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The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The song of the summer is … nothing? Why 2025's charts are so stale
A spectre is haunting America – the spectre of Shaboozey. Despite it coming out in April 2024, Shaboozey's huge hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) is still, billions of streams later, at No 5 on this week's Billboard chart. Its country-tinged refrain of 'everybody at the bar gettin' tipsy,' an interpolation from J-Kwon 2004 hit Tipsy, has stuck around well past closing time. It's not the only one. It's joined in this week's Billboard Top 10 (which combines streaming and radio airplay data in the US from a given week) by Teddy Swims's Lose Control, which was released in June 2023; Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga's Die With A Smile, which was released in August 2024; and Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, which came out in November 2024. Chart analysts say that 2025 has produced the fewest new hit songs in US history. The mid-year report from Luminate, the company that produces the data for the Billboard charts, shows that of the top 10 most listened to songs so far this year in the US, only one was released in 2025: Ordinary by Alex Warren. All the others are tracks from 2024 and 2023 – No 1 is Luther. As a result it kind of feels like this year's song of the summer is sort of … nothing. Or just the same as last year's? Despite a slew of recent releases from artists Lorde, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus and Lil Wayne, nothing is really crossing the threshold of hit song. Obviously what makes a summer hit is a somewhat vibes-based determination that is hard to put an exact number on, but in the industry getting close to a billion global streams means you have had an unavoidably massive track - and only Ordinary, along with the two Bad Bunny songs DTMF and Baile Inolvidable that were mostly streamed outside the US, have managed that. Things were very different this time last year, when almost the entire Top 10 was filled with huge new hits: Not Like Us by Kendrick, Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, Beautiful Things by Benson Boone and the aforementioned Shaboozey – back when it was a new song. All of these reached the billion streams mark, with Chappell Roan and Charli xcx making multiple chart entries later on in the year. Of course there are thousands of smaller and medium-sized artists who are having great years, but why have things become so stale at the very top of the charts? In part it is because the overall volume of new music (defined as the songs released in the last 18 months) being listened to is down slightly year on year, around 3%, but it's more pronounced in genres such as pop and hip-hop, where listeners are turning towards nostalgia and delving into back catalogues. Artists that have produced a lot of hype releases this year like Addison Rae, Lorde and Haim have not produced radio songs that appeal to a mass audience, arguably putting more focus on creating an album and aesthetic that works for committed fans. Even stars such as Lizzo and Justin Bieber, who have topped a billion streams in the past, have made records with less obvious choruses and pop production. Some artists just are trying and missing. Carpenter, one of the most successful artists of last year, could nott quite recreate the magic this summer with Manchild, which was a small hit and did hit No 1 for a week before falling down the charts. Her album slated for release later in the summer might still provide a song with more chart staying power. It has long been the case that the pipes through which new music is discovered have become calcified. Less people listen to Top 40 radio, or watch late-night shows, meaning it's harder for a band to have that one big moment when they break into the mainstream. And while TikTok does help certain songs filter into the consciousness, there's still not a fail-safe mechanism for getting them off the app and into the charts. It does not help that the one song that is unambiguously a breakout mega hit this year, Ordinary by the 24-year-old California singer-songwriter Warren, is a little insipid and forgettable, a song desperately indebted to mid-2010s Hozier and Imagine Dragons. Hardly a feelgood song of the summer. But, as Jaime Marconette, the vice-president of music insights and industry relations at Luminate, says, this drift away from new music is not present in every genre. 'It's true that in some genres, like R&B and hip-hop, people are listening to less new music, whereas with Christian and country in particular, they're actually gaining listeners to new music.' He points to Hard Fought Hallelujah, by Christian singer-songwriter Brandon Lake and country star Jelly Roll, as an example of the way the genres are combining to reach wider audiences. 'Christian is the most current streaming genre right now [with the largest proportion of streams to new tracks]. These are genres where their fans were a little bit later to the streaming game but are now starting to really embrace it.' Marconette also says that this is not unprecedented - there have been other years, particularly during the Covid pandemic, when there were fewer new songs in the charts – after which new music bounced back. 'In the Covid period, there was a lot of dramatic things happening in our world. So, it is interesting that now in a period where there's uncertainty out there, we're seeing it again,' he says. 'Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but we're also starting to notice a jump in people streaming recession pop [music released around 2008 with escapist themes from artists such as Taio Cruz and Nicki Minaj] and it does point to a sort of this communal yearning for things that bring comfort from the past.' It's not all bad news: a couple of pop songs this year are streaming pretty well: Bad Bunny has had a string of huge hits outside of the US. Carpenter, Ty Dolla $ign, Maroon 5 and Drake all have records coming out this summer that might change things. Marconette also pointed to the return of K-pop group BTS and the success of the soundtrack to Netflix's animated movie KPop Demon Hunters as big players for the second half of the year. Of course, there is plenty of superlative new music, filed away in millions of private playlists, that might be someone's personal sound of the summer. The charts have never been guardians of taste or even vibes. But it is much harder for one such song to become a communal and inescapable hit. Whether this year is an anomaly or just another sign of ongoing cultural fragmentation remains to be seen.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The song of the summer is … nothing? Why 2025's charts are so stale
