Ghost And Sleep Token's 2025 LPs Could End Metal's Billboard Dry Spell
Over the last several years both masked outfits Ghost and Sleep Token have exponentially risen to the forefront of modern rock and metal. Each of the band's latest singles for their 2025 LPs, prove that the hype and sensationalism surrounding them is tangible – Sleep Token's latest single 'Caramel' reached No.1 on five Billboard rankings, and Ghost's recent single 'Satanized' debuted at No.4 on both Hot Hard Rock Songs and Hard Rock Digital Song Sales charts.
In total Ghost has amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify between their two new singles, "Satanized" and 'Lachryma," and Sleep Token has reeled in a staggering 69 million streams between singles 'Caramel' and 'Emergence.'
Ghost has achieved some incredible feats over the last decade from winning several Grammy awards to performing in front of sold-out arena's across the globe. That being said, they've still yet to land a No.1 charting album in the US. While their previous four albums charted at No.1 in their home country of Sweden, each album has also drastically outdone the previous in terms of its positioning on the US billboard chart – Ghost's last LP Impera (2022) charted at No.2 in the UK and the US marking the band's highest charting album to date.
Ghost's sixth studio album Skeletá is set to release April 25th, and if their exponential growth continues with this album cycle it's more than likely that Skeletá will land the band its first No. 1 charting album.
Sleep Token doesn't have the same charting history with their albums that Ghost does, which makes sense considering they're still a fairly new band. In fact, their first two LPs Sundowning (2019) and This Place Will Become Your Tomb (2021) didn't even breakthrough Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. However, with their previous LP, 2022's Take Me Back To Eden, Sleep Token pierced through the zeitgeist and went from opening club shows to headlining arena's across the globe.
Since then TMBTE has gone gold in the band's home country of England, and the hype and anticipation for their fourth studio album Even In Arcadia (due May 9th) is unlike any other rock or metal release set for this year. Considering how viral Sleep Token's latest two singles have been, with 'Emergence' even beating Selena Gomez for the No.1 spot on iTunes, Sleep Token's 2025 LP might have the strongest chance of reaching No.1 between the two bands. If charting metrics weren't enough, Sleep Token's upcoming North American arena tour completely sold out in a matter of days.
For whatever reason, it seems that masked bands in metal music usually have the best odds at getting a No. 1 charting album, at least at some point during their career. Between Ghost and Sleep Token, neither band has yet achieved this feat but the hype surrounding the two is at an all time high. Based off the trends from both groups' previous releases and the charting success they've recently seen, you can count on either Ghost or Sleep Token (or both) ending the three year dry spell metal has had on Billboard's No.1 spot.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
3 hours ago
- CNBC
From albums to stadiums: K-pop companies look for higher revenue in live concerts
When Blackpink kicks off their "Deadline" world tour in Goyang, South Korea, this weekend, they'll be aiming to top the record-breaking run of their previous tour, which grossed over $330 million and was reportedly the highest-earning in history by a girl group. Projections from Daishin Securities show that the new tour by the four-member group is likely to rake in 600 billion South Korean won ($440 million), according to South Korean outlet e-daily. Blackpink's concerts are just one example of how K-pop companies are turning to concerts to shore up their balance sheets. Amid a decline in album sales that battered their revenue and tanked their share prices in 2024, these agencies lost a combined market cap of 35% from the second half of 2023 to the end of 2024, according to a June 3 note by Goldman Sachs. South Korea's "Big Four" K-pop agencies are all publicly listed. Hybe Corporation is the largest and is listed on the blue-chip Kospi, while SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment are on the small-cap Kosdaq. Live concerts are one way the "Big Four" are addressing the slumping sales of albums, which traditionally form the bulk of the firms' revenue. Billboard's midyear Boxscore report revealed that boy group Seventeen, managed by Hybe subsidiary Pledis Entertainment, "essentially doubled its midyear gross for the second consecutive year," thanks to its Right Here world tour, which ran from October 12, 2024, to February 12 this year. Billboard's information covers all reported shows between Oct. 