKBOYS 2 was released on July 13 as a seven-song album (as a digital download that was widely available, on five vinyl variants exclusively sold by the JACKBOYS’ webstore) and as an expanded 17-song album (available via streaming services, digital download stores and on a JACKBOYS’ store-exclusive CD across five variants). The JACKBOYS webstore also offered nine deluxe boxed sets containing branded clothing and a copy of a CD, as well as four webstore-exclusive download album variants (three contained one bonus track each, while one had alternative cover art). On July 17, the final day of the tracking week, a 20-song edition of the album became available to digital retailers and streamers — it contained all the songs on the 17-song edition, along with the three bonus tracks that had previously been only available on the webstore-exclusive download albums.

With 232,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, the JACKBOYS 2 project collects the second-largest debut week for a rap album in 2025 (trailing only the opening frame of Playboi Carti’s MUSIC, with 298,000, in March). Plus, with 160,000 albums sold, JACKBOYS 2 logs the largest sales week for a rap album since Scott’s Days Before Rodeo rode in with 331,000 on the Sept. 7, 2024-dated chart.

Justin Bieber’s surprise album SWAG starts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, earning 163,000 equivalent album units in its first week. The album was first teased on July 10, one day before it was released. The 21-track set is the 11th top 10-charted effort for Bieber.

Of SWAG’s opening-week units sum, SEA units comprise 155,000 equivalent album units (equaling 198.77 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs — that’s Bieber’s best streaming week ever, and the album debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 6,000 (it debuts at No. 14 on Top Album Sales, it was only available in one standard widely available download album; physical versions aren’t expected until December) and TEA units comprise 1,000.

After spending its first eight weeks on the Billboard 200 at No. 1, Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem falls to No. 3 with 147,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%).

Clipse’s first album in nearly 16 years, Let God Sort Em Out, opens at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 118,000 equivalent album units earned, marking the second top 10-charted effort for the brother duo (Pusha T and Malice). The set matches the peak of the pair’s debut project, and only other top 10, 2002’s Lord Willin’, which debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the Sept. 7, 2002-dated chart.

Let God Sort Em Out is Clipse’s first album since the July 2009 release Til the Casket Drops. The set was preceded by the top 40 hit “Ace Trumpets” on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Of the new album’s 118,000 units earned, SEA units comprise 59,000 (equaling 77.49 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks — it’s Clipse’s biggest streaming week, and he project debuts at No. 5 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 58,000 (it debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 1,000.

The new album was issued on July 11 in a widely-available 12-track standard CD and vinyl LP, and as digital download and streaming set with one bonus track. The set’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across four vinyl variants (including a signed edition), three CD variants (including one signed), two cassette tapes, and more than a dozen deluxe boxed sets exclusive to Clipse’s webstore (each containing a piece of branded clothing on a copy of the CD album).

In its fourth week, the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack is pushed down 2-5 on the latest Billboard 200, though it has the largest week-over-week unit gain on the chart. It increases by 10,000 equivalent album units (a 14% jump) to 85,000 in the latest tracking week.

KPop Demon Hunters is the only soundtrack to debut in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and then see unit increases in its second, third and fourth weeks since the chart began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014.

Of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack’s 85,000 units earned in its fourth week, SEA units comprise 79,000 (up 14%, equaling 109.53 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs — it’s pushed down 2-3 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 5,000 (up 13% — though it’s down 9-17 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (up 10%).

KPop Demon Hunters’ streaming sum of 109.53 million clicks is the biggest for a soundtrack since Encanto was in its seventh week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (March 5, 2022; with 114.67 million).

KPop Demon Hunters premiered on June 20 in a limited theatrical release in the U.S., and on Netflix, alongside its soundtrack. In the tracking week ending July 13, the animated film held at No. 2 in its fourth week on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in United States chart.

TWICE (who also feature on the KPop Demon Hunters album) claims its seventh top 10-charted effort as THIS IS FOR launches at No. 6 with 80,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 68,000 (it debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 12,000 (equaling 16.21 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Released on July 11, THIS IS FOR was available as a standard widely available digital download and streaming album, across 15 CD and three vinyl variants (all containing collectible ephemera, some randomized). On July 14, a widely available deluxe edition of the album with two bonus tracks was released via digital stores and streamers.

ATEEZ’s GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the June 28-dated chart, reenters the chart at No. 7 following its deluxe reissue on July 11. The album — with all versions, old and new, combined — earned 79,000 equivalent album units in the latest tracking week, a gain of 1,489%. Of that sum, album sales comprise 70,000 (up 1,750% — it jumps 12-2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 8,000 (up 595% — with that unit figure equaling 11.21 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks) and TEA units comprise nearly 1,000.

The deluxe set, dubbed GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3 ‘In Your Fantasy Edition,’ includes 10 bonus tracks and was issued across six CD variants (all with collectible ephemera, some randomized, inside its packaging). All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes.

