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Playboi Carti Scores Second No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘MUSIC’

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Playboi Carti captures his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as his latest studio project, MUSIC, debuts atop the tally dated March 29. The set debuts with 298,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 20, according to Luminate. That marks the biggest week of 2025 for a rap album. It also arrives with the biggest streaming week for a rap set since 2023.

Playboi Carti previously topped the chart with his last release, Whole Lotta Red, which debuted atop the ranking dated Jan. 9, 2021. MUSIC is the artist’s third top 10-charting set, as he previously visited the region with 2018’s Die Lit, which reached No. 3.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, LE SSERAFIM collects its fourth top 10-charting project, as 5th Mini Album HOT debuts at No. 9.

Every Song From Playboi Carti’s ‘Music’ Album Ranked: Critic’s Picks

03/14/2025

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 March 29, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 25. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of MUSIC’s 298,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 283,000 (equaling 384 million on-demand official streams of the 30 songs on the streaming edition of the album; it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 14,500 (it debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 500.

With 298,000 units earned in its first week, MUSIC lands the biggest week in 2025 for a rap album, and the second largest overall among all albums — only the debut of The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow was bigger so far this year, when it launched with 490,000 units (Feb. 15 chart). Further, as MUSIC’s songs tallied 384 million on-demand official streams combined, that marks the biggest streaming week for any album in nearly a year, since Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department collected 428.54 million clicks for its songs in its second week (May 11, 2024, chart). MUSIC nets the largest streaming week for any rap album since Drake’s For All the Dogs debuted with 514.01 million (Oct. 21, 2023, chart).

MUSIC was officially announced on Sept. 12, 2024, and went up for pre-order the same day. However, the set’s March 14 release date wasn’t announced until just two days before its arrival (March 12).

MUSIC debuts on the Billboard 200 largely from streaming activity, as it was available to purchase only as a digital download — as a widely available standard 30-song set, as well as three variants exclusive to the artist’s official webstore (the variants each have between one or two bonus tracks).

MUSIC will be issued on CD (across at least eight variants available to pre-order in his webstore) in the coming weeks. The album will also profit in the future from sales generated by an array of deluxe boxed sets (containing branded merch and a CD) that have been available to pre-order on his webstore since last September.

Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM falls to No. 2 in its second week on the Billboard 200, earning 74,000 equivalent album units (down 66%). The next six titles on the list are all former No. 1s. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX drops 2-3 (71,000; down 13%), PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U dips 3-4 (66,000; down 15%), SZA’s SOS slips 4-5 (62,000; down 9%), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is steady at No. 6 (57,000; down 7%), Tate McRae’s So Close To What falls 5-7 (52,000; down 18%) and Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is a non-mover at No. 8 (50,000; down 4%).

LE SSERAFIM collects its fourth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as 5th Mini Album HOT starts at No. 9 with 45,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 38,500 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 7,000 (equaling 9.42 million on-demand streams of the five songs on the streaming edition of the album) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Sales of the set were bolstered by its availability across more than 20 CD variants (all containing collectible paper ephemera, some randomized).

Rounding out the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200 is Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time, which falls 9-10 with 42,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%).

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.

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Jelly Roll Brings Grit & Heart to In-Ring Debut at WWE SummerSlam 2025

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Jelly Roll made his WWE in-ring debut this weekend, and teamed up with Randy Orton to battle Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2025. Jelly didn’t disappoint, as the brute country force rattled McIntyre and Paul with a series of slams and elbow drops, before ultimately falling short in his Saturday night (Aug. 2) WWE match.

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Ahead of the match, Jelly introduced tag partner Orton and performed his entrance theme song, “Voices,” electrifying the MetLife Stadium crowd in East Rutherford, N.J.

Kicking off the match against Paul, Jelly impressed early. Not only did he deliver some offense, including an impressive shoulder tackle on Paul, but he absorbed a flurry of attacks. The defining moment came when Paul sent Jelly crashing through the announcer’s table with a high-flying splash. Despite the setback, a hobbled Jelly Roll delivered a clinical performance: first chokeslamming Paul before issuing a punishing bodyslam. But Paul had the last laugh, connecting with a frog splash and scoring the 1-2-3.