A spectre is haunting America – the spectre of Shaboozey. Despite it coming out in April 2024, Shaboozey's huge hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) is still, billions of streams later, at No 5 on this week's Billboard chart. Its country-tinged refrain of 'everybody at the bar gettin' tipsy,' an interpolation from J-Kwon 2004 hit Tipsy, has stuck around well past closing time. It's not the only one. It's joined in this week's Billboard Top 10 (which combines streaming and radio airplay data in the US from a given week) by Teddy Swims's Lose Control, which was released in June 2023; Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga's Die With A Smile, which was released in August 2024; and Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, which came out in November 2024. Chart analysts say that 2025 has produced the fewest new hit songs in US history. The mid-year report from Luminate, the company that produces the data for the Billboard charts, shows that of the top 10 most listened to songs so far this year in the US, only one was released in 2025: Ordinary by Alex Warren. All the others are tracks from 2024 and 2023 – No 1 is Luther. As a result it kind of feels like this year's song of the summer is sort of … nothing. Or just the same as last year's? Despite a slew of recent releases from artists Lorde, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus and Lil Wayne, nothing is really crossing the threshold of hit song. Obviously what makes a summer hit is a somewhat vibes-based determination that is hard to put an exact number on, but in the industry getting close to a billion global streams means you have had an unavoidably massive track - and only Ordinary, along with the two Bad Bunny songs DTMF and Baile Inolvidable that were mostly streamed outside the US, have managed that. Things were very different this time last year, when almost the entire Top 10 was filled with huge new hits: Not Like Us by Kendrick, Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, Beautiful Things by Benson Boone and the aforementioned Shaboozey – back when it was a new song. All of these reached the billion streams mark, with Chappell Roan and Charli xcx making multiple chart entries later on in the year. Of course there are thousands of smaller and medium-sized artists who are having great years, but why have things become so stale at the very top of the charts? In part it is because the overall volume of new music (defined as the songs released in the last 18 months) being listened to is down slightly year on year, around 3%, but it's more pronounced in genres such as pop and hip-hop, where listeners are turning towards nostalgia and delving into back catalogues. Artists that have produced a lot of hype releases this year like Addison Rae, Lorde and Haim have not produced radio songs that appeal to a mass audience, arguably putting more focus on creating an album and aesthetic that works for committed fans. Even stars such as Lizzo and Justin Bieber, who have topped a billion streams in the past, have made records with less obvious choruses and pop production. Some artists just are trying and missing. Carpenter, one of the most successful artists of last year, could nott quite recreate the magic this summer with Manchild, which was a small hit and did hit No 1 for a week before falling down the charts. Her album slated for release later in the summer might still provide a song with more chart staying power. It has long been the case that the pipes through which new music is discovered have become calcified. Less people listen to Top 40 radio, or watch late-night shows, meaning it's harder for a band to have that one big moment when they break into the mainstream. And while TikTok does help certain songs filter into the consciousness, there's still not a fail-safe mechanism for getting them off the app and into the charts. It does not help that the one song that is unambiguously a breakout mega hit this year, Ordinary by the 24-year-old California singer-songwriter Warren, is a little insipid and forgettable, a song desperately indebted to mid-2010s Hozier and Imagine Dragons. Hardly a feelgood song of the summer. But, as Jaime Marconette, the vice-president of music insights and industry relations at Luminate, says, this drift away from new music is not present in every genre. 'It's true that in some genres, like R&B and hip-hop, people are listening to less new music, whereas with Christian and country in particular, they're actually gaining listeners to new music.' He points to Hard Fought Hallelujah, by Christian singer-songwriter Brandon Lake and country star Jelly Roll, as an example of the way the genres are combining to reach wider audiences. 'Christian is the most current streaming genre right now [with the largest proportion of streams to new tracks]. These are genres where their fans were a little bit later to the streaming game but are now starting to really embrace it.' Marconette also says that this is not unprecedented - there have been other years, particularly during the Covid pandemic, when there were fewer new songs in the charts – after which new music bounced back. 'In the Covid period, there was a lot of dramatic things happening in our world. So, it is interesting that now in a period where there's uncertainty out there, we're seeing it again,' he says. 'Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but we're also starting to notice a jump in people streaming recession pop [music released around 2008 with escapist themes from artists such as Taio Cruz and Nicki Minaj] and it does point to a sort of this communal yearning for things that bring comfort from the past.' It's not all bad news: a couple of pop songs this year are streaming pretty well: Bad Bunny has had a string of huge hits outside of the US. Carpenter, Ty Dolla $ign, Maroon 5 and Drake all have records coming out this summer that might change things. Marconette also pointed to the return of K-pop group BTS and the success of the soundtrack to Netflix's animated movie KPop Demon Hunters as big players for the second half of the year. Of course, there is plenty of superlative new music, filed away in millions of private playlists, that might be someone's personal sound of the summer. The charts have never been guardians of taste or even vibes. But it is much harder for one such song to become a communal and inescapable hit. Whether this year is an anomaly or just another sign of ongoing cultural fragmentation remains to be seen.