GIVĒON’s BELOVED bows at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, marking the second top 10-charted set for the artist. It begins with 44,000 equivalent album units earned (his best week ever by units), of which SEA units comprise 36,000 (equaling 47.78 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks — it debuts at No. 7 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 8,000 (his best sales week ever, it debuts at No. 10 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

The new album was preceded by a pair of top 30 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart: “Twenties” (No. 19 in February) and “Rather Be” (No. 30 in May).

BELOVED was available as a standard widely available download and streaming set, as well as across five vinyl variants (including one signed) and two CD variants (one signed).

Rounding out the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200 chart are two former No. 1s: Wallen’s One Thing at a Time falls 3-9 (39,000 equivalent album units; down 1%) and SZA’s SOS is pushed down 4-10 (though it gains by 3% to 37,000 units).

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.

Christina Aguilera is gushing over Burlesque the Musical.

On Saturday (July 19), the 44-year-old pop icon attended the stage adaptation of Steven Antin’s 2010 film Burlesque, in which she starred as an aspiring performer opposite Cher, who played a glamorous nightclub owner.

Xtina documented her experience at London’s Savoy Theatre and shared her reaction on social media.

“BLOWN AWAY!!!” she captioned an Instagram video of herself at the show, set to her track “Show Me How You Burlesque,” from the original Burlesque soundtrack.

The short clip shows Aguilera — an executive producer of the musical — smiling and clapping during the performance, with scenes from the production spliced throughout. “My review of Burlesque the Musical,” the “Genie in a Bottle” singer wrote over the video, adding five stars.

After Saturday’s show, Burlesque the Musical shared clips on Instagram of Aguilera arriving at the theater, waving to fans while wearing a sheer black outfit. “What it is like to have a goddess in your life,” Antin captioned one video on his Instagram Story. “Unbelievable night with @xtina [heart emoji] this queen so much for producing our show.”

Burlesque marked Aguilera’s first leading film role and Cher’s debut musical performance on screen. In the movie, Aguilera plays Alice Marilyn, an aspiring singer who leaves her small Iowa hometown to pursue her dreams in Los Angeles. She soon becomes a dancer and cocktail waitress at a struggling burlesque lounge owned by Tess Scali, played by Cher.

The 10-song Burlesque soundtrack — featuring music written and produced by Diane Warren, Sia, Tricky Stewart, Ron Fair, Linda Perry and Aguilera — reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in 2010.

Burlesque the Musical made its world premiere in June at the Manchester Opera House and is now playing at London’s Savoy Theatre through early September. Written and produced by Antin, the stage adaptation features songs by Aguilera and Sia, along with new music by Todrick Hall and Jess Folley.

Earlier this year, Aguilera shared her excitement about the project. “I’m proud that Burlesque the Musical is coming to London’s West End!” she said in a statement. “Our journey of making this film to bringing this show to the stage has been so special and exciting. Following our successful previews, having the show land in the West End later this year is a dream come true!”

Check out Aguilera’s reaction to Burlesque the Musical on Instagram here.

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron has resigned after being seen embracing an employee on large video screens at a Coldplay concert.

During Coldplay’s show at Boston’s Gillette Stadium on Wednesday (July 16), a jumbotron captured Byron with his arms around the IT company’s chief human resources officer, Kristin Cabot, during a kiss-cam segment. Upon realizing they were on the big screen, Byron quickly ducked out of view while Cabot turned away. Both individuals are married to other people.

“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said from the stage.

In the days that followed, the video went viral on social media, quickly sparking a wave of memes and jokes about the incident. Country singer Morgan Wallen even weighed in during his concert in Glendale, Ariz., on Friday (July 18), telling the crowd that anyone attending with their “side chick” was “safe here.”

Astronomer has since released a statement noting that Byron is stepping down as CEO and that the company is searching for his replacement, according to The Associated Press.

“Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the company wrote in a statement on Saturday (July 19). “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”

The statement continued, “Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”

Coldplay had not released a statement about the situation at press time. But at the band’s concert in Madison, Wis., on Saturday — their first Music of the Spheres World Tour show since the kiss-cam moment — a fan held up a sign that read, “He’s not my CEO,” with an arrow pointing to the man beside her, prompting laughter from the crowd, according to TMZ.

Martin also gave the crowd at Camp Randall Stadium a playful heads-up about the on-camera segment of the show.

“We’d like to say hello to some of you in the crowd,” he said, according to People. “How we’re gonna do that is we’re gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen.” Flashing a grin, he added, “So please, if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now.”

One fan at the Wisconsin concert later posted on X that “zero couples” were shown on the big screens during that part of Saturday’s performance.

Charli XCX and The 1975‘s George Daniel have reportedly tied the knot.