Jelly, a lifelong wrestling fan, trained rigorously at WWE’s Performance Center ahead of his match, which contributed to his 230-pound weight loss.

“This is about belief — believing in myself — and wanting to selfishly be a part of a beautiful moment,” Jelly said earlier this week in an interview with WWE’s Jackie Redmond. “I love this business. I just wanna bring value. I’m not here to take nothing away. I’m not here to take nobody’s spot. I want to bring value. I think this is one of the greatest ages of storytelling I’ve seen in wrestling this decade.”

See clips of Jelly’s SummerSlam in-ring debut below.

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Jerry Garcia Has Childhood Street Named for Him in San Francisco

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A few hundred people gathered Friday (Aug. 1) to name a tiny San Francisco street after legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia on what would have been his 83rd birthday, and as part of a citywide celebration to mark the band’s 60th anniversary.

7 Best Moments From Dead & Company’s Kickoff Celebrating 60 Years of the Grateful Dead in SF

Harrington Street, which is one block long, will also be called “Jerry Garcia Street.” Garcia died in 1995, but the band’s popularity has only grown as younger generations discover the Dead’s improvisational music, which blended rock, blues, folk and other styles.

Garcia spent part of his childhood in a modest home in the city’s diverse Excelsior neighborhood. He lived with his grandparents after the death of his father, Jose Ramon “Joe” Garcia.

“I hope that you all get a chance to enjoy the music, dance, hug, smile,” said daughter Trixie Garcia, growing emotional during her brief remarks. “Cherish what’s valuable, what’s significant in life.”

Tens of thousands of fans are in San Francisco to commemorate the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary with concerts and other activities throughout the city.

The latest iteration of the band, Dead & Company, with original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, play Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field for three days this weekend (beginning with Friday’s show), with an estimated 60,000 attendees expected each day.

Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead played often and for free in their early years while living in a cheap Victorian home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The band later became a significant part of 1967’s Summer of Love, and the Grateful Dead has become synonymous with San Francisco and its bohemian counterculture.

On Friday, fans in rainbow tie-dye and Grateful Dead T-shirts whooped and cheered as the sign was unveiled. Nonfans with shopping bags and some using walking canes maneuvered around the crowd on what was for them just another foggy day in the working-class neighborhood.

Afterward, devotees peeled off to pose for photos in front of Garcia’s childhood home.

Jared Yankee, 23, got the crowd to join him in singing “Happy Birthday.” Yankee said he flew in from Rhode Island for the shows. He got into the music about a decade ago.

“It’s a human thing,” he said of his impromptu singing. “I figure everyone knows the words to ‘Happy Birthday.’”

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Fans Choose Mariah The Scientist & Kali Uchis’ ‘Is It a Crime’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

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“Is It a Crime,” the new duet from Mariah The Scientist and Kali Uchis, tops this week’s fan-voted music poll.

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Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 1) on Billboard, choosing the pair’s fresh collaboration as their favorite new release of the past week.

“Is It a Crime” rose above a plethora of new releases — among them, songs from hitmakers like Demi Lovato, Chappell Roan, Reneé Rapp and more. Mariah and Kali’s collab track topped the poll by a landslide, bringing in more than 57% of the vote.

“Is It a Crime,” a slow jam that has the two artists singing about the return of a past love — and defending the relationship if anyone’s got anything to say about it — dropped on July 31, with spicy, jail-themed single art. (“very intentional, very grown woman,” Uchis commented of their shoot on Instagram.)

The chorus of the song says it all: “And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple times/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime/ To fall, to fall in love, in love a couple times?/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime to fall?”

Among the new releases trailing behind “Is It a Crime” on this week’s poll are Demi Lovato’s “Fast,” coming in with 17% of the vote; Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” with 16% of the vote, and Reneé Rapp’s “Bite Me,” with 2% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

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