Fox Sports
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
Shaboozey and Miami's Largest Ever Drone Show Shine Bright at FOX Sports' 2026 World Cup Countdown Party
FOX held a spectacular event to celebrate being one year out from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Miami's South Beach on Friday night. The party was headlined by a performance from country artist Shaboozey and the largest drone show in Miami history. The drones flew through the air and created a number of formations, while the artist performed two songs -- including his hit "A Bar Song (Tipsy)." Here are the best shots: With Shaboozey hyping up the crowd, the drones formed the letters "USA" along with some stars and red, white, and blue lining. The drones then aligned to create the tournament's official logo for 2026. A silhouette of the trophy outlined by brightly-lit and dazzling drones. And finally, the coveted FIFA World Cup trophy illuminating the sky above South Beach, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino taking in the sights and sounds. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from FIFA Men's World Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Shaboozey side-eyes Megan Moroney at American Music Awards over 'invented country' comment
Shaboozey side-eyes Megan Moroney at American Music Awards over 'invented country' comment Show Caption Hide Caption Shaboozey is the No. 1 artist on SiriusXM's Galaxy 50 roundup for 2024 Breakout artist Shaboozey came in at No.1 on SiriusXM's Galaxy 50 list, curated by programmers at the satellite radio company. Shaboozey is speaking out after his side-eye of fellow country star Megan Moroney during the American Music Awards raised some eyebrows. During the Memorial Day telecast, the "A Bar Song" hitmaker presented the favorite country duo or group award alongside the "Tennessee Orange" crooner. He told the audience in-person and at home that "country music has been an important part of AMA history." "The very first year of this show, the award for favorite male country artist went to the great Charley Pride," Shaboozey said, in reference to the late Black country music pioneer who died of COVID-19 in 2020. "That same year, favorite female artist went to Lynn Anderson. And this award went to the Carter Family, who basically invented country music," Moroney said, reading off a teleprompter. Then, Shaboozey side-eyed the statement. The AMAs sizzled with a kiss from JLo, a flip from Benson Boone and a tribute to Rod Stewart In a series of X posts May 27, Shaboozey addressed the comments and told fans to "Google, Lesley Riddle, Steve Tartar, Harry Gay, Defoe Bailey, and The Carter Family..." and added that "when you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased." "The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike," wrote Shaboozey, who is Black. The moment, too, marked another chapter in country music's complicated intersection with race in America. In recent years, Nashville has become increasingly polarized as the insulated industry reckons with its own handling of racial issues that have affected the careers of Morgan Wallen, Maren Morris, Beyoncé and Jason Aldean. The Carter Family didn't invent country music, despite Megan Moroney remarks Considered foundational country icons, the Carter Family were among the genre's early breakout stars, but they did not invent the genre. Many tie country music's roots back to the banjo being a West African musical instrument that, as far back as the 17th century, gained renown when Black Africans were first brought to the Americas as enslaved people. Three centuries of intertwining this tradition with English, German, Latin and Scotch-Irish folk traditions ultimately created the root of what is popularly regarded as "traditional" country music. The Carter Family: Country music group helped put genre on the map Lesley Riddle, a Black artist familiar to the nearby Appalachian hollers, taught the area's best songs to the Carter Family members A.P. Carter, his sister-in-law "Mother" Maybelle Carter and Maybelle's sister, Sara. He once told the Birthplace of Country Music Museum that he "was (A.P.'s) tape recorder." Notably, in the roughly dozen or so trips in a half-decade that A.P. Carter took alongside Riddle, he was taught songs including "The Cannonball," "Let the Church Roll On" and "Coal Miner's Blues." Not content to stop there, Riddle also helped Maybelle Carter develop her renowned "Carter Scratch" guitar style, featured in many Carter Family songs, including "Wildwood Flower." Beyoncé fans are tying 'Cowboy Carter' to country music's Carter Family. Here's why By the 1974 era referenced at the 2025 American Music Awards, the Carter Family was two generations into their legacy. Following A.P.'s death in 1960, "Mother" Maybelle Carter and the Carter Sisters began using the name "the Carter Family" for their act. Though instrumental in the Carter Family's legacy, Lesley Riddle left music in the 1940s. "There was no career in music in those years, and Lesley didn't try to make a career in music," Black author, singer-songwriter and ethnomusicologist Don Flemons told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, for a 2019 story. However, in 1965, at the behest of folklorist Mike Seeger, who documented Riddle's