The 32-year-old pop star was seen in a stunning wedding dress kissing the 35-year-old drummer in London on Saturday (July 19), TMZ reports. Video footage shared on X captures the couple celebrating outside Hackney Town Hall, surrounded by close family and friends.

For the occasion, the Brat hitmaker wore a white, off-the-shoulder silk gown in a shorter style rather than a traditional long dress. She styled her long hair down and completed the look with a flowing white veil. Daniel was dressed in a dark double-breasted suit paired with a light collared shirt.

The ceremony was an intimate affair with around 20 close family members and friends in attendance, according to TMZ. Daniel’s bandmates from The 1975 were reportedly present, with the exception of frontman Matty Healy.

Billboard has reached out to Charli XCX’s representatives for comment.

Charli and Daniel began dating in 2022 and announced their engagement a year later. The couple made their relationship Instagram official in May 2022, following their collaboration on Charli’s 2022 album, Crash, which reached at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. Daniel also contributed production on tracks including “In the City,” her duet with Sam Smith, as well as “Hot Girl” for the Bodies Bodies Bodies soundtrack.

Charli took last summer by storm with the release of her sixth album, Brat, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, her highest-charting album to date. From its meme-worthy lime-green cover to its surprising role in the 2024 U.S. presidential race, the project propelled her from cult favorite to bona fide pop A-lister.

Following a successful tour in support of Brat, Charli has shifted her focus to onscreen opportunities, including a film she conceptualized for A24 titled The Moment. She also recently lined up a gig to star in and produce the next movie from Japanese horror director Takashi Mike (Yakuza Apocalypse).

Katy Perry experienced a frightening moment during her San Francisco stop on the Lifetimes Tour.

While performing at the Chase Center on Friday (July 18), the 40-year-old pop superstar was seated on a flying butterfly prop when it malfunctioned mid-air, nearly sending her plunging into the crowd below.

In fan-captured video shared on X, Perry is seen singing her 2013 Billboard Hot 100-topping hit “Roar” while soaring above the audience. Mid-performance, the prop jerks downward after slipping from its wire, causing a drop that nearly unseats her.

Visibly startled, Perry stopped singing and clutched the winged prop to regain her balance as it swayed in the air. Once it steadied and she regained her composure, she resumed the song and finished the performance strong.

After the show, Perry took to social media to react to the mid-air mishap. “Goodnight San Fran,” she wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a screen-grab of her terrified expression during the drop.

This isn’t the “Firework” hitmaker’s first onstage technical issue. During a Lifetimes Tour stop in Australia in late June, a similar malfunction occurred when a flying sphere she was riding began to tilt mid-performance, forcing her to grab onto the support cables for stability, according to People.

Perry isn’t the only artist to deal with high-flying prop malfunctions recently. Beyoncé also experienced a scare during her Cowboy Carter show in Houston in late June. During a performance of “16 Carriages,” the “Texas Hold ’Em” singer’s suspended car stalled and tilted above the audience at NRG Stadium, causing a brief delay in the show.

Perry is currently touring in support of her latest album, 143, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Her next show is scheduled for Monday (July 21) in Seattle, followed by shows in Canada, Europe and South America. The trek, which launched in late April, is set to wrap in early December.

Just days after teasing a new project on social media, Tyler, The Creator has announced he’s dropping a new album on Monday (July 21).

During his concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Friday (July 18), the 34-year-old rapper and producer shouted to the crowd what appears to be the title of his ninth album, Don’t Tap the Glass, according to Variety. Outside the venue, fans spotted an art installation featuring a muscular figure enclosed in a clear box — seemingly a nod to the upcoming album’s cover art.

In the days leading up to the show, Tyler hinted at a surprise set for July 21 by posting cryptic images on his Instagram, including a Louis Vuitton bag, a mannequin’s head and a trumpet player in a band uniform. On Saturday (July 19) morning, he dropped a link to donttaptheglass.com, a website promoting the new album and featuring vinyl, T-shirts and hats branded with the album title.

The website also displayed three color-coded boxes with cryptic messages: a blue box reading, “Body movement. No sitting still”; a yellow one stating, “Only speak in glory. Leave your baggage at home”; and a red box that read, “Don’t tap the glass.”

Billboard has reached out to Tyler, The Creator’s representatives for more details about the upcoming release.

In late June, Tyler and Doechii previewed their Pharrell-produced track “Get Right” during the Louis Vuitton SS26 show in Paris. The song marks their second collaboration, following “Balloon” from Tyler’s 2024 Billboard 200-topping album Chromakopia. It remains unclear whether “Get Right” will be included on his new album.

Don’t Tap the Glass follows last year’s Chromakopia, which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The 14-track album featured guest appearances from Doechii, Lil Wayne, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Daniel Caesar, and others. Tyler is currently touring North America in support of the album and will soon head to Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.