Closing out the latest installment of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ we find Taylor Swift at #10 with ‘Cruel Summer,’ the hit that just keeps on hitting. This marks 46 weeks on the Hot 100 for the song that first appeared on 2019’s Lover before getting a single release a few years later.
We are just a week away from the release of Swift’s next album, The Tortured Poets Department, and I expect she’ll have quite a few new songs on this chart (as in a whole album’s worth) shortly thereafter.
Cardi B’s latest single, ‘Enough (Miami),’ debuted at #9 on the most recent Billboard Hot 100, giving the rapper her 12th top ten hit, and eighth as the lead artist.
This is the second single from Cardi B’s upcoming sophomore album, following 2021’s ‘Up,’ which reached #1. I was surprised to learn that she has released only one album, 2018’s Invasion of Privacy. She has been pretty prominent since she hit it big in 2017, mostly on the strength of features and non-album singles.
At #8 on the latest Billboard Hot 100 is ‘Greedy,’ the best performing single to date by Canadian dancer-turned-singer Tate McRae.
Unless I’m confusing her for somebody else, McRae is an artist my daughters have described as being forced down their throats. Reading about the TikTok rollout of ‘Greedy,’ which involved the artist and label aggressively pushing snippets of the track onto the platform (as opposed to letting it pick up steam organically), I guess I see what they mean.
Kacey Musgraves’ new album hasn’t made much of a splash, with only one of its songs appearing on the Hot 100 — ‘Deeper Well,’ all the way down at #76.
But Musgraves’s duet with Zach Bryan, ‘I Remember Everything,’ is still going strong. It hit #1 weeks ago — giving both artists their first chart-topper — and is still camped out in the top ten, at #7.
At #5 on the current Billboard Hot 100 is ‘Carnival,’ an obnoxious song that gave Kanye West his first #1 hit in 13 years. This is a collab with Ty Dolla Sign that the duo released under the name ¥$. Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti are along for the ride.
I have no patience for Kanye after the last decade or so of asinine and offensive behavior. On this track, he is not only spewing stupid lyrics but he doesn’t even sound good doing it. I’m not sure what fans of his still see in him.
Meet Me In Montauk 