songs and stories before his 1980 death, the legendary performer began playing again. Race issues in Nashville have affected Beyonce, Morgan Wallen In recent years, Nashville has dodged its own reckoning surrounding the issue of race. While accepting the biggest CMA Award of her career in November 2020, Maren Morris paid tribute to Black women in country music, dedicating her female artist of the year win to Rhiannon Giddens, Yola, Linda Martell, Rissi Palmer, Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer — all generational Black women who have helped shift narratives in Nashville. "There are so many amazing Black women that pioneer and continue to pioneer this genre," Morris said. "I know they're gonna come after me. They've come before me. You've made this genre so, so beautiful. I hope you know that we see you." In May the following year, Morris criticized fellow country star Morgan Wallen after he shook the country music world – and the country – when a video surfaced of him using a racist slur in leaked home security footage. Morgan Wallen used a racist slur but his popularity is skyrocketing. How did we get here? In the summer of 2023, Morris foe Jason Aldean released "Try That in a Small Town" which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video showed clips from protests in recent years and was quickly pulled from CMT after the criticism online, with some claiming the visual was a "dog whistle" aimed at Black people as others labeled the tune "pro-lynching." That September, the "My Church" singer announced that she was leaving the structural elements of country music behind as Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves did before her. "The stories going on within country music right now, I've tried to avoid a lot of it at all costs. I feel very, very distanced from it," she told the Los Angeles Times. "I had to take a step back. The way I grew up was so wrapped in country music, and the way I write songs is very lyrically structured in the Nashville way of doing things." While Beyoncé received the most Grammy nominations of any artist in November, last fall she was snubbed from the CMAs, which reignited cultural conversations surrounding the award show. Her country-inspired album "Cowboy Carter" was nominated for 11 Grammys, including five in the country and American roots music field. In September, Beyonce didn't receive a single CMA award nod while Wallen received the most nominations with a total of seven nods. Eight years earlier, the "Texas Hold 'Em" hitmaker was greeted with an icy reception while performing with The Chicks at the 2016 CMAs. "The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. Act ii is a result of challenging myself and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work," she wrote last year. One of the most lauded collaborators on "Cowboy Carter," which won album of the year at the 2025 Grammys? Shaboozey. Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Caché McClay, Naledi Ushe; Matthew Leimkuehler, Nashville Tennessean
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I Couldn't Get Enough of J.Lo's Fashion at the AMAs
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." As host of the 2025 American Music Awards, Jennifer Lopez was not going to slack off when it came to her fashion. Our favorite outfit changer's style parade began with a dramatic coatdress that she wore for a six-minute dance performance that kicked off the ceremony. She opened the number with a few lines from her own song, 'Dance Again,' before switching to a medley of hits from the past year, like Billie Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather,' Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song,' and more—all of which moved to (while giving a few smooches to her backup dancers along the way). Lopez started the performance in a black belted coatdress from the Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2024 collection, which she quickly stripped off to reveal a custom catsuit from Michael Ngo underneath. The two-tone, black-and-tan piece featured a high neck and pants that morphed into boots. It was also decorated with gems that were made to resemble the inside of a motherboard. From there, shimmering details were a recurring theme for Lopez, who changed into sequin-clad designs like a cerulean strapless dress with jutting hips from David Koma, and a gold halter dress that functioned like a bodysuit, save for a few loin cloth-esque strips that hung down over her legs. Later, the 'Can't Get Enough' singer stepped out in a silver Bronx and Banco dress with a fringe maxi skirt and a halter bodice that wrapped across her body in the shape of a cross. Oh, and the skin-baring continued when walked the winners' red carpet in a caramel, halter-style Defaïence dress that bared her abs thanks to a plunging middle connected via a set of large, golden hoops. Lopez ended the night in couture from Miss Sohee. The outfit consisted of a gray plunging gown with tiers of white sequins that resembled scales, paired with a baby-blue cape that was embroidered with patterns of green vines and pink flowers. We can always count on to dance, and love, and dance—and change clothes—again. You Might Also Like 4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine