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. The group was the third-highest grossing act in the period, pulling in $120.9 million and an attendance of 842,000 over 30 shows. Five K-pop acts are on Billboard's top-50 list, up from three in 2023 and 2024 and two in 2022. "K-pop acts on the midyear Top Tours chart brought in a collective $228 million and sold 1.6 million tickets from 78 shows. That marks a 79% increase over the genre's 2024 showing, which itself was a 93% jump from 2023," Billboard said. More notably, K-pop concerts defied the broader downtrend in global concert trends. Billboard noted that "this year's midyear charts are down significantly compared with 2024," with a 28% drop year over year in touring revenues, although Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino noted that more artists are waiting until the second and third quarters to launch their tours. Jiwoo Oh, a research analyst at investment firm CGS International, told CNBC that companies are now turning to concerts because the profit margins of live events are higher compared with album sales. By holding concerts, companies also have the opportunity to sell merchandise, which has an even higher profit margin than the concerts themselves. The profit margin for merchandise, she said, can reach as high as 50%. This shift to concerts as a revenue stream can be seen in the companies' first-quarter results. Out of the four major publicly listed K-pop companies, three saw huge increases in concert revenues. JYP Entertainment was the exception. Most notably, Kospi-listed Hybe Corporation, South Korea's largest K-pop company by market capitalization, saw its concert revenue surpass album and digital sales in the first quarter of 2025. Concerts accounted for 31% of total revenue in Hybe's first quarter, surpassing the 27.3% share from music sales. In the first quarter of 2024, music revenue made up over 40% of revenue, while concert revenue stood at 12%. YG Entertainment experienced the largest jump in concert revenue among the four companies, with concert revenue spiking over 270%, reportedly due to world tours from its boy band Treasure and newly debuted girl group Babymonster. The only exception to the trend was JYP Entertainment, which reported a drop in both concert revenue and profit. The company explained in its first-quarter earnings note that this was due to a lack of large-scale concerts by major artists during the period. In line with this surge of concert revenue, K-pop stocks — with the exception of JYP — rose between 60% and over 100% year to date, vastly outperforming the Kospi's 28% gain and the Kosdaq's 15.2% increase. CGS' Oh said that while Hybe and YG are poised to see the largest gains because of the resumption of activities from BTS and Blackpink, respectively, YG is likely to see a higher growth rate because of its smaller stable of artists. YG currently only has three groups in its stable, the smallest bench among all four companies. However, a June 26 note by Morgan Stanley said that they believe that expectations for Blackpink have been "over-reflected" in the share price of YG, adding that the agency's "high reliance on a single IP and its shallow slate of performers remains a concern." The dismal performance of JYP was due to investor concern over contract renewals, CGS' Oh added. Girl group Itzy's contracts are expected to expire in 2025, while members of boy band Stray Kids are facing the possibility of serving South Korea's military service. Morgan Stanley's note echoes this point on JYP, saying that "we believe the stock needs to see more artists contributing to top line growth, and new teams emerge to support longer term growth." While rising revenue from concerts is likely to lift all companies, some can capitalize on this trend better than others. Goldman Sachs said that investors should look out for companies that have "Mega IPs," which are groups that can gross an audience figure of over 1.5 million audience per tour. This figure implies the artist has been able to reach beyond K-pop's traditional target markets and into the Western music scene, it said. "We believe K-pop is still a growth sector where the leading companies have established a 'system' that can repeatedly produce such global Mega IPs and consequently continue to expand their global audience," Goldman added. Currently, only four groups meet this criterion. Goldman has singled out Hybe, saying two of its groups are "on the verge" of becoming Mega IPs. This should bring in fast scaling of concerts and merchandising revenue, and provide stronger evidence that Hybe can repeatedly produce Mega IPs. By contrast, Goldman is more pessimistic on SM Entertainment, citing its lack of "Mega IPs." The Wall Street bank also sees earnings turbulence in YG, due to its reliance on Blackpink's activities. A "successful ramp-up of Babymonster is key to seeing multi-year earnings growth," it added.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kendrick Lamar Breaks Two More Billboard Rap Charts Records With ‘GNX' & ‘Luther'
Kendrick Lamar adds to his collection of Billboard chart records not once, but twice this week as his latest studio album GNX and his SZA collaboration 'Luther' become the longest-running No. 1s in the history of the Top Rap Albums and Hot Rap Songs chart, respectively, on the lists dated July 5, 2025. Top Rap Albums launched in June 2004, and Hot Rap Songs began in March 1989. More from Billboard Kendrick Lamar & SZA's Grand National Tour Just Broke an All-Time Record Foo Fighters Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Debut Album With Emotional New Track 'Today's Song' At First, Kapo 'Didn't Dare' to Release Afrobeat Music, But Then He Leaned Into 'What Truly Made Me Feel Most Unique' GNX rebounds from the runner-up slot to capture an unprecedented 22nd week at No. 1 on Top Rap Albums. It passes the previous titleholder, Pop Smoke's Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, and its 21-week run that wrapped in April 2021. For its coronation week, GNX earned 31,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week of June 20-26, according to Luminate, an 8% decline from its total in the prior tracking frame. As GNX asserts its supremacy on Top Rap Albums, here's a review of the albums with the longest runs at No. 1 in the chart's 21-year history. Weeks at No. 1, Album Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 122, GNX, Kendrick Lamar, Dec. 7, 202421, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, Pop Smoke, July 18, 202019, Recovery, Eminem, July 10, 201018, Heroes & Villains, Metro Boomin, Dec. 17, 202216, Take Care, Drake, Dec. 3, 201114, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem, Dec. 23, 2013 GNX opened atop the Top Rap Albums chart dated Dec. 7, 2024, as Lamar's sixth No. 1. Its surprise arrival capped a high-profile 2024 for the rapper, whose feud with Drake and resulting diss track battle — including the runaway hit 'Not Like Us' — was among the year's defining music storylines. Joining the album achievement, Lamar and SZA's single 'Luther' snatches its share of Billboard history with a record 27th week at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs. Lamar, however, keeps the baton, as 'Luther' passes 'Not Like Us,' which spent 26 weeks at the summit in 2024-25. The song's landmark week comes through a combination of 12.8 million official U.S. streams (down 8%), 53.1 million in airplay audience (down 1%) and 1,000 sales downloads (down 17%). As 'Luther' shuffles the leaderboard, let's recap the songs with the most weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs. Weeks at No. 1, Song Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 127, 'Luther,' Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Dec. 21, 202426, 'Not Like Us,' Kendrick Lamar, May 18, 202420, 'Old Town Road,' Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, April 13, 201919, 'Industry Baby,' Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, Aug. 7, 202118, 'Hot Boyz,' Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott feat. Nas, Eve & Q-Tip, Nov. 27, 199918, 'Fancy,' Iggy Azalea feat. Charli xcx, May 3, 201418, 'Hotline Bling,' Drake, Oct. 10, 201517, 'Panda,' Desiigner, April 23, 201617, 'Mood,' 24kgoldn feat. iann dior, Oct. 24, 2020 In addition to ruling Hot Rap Songs, 'Luther' likewise leads Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a 27th week, extending its record for the most time at No. 1. (It nabbed the standalone title in its 23rd week, beating 'Not Like Us.') The single topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks in March and through May, easily the longest stay of both Lamar and SZA's careers. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Billy Ray Cyrus Calls Elizabeth Hurley a ‘One of a Kind Young Lady'
Billy Ray Cyrus is head over heels for Elizabeth Hurley, with the country star praising his famous girlfriend in a sweet comment. On Tuesday (July 1), the actress shared an Instagram photo of herself lounging on a boat in an animal-print swimsuit, smiling as she poses underneath a rainbow stretching across the sky behind her. 'Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,' she wrote in her caption, quoting The Wizard of Oz's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' 'And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.' More from Billboard Billy Ray Cyrus Shares Throwback Family Photos for Father's Day Foo Fighters Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Debut Album With Emotional New Track 'Today's Song' At First, Kapo 'Didn't Dare' to Release Afrobeat Music, But Then He Leaned Into 'What Truly Made Me Feel Most Unique' In the comments, Cyrus — whom Hurley tagged in the photo — fawned over his partner. 'Thank you for sharing our song in such a sweet… beautiful… and truly wholesome way!!!!' he wrote. 'You are one of a kind young lady!!!' The musician added that Hurley is 'truly an original.' The post comes as Cyrus has shared a new cover of 'Over the Rainbow,' a charity single that will benefit the National Museum of African American Music. Cyrus and the model have been dating for a few months now, going public with their romance in April after reconnecting over text amid the Hannah Montana actor's divorce from singer-songwriter Firerose. In May, Hurley told Entertainment Tonight, 'Billy's a very, very fabulous person.' 'He's a very gentle man, very nice,' she added at the time. 'We're very happy.' The couple's sweet Instagram interaction comes shortly after Billy Ray attended daughter Miley's Something Beautiful premiere with Hurley at his side. Afterward, the swimwear designer shared a video of herself and her boyfriend packing on the PDA at the event, as well as a photo of the 'Flowers' singer and Hurley's son, Damian, watching the Something Beautiful film together. 'The babies are all grown up,' Hurley captioned the latter post on Instagram, adding the hashtag '#proudparents.' 'What a night to remember,' Billy Ray replied at the time. 'This is what rock n' roll is all about… the kids are together. SO PROUD xxx.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
