On Josh Groban’s new album Cinematic (out May 8), the chart-topping singer-actor pays tribute to movie music, covering silver screen classics like “As Time Goes By,” “Moon River” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
Cinematic marks Groban’s first album of new material since his Tony Award-nominated turn starring in the 2023 revival of Sweeney Todd. And that show loomed large in the early stages of making Cinematic. He says, “having just come off of the grandest score of all time with Sweeney Todd, and really putting on my big boy voice for that… I wanted to keep riding that wave… I wanted to stay in that grand zone.” At the same time, he and his team were also brainstorming ideas for what a new album could be like, thematically, and “this word cinematic kept coming up,” he tells the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to his full interview, below).
The “grand zone” and “cinematic” ideas combined into what Groban calls “MGM-escapism” on the album. Essentially, a collection of movie songs that he could perform and take the listener on a journey. It’s “that feeling of, you know, the lights are out, and the world out there is going to take a pause for a couple hours… that’s the vibe we wanted. We wanted to lean into that escapism.”
And while the set is comprised entirely of covers, Groban notes, “This album feels personal for an album that… was such a broad idea. It whittled down to a very specific and very emotionally personal album.”
On the project, Groban is joined by Jennifer Hudson (who duets on “Unchained Melody”), his dad Jack Groban (who plays trumpet on “Moon River”) and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (on “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”). Cinematic was produced by two-time Grammy Award-winner Greg Wells. And, in keeping with the “grand” theme, was recorded largely with an orchestra, and in multiple studios across Los Angeles, New York and London.
Groban says Hudson is “so multi-talented, and such an epic vocalist.” Their first team-up came in 2024 when they sang “O Holy Night” together on the CBS-TV special Josh Groban & Friends Go Home for the Holidays. He says he immediately knew there was something special in that collaboration. “We looked at each other, we went, ‘wow’.” So, when it came time to discuss Groban’s upcoming tour, he had a “bucket list of one person” that was his dream person to come out on the road — Hudson. The stars aligned and the two were able to not only join forces for a tour (which kicks off June 2 in Montreal) but also their “Unchained Melody” duet on Cinematic.
Regarding his father, Groban says “I owe so much of my introduction of the arts to his musicality.” While his dad is not a professional trumpet player, there is “one album that he made playing trumpet back when he was in his 20s,” Groban says, and “there’s a one of one copy that we finally digitized.”
Though Groban’s father had essentially put his trumpet away for the past 40 years, and had never recorded in the studio with his son, Josh knew the timing was right for them to come together on Cinematic.
“Watching my dad fly in that studio… was just, you know, something I will remember for the rest of my life. To have… a proper recording of his playing with me, I’ll never forget it.”
Here are excerpts from the Pop Shop’s interview with Groban, below, and listen to the full interview, above.
On how the Cinematic album is an “emotionally personal album”:
I didn’t want to just do, you know, the Josh Sings… here’s just a nice bunch of nice sounding songs. I want to be able to talk about these songs in a way that has meaning, even if it’s a song that’s been around forever. We wanted to have a really great why with them. So, from the collaborations we chose, from the meanings of the songs, when we really dove into those lyrics anew, it felt personal. This album feels personal for an album that… was such a broad idea. It whittled down to a very specific and very emotionally personal album.
On how his collaboration with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles on “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King came together:
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles was my idea, and the song itself was also my idea… I’m such a fan of Elton (John, the song’s co-writer and original performer) and such a fan of that of that movie. Again, you talk about the intimidation factor of, like, just tackling a song that everybody knows so well, and you want to honor it.
But I always say that when you honor a song that you love, you want to both honor what made it special to begin with, and you also want to bring something to it in the today that you feel resonates, and you want to honor it by yes-anding what the original did.
And as we were diving into just reading the lyric, and we’re reading the lyric and reading the news, reading the lyric and doom scrolling, and reading the lyric, and going in our car and driving…
The Pop Shop interjects: “it’s like, can you feel the love?”
Exactly. And so the next day, I got into the studio with Greg [Wells], and I was like, you know, I feel like there’s a call to action, to allyship, to support… sometimes in music, you have to sing it before you believe it, you know. And that’s the power of music.
Sometimes, as an artist, it’s very therapeutic to say, well, I want to sing the song I’d like the world to be. Even if that’s not the reality. And I felt more than ever that a song like that, a question like that, and an open hand like that, was important. And of course, you can talk about that just with, you know, as a song, I could have just talked about that, but the collaboration aspect and how you’re able to possibly accentuate that with the collaboration is always something that’s really important to me.
Now, I have always been a fan of the Gay Men’s Chorus. I sang with them in [Washington] D.C. during [President Barack] Obama’s inauguration. I love what they stand for. I love the sound of their voices. And being a native Angelino, I felt like the message of the song, what we were trying to put across, and then having them in the room to sing that song with me felt like A) a great message, and B) vocally like something that would be really powerful to hear. So, it was a really fun day at the studio. They were amazing.
Josh talks about how his dad, Jack Groban, joins him on Cinematic to play trumpet on “Moon River.” Had Jack ever recorded with Josh professionally before?
Never. He has one album that he made playing trumpet back when he was in his 20s, like 22-23 [years old] in college… There’s a one of one copy that we finally digitized, so if anything were to happen to it, you know, we have proof.
I did a song called “Old Devil Moon” on my Stages album, and I did it with Chris Botti on trumpet, and Chris wasn’t available to play with me at the Dolby — we did a concert at the Dolby Theatre [in 2015] — and so I asked my dad then, if he would come out and play the solo. And he crushed it. Again, he hasn’t played in 30 years. At that point it was, it was 30 years. Now it’s been 40 years. He puts the trumpet away. His mom said to him when he was young, you know, that’s not really the best way to make a living. Go into business. You know, he came from a conservative family. And he did, and he’s brilliant at what he does. He’s going to be 80 this summer.
By the way, I had the crème de la crème. I had Terence Blanchard and Wynton Marsalis saying to me, ‘send me in coach,’ for this song. Favorite song of theirs. And they both were telling me, ‘should you need me, we’re here if you want.’
And I’m talking to Greg, and I’m going, ‘oh it’s gonna be incredible, here’s what the trumpet could be.’ … And I’m talking to my dad about “Moon River.” And I went, God, you know, this is my 10th major album. You know, my dad is one of the most important people to me in my life, and his musicality is such a part of why I’m musical. His ear is why I have an ear. He’d sit at the piano and play when I was a kid growing up. I owe so much of my introduction of the arts to his musicality. I thought, I’m actually, you know, that my favorite trumpet player in the world is actually right in front of me.
…And we set up at Sunset Sound, in the room that Louis Armstrong used to record in, his favorite room in L.A., with his stool. And surprised my dad. We had Louis’ stool there waiting for him, and a microphone from like, the ‘30s. And, you know, it was just one of those days where watching my dad fly in that studio and play along with this Vince Mendoza arrangement was just, you know, something that I will remember for the rest of my life. To have, after all of my influence with him, a proper recording of his playing with me. I’ll never forget it.
On how Jennifer Hudson became part of the album, and their upcoming tour:
We were kind of mutual admiration society for a while. We had met at a bunch of things, and just, I just worshiped Jennifer Hudson. I think she’s so multi-talented, and such an epic vocalist. So, you know, I’ve always had my bucket list of like, ‘I’d love to sing this with Jen at some point.’ That was able to happen when I hosted this [Josh Groban & Friends Go] Home for the Holidays Christmas special on CBS a couple years ago, and we sang “O Holy Night” together.
And you know, it was one of those songs where there was a lot of bigness in the vocals, a lot of intimacy in the vocals, and it’s the kind of song where it could be interpreted different ways. So I was able to kind of do it in a little bit more classical fashion, and she was able to do it in her, of course, amazing interpretation. And then leading to us both singing that “Noel” big note at the end.
And my favorite thing about duets is when you have two people from two different universes vocally, but when they blend on a song that’s powerful, you’re doing something in the sonic-sphere that neither of you could do by yourself. We both felt it when we held on to that “Noel” [note]. We looked at each other, we went, ‘Wow.’
… We hugged each other off stage and we went, ‘again, please… more of more of that, please.’ We both got chills. We both loved just, you know, bouncing off each other, the dance of our vocals together, just felt natural. Didn’t feel like a stretch. And so, when we were coming up with the tour, I had my kind of like bucket list of one person who would be my dream person to come out and join me, and we’re on the same agency. [So it was a matter of] … reaching out and seeing [if she was available]. And it just so happened, we caught her between breaks of her talk show (The Jennifer Hudson Show), and said yes.
And so that was the first thing, which was, just like, ‘we’re going to have so much fun this summer, we’re going to find some things to sing together this summer.’
And then in that finding, you know, “Unchained Melody” was one of her favorite songs of all time, one of mine as well. And hadn’t really heard many of any duets of that song. And so we decided to give it a go. Which was on paper (is) kind of scary, because it’s, it’s not written as a duet, and finding the right key for both of our voices, finding harmony opportunities. We really wanted to nail it, and so we spent our time with that. But yes, it all started with that “Noel” leading to the big note in, you know, “Unchained Melody,” and it’s a big one.
In addition to the Pop Shop’s interview with Groban, hosts Katie and Keith chat about Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” returning to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
Two billion people have taken a trip to a gangsta’s paradise.
The music video for Coolio‘s classic 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” reached 2 billion views on YouTube. The visual was helmed by film director Antoine Fuqua, who is recently back in the public eye for his work on Michael, the new Michael Jackson biopic. It is the first video by the late rapper to reach this milestone.
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“Gangsta’s Paradise” comes from the 1995 thriller film Dangerous Minds and features vocals by the singer L.V. The track served as the lead single of Coolio’s second studio album of the same name. “Gangsta’s Paradise” is Coolio’s biggest chart hit, spending three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. Gangsta’s Paradise the album was also successful, spending 62 weeks on the Billboard 200 and peaking at No. 9 on the chart.
“Gangsta’s Paradise” topped the Hot 100 Year-End chart in 1995. In 1996, the song earned Coolio his first and only Grammy, for best rap solo performance, as well as two MTV Video Music Awards and a Billboard Music Award. In 2023, Billboard ranked “Gangsta’s Paradise” as one of the 500 best pop songs of all time.
“Gangsta’s Paradise” was given new life in 1996 after “Weird Al” Yankovic dropped the parody “Amish Paradise” which has millions of streams on YouTube and Spotify. Other stars who have covered the legendary rap song — the original, not the parody — include Maneskin, Brittany Snow and Falling in Reverse.
Watch the “Gangsta’s Paradise” music video below.
After a previous pair of runner-up results, Kehlani achieves their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with their self-titled album, released April 24 on Tsunami Mob/Atlantic Records. Kehlani begins with 69,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States for tracking week of April 24-30, according to Luminate.
Of Kehlani’s first-week total, streaming activity contributed 45,000 units, from 45.37 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Another 24,000 units derived from traditional album sale purchases, with a negligible amount of activity from the third and final metric, track-equivalent sales. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 1,000 paid/subscription tier or 2,500 ad-supported tier of official on-demand audio and video streams for a song on the album.)
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Before the new leader, Kehlani, who received the Impact honor at Billboard’s 2026 Women In Music celebration on April 29, managed a career high of No. 2 on two occasions: SexySweetSavage debuted and peaked the runner-up rank in February 2017, as did It Was Good Until It Wasn’t in May 2020. The new album extends their perfect streak of seven consecutive top 10-charting releases on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Elsewhere, Kehlani opens at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums as their fourth chart-topper and starts at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Kehlani’s triumph mirrors the breakthrough achievements of its big single, “Folded.” Among other feats, the song became their first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 6 in January, and first No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it reigned for five weeks. The track is also approaching the No. 1 record on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay – at 15 weeks in charge, it’s one shy of the mark held by Future’s 2022 hit “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems.
The album’s impact is best seen on the Hot R&B Songs chart, where “Folded” heads 12 titles on the 25-position ranking. With 10 making their first entry, Kehlani ascends to 60 career appearances on the 13-year old chart.
Here’s a review of Kehlani cuts on this week’s list:
No. 2, “Folded” (prev. five weeks at No. 1)
No. 11, “Shoulda Never,” feat. Usher
No. 14, “Anotha Lova,” feat. Lil Wayne
No. 15, “I Need You,” feat. Brandy
No. 17, “Oooh”
No. 18, “Out the Window” (prev. peaked at No. 7)
No. 20, “No Such Thing,” feat. Clipse
No. 21, “Pocket,” feat. Cardi B
No. 23, “Sweet Nuthins,” feat. Leon Thomas
No. 24, “Lights On,” feat. Big Sean
No. 25, “Still”
Drake season is upon us. The OVO boss announced plans for yet another Iceman livestream on Wednesday (May 4), with episode four set for May 14.
“EPISODE FOUR MAY 14,” Drake wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the number four and an ICE MAN graphic.
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The 6 God also posted photo collages from what appears to be the first three episodes of livestreams, which date back to July 4, 2025.
There wasn’t a time revealed for May 14’s stream, but it should lead into Iceman‘s arrival on May 15. OVO fans hopped into Drizzy’s comments and were extremely hyped at the idea of a Drake album being released within the next 10 days.
“Reminder!: May 15 is International Stay on That Side Day,” one person wrote. It’s fitting that Drake’s announcement for episode four came just shy of May 6 at 6 p.m. ET.
Drake’s shown intentionality with the extended Iceman rollout dating back to 2025, which has been turned up quite a few notches in recent weeks.
Drizzy put the rollout and marketing into another gear when a massive ice block structure was built in downtown Toronto. Streamer Kishka ended up finding the Iceman folder inside the thawing installation, which revealed the album’s May 15 release date and scored him $50,000 from Drake’s team for the discovery.
Drake released singles like “What Did I Miss,” “Which One” and “Dog House” in 2025, but has yet to drop a single in 2026, and it appears there won’t be any new music until Iceman‘s arrival.
Iceman will serve as Drake’s first solo LP since his blockbuster battle with Kendrick Lamar in 2024 and 2023’s For all the Dogs, which topped the Billboard 200.
Romeo Santos and Prince Royce dart to No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Dardos” rises 3-1 on the May 9-dated ranking. Santos extends his record for the most No. 1s among tropical acts, with 24 wins; Royce celebrates his 20th chart-topper.
“Dardos” becomes the Greatest Gainer of the week after a 37% surge in audience impressions, to 9.2 million, earned in the United States in the week ending April 30, according to Luminate. The track swaps spots with Maluma and Kany García’s “1+1,” which slips 1-3 with a 30% drop to 6.5 million impressions.
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This marks Santos and Royce’s second chart-topping collaboration, following their three-week No. 1 run with “Lokita Por Mí” from Dec. 2025 to March 2026. Both hits stem from their joint album Better Late Than Never, which bowed at No. 2 on Top Latin Albums and led the Top Tropical Albums chart for two weeks in late 2025.
As “Dardos” hits No. 1 on the overall Latin Airplay chart, Santos extends his record for the most No. 1s among tropical acts since the list launched in 1994, now with 24 champs. Prince Royce picks up his 20th chart-topper.
On Tropical Airplay, where the track ascends 2-1, Royce collects his 28th No. 1, trailing only Victor Manuelle (29 No. 1s) and Marc Anthony (39). Santos, meanwhile, achieves his 21st ruler.
Elsewhere on the Latin charts, La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho achieves its 22nd No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart with “¿Dónde Estabas Tú?” The achievement places them in a tie with Banda MS for the second-highest number of rulers in the nearly 32-year history of the chart, trailing only Calibre 50, which holds the record with 29 No. 1s.
“¿Dónde Estabas Tú?” surged to the top with 7 million audience impressions, a 10% increase during the tracking week. The track follows the group’s previous two-week chart leader alongside Juanes, “Una Noche Contigo.”
Ye (formerly Kanye West) testified in federal court on Wednesday (May 5) that he followed the right steps to clear a sample for his chart-topping 2021 album Donda and is “very generous” with giving credit to collaborators.
The rapper took the stand in an ongoing Los Angeles trial over early versions of his songs “Hurricane” and “Moon,” which both charted in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 when they were released on Donda in 2021. “Hurricane,” which featured The Weeknd and Lil Baby, also went on to win a Grammy Award for best melodic rap performance.
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Four music producers — DJ Khalil (Khalil Abdul-Rahman), Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff and Josh Mease — are alleging that Ye included uncleared samples of their instrumental track “MSD PT2” in demos played of both songs at a Donda pre-release listening party in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in July 2021.
Ye maintains that the lawsuit is baseless because his team did make an earnest effort to clear the samples, but that the four producers intentionally dragged their feet and refused to approve industry-standard splits. The rapper reiterated this position during his courtroom testimony on Wednesday.
“We went through the normal process to get it taken care of,” said Ye, clad in a grey suit, about his team’s attempt to license “MSD PT2.”
Ye testified that he’s a highly collaborative artist, saying “I pride myself on giving people what they deserve” in terms of credit and royalties. But he said creators sometimes try to extract undue money from him, and this trial is one such example.
“I feel like a lot of people try to take advantage of me,” Ye told the jury. “As I sit in this courtroom today, I just think people are trying to make more than they otherwise would because it’s me.”
The lawsuit is one among more than a dozen copyright cases Ye has faced throughout his career for allegedly using unlicensed samples and interpolations in his music. It’s the first time he’s taken one of these lawsuits to trial; in the past, he’s settled many of them.
Ye’s testimony, which lasted just over an hour, also touched on his successful music career and collection of accolades. “Music is everything,” he testified. “It surrounds me at all times, and I’m constantly creating new ideas for it.”
The rapper remained calm and expressionless for most of his time on the stand. He did crack one joke, though. When his attorney asked whether he won a Grammy for “Brothers in Paris,” Ye responded, “What’s the real name?” and joined in on a chorus of laughter from the courtroom gallery.
The case dates back to 2024, when the four “MSD PT2” producers sued Ye through a business entity called Artist Revenue Advocates LLC. Initially, they were seeking royalties from the commercially successful final versions of both “Hurricane” and “Moon,” alleging that both tracks interpolated “MSD PT2” in place of the original samples included in the demos.
However, a judge dismissed the bulk of the lawsuit in February after determining that Artist Revenue Advocates owns only the “MSD PT2” master recording rights, not the composition rights. This means that while the company can sue over a sample, it does not have any standing to bring claims over an interpolation.
The judge therefore allowed a narrow trial to go forward only on the early Donda demos, but not the far more lucrative final versions. Damages-wise, the plaintiffs are now seeking a slice of the money Ye made his Atlanta listening party — encompassing ticket sales, merch and a $750,000 livestreaming deal with Apple Music.
Ye tried to undercut these potential damages during his testimony on Wednesday, telling jurors that his fans would have spent money on this listening party regardless of whether “Hurricane” and “Moon” were featured.
“People came to hear whatever I was going to play that was new,” Ye testified. “Often people buy merch before they even hear the music.”
In 2024, six-time Grammy winner Amy Grant was clearing out and organizing a room in her Nashville home after her daughter Corrina had made an observation.
“She just said, ‘Where’s your creative space?’” Grant recalls. The room, filled with paintings she’d made, art supplies, Grant’s collection of 45s and an old turntable, became her new creative oasis. “My daughter nicknamed the space ‘craftopia,’” Grant says.
Following the release of her self-titled debut in 1977, Grant become one of the leading artists who popularized Contemporary Christian music in the 1980s and 1990s, with such albums as Age to Age and Heart in Motion reaching broader audiences. She earned crossover hits like the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Baby Baby” and has collected over two dozen GMA Dove Awards.
But by 2024, it had been over a decade since her last album of original music, 2013’s How Mercy Looks From Here. Grant had been touring, but also spent the past few years weathering serious health issues, including undergoing open-heart surgery in 2020 and healing from a bicycle accident in 2022 that resulted in a traumatic brain injury.
In that new creative space, Grant sat down and began writing lyrics that became the title track and emotional fulcrum for her new album The Me That Remains, which comes out Friday (May 8) on Thirty Tigers.
The song’s frank lyrics such as “Life cut me wide open when my head hit the ground/ Wasn’t my time for dying” take an honest look at Grant’s healing over the past few years, as well as her determination to make the most of every stage of life.
“The very first lyric I wrote for this record, I thought it was a poem, but at that time I was having pretty substantial short-term memory issues,” Grant says. “Lyrics were easy because it’s written down, but music is tough. So I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this by myself.’ But in a beautiful way, our limitations create our path.”
She began reaching out to writers and fellow artists, including her husband Vince Gill, in addition to Michael W. Smith, Tom Douglas, Mike Reid and Mac McAnally, the 10-time CMA musician of the year winner also known for his work as part of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer band.
By January 2025, she had returned to the studio with the intention of only recording a couple of songs. “It felt so organic and like, ‘Man, that was fun. I haven’t done that in a long time,” she says. She called upon McAnally and they agreed to work on recording songs when they could, heading into the studio here and there over the course of a few months.
“At one point he said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a record here. We have 10 songs.’ I guess it was as much of a surprise to me that it emerged the way it did, and it was without any work pressure.”
Though the album includes personal songs such as “The Me That Remains,” and mature looks at relationships on tunes like “‘Til We Get It Right,” the album also takes nuanced looks at society and the state of the world.
Grant teamed with Ruby Amanfu on “How Do We Get There From Here,” a song forged after the tragic 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville. Both Grant and Amanfu were part of an artist group that visited the Tennessee State Capitol in fall 2023 to talk about gun control. On their new collaboration, they wrestle with themes including accountability, communication and grief.
“A lot of artists and songwriters were invited to go and just say, ‘Is there anything we can use our platform to help shift?’” Grant says. “After being there [and] meeting with legislature on both sides, I thought ‘How does anybody get anything done?’ But I think so many times schools of thought or a change in the way someone sees something come[s] through the arts.”
After writing the first verse and chorus, she reconnected with Amanfu about their experience. “It took a year of us just trading text[s]. We were both working very hard, both traveling. Then she reached out and was like, ‘I think I’ve got the song.’ I was going into the studio that week and asked if she was in town. It was just like our orbits were so different but for a minute the planets aligned. And I’ve so enjoyed getting to know her.”
Gill joins on “Friend Like You,” Smith co-wrote “The Saint,” and Grant’s daughters Corrina and Sarah Cannon join on the album closer “The Other Side of Goodbye,” which centers on the loss of Grant’s mother, who passed away in 2011.
“The other side of goodbye can be all kinds of things, but at some point I just thought about my mom,” Grant says. “I don’t know that many people that have died that I’ve actually been in the room with — a few — but I wanted to capture the experience of being a witness to her crossing over. And that day changed the way I look at death. I was like, ‘We’ve got to reframe this.’ I said, ‘When somebody finishes their life, can we high-five them?’ And with everything in life, how you frame it has a lot to do with how you experience it.”
The Me That Remains had been finished for around six months or so when Grant and her team partnered with Thirty Tigers to release the project.
“I think we were trying to find a partner that was really interested in creating conversation. That really seems to be the focus on Thirty Tigers, just bringing together people through the arts. I’ve so enjoyed talking to [Thirty Tigers co-founder/president] David Macias and everyone has been great. It just feels a little bit kind of maverick.”
Though Grant’s new album ends a 13-year dearth of new music from the Gospel Music Hall of Famer and 2022 Kennedy Center honoree, she says she doubts it will take another 13 years before she creates new music.
“I don’t know that I’ve got a whole record right now, but I have a lot of songs I’m working on. People have sent me some beautiful songs.”
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: The Devil Wears Prada 2 makes all the money and gets a bunch of soundtrack bumps, memories of Mac Miller bring listeners back to 2016 (again), and social media jokes help mint a new streaming hit.
Look Around, Everywhere You Turn Is Devil Wears Prada 2
The new sequel to the beloved 2006 fashion-world comedy The Devil Wears Prada came to theaters nationwide over the weekend (May 1), and was received with both positive reviews and booming business. The film sequel opened to $77 million in domestic returns and $233 globally, the best debut of the year outside of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and nearly three times the stateside opening for the original movie 20 years ago. And like that first movie — which helped make a hit out of KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See” and also featured songs by big names like U2, Alanis Morissette and (of course) Madonna — the movie’s soundtrack is off to a robust start.
The big single from the movie this time comes from pop and fashion icon Lady Gaga, who makes a cameo in the movie and also offers three original songs to its soundtrack, including the previously released Doechii collab “Runway.” The sashaying single amassed nearly 2.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams over the release weekend (May 1-3), according to Luminate, a gain of 189% from the 756,000 it posted over the previous weekend. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa’s movie-opening Radical Optimism cut “End of an Era” was up 207% over the same period to 138,000 streams, and Madonna’s timeless “Vogue” was up 30% to 493,000.
And of course, since memories of the original movie were also burning bright over the weekend, “Suddenly I See” saw a.decent-sized bump as well, rising from 282,000 to 357,000 streams over the same period, a gain of 27%. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Mac Miller & Ty Dolla $ign Is the Latest 2016 Track to See Streaming Surge in 2026
Mac Miller & Ty Dolla $ign’s “Cinderella” is in the top 10 of Hot Rap Songs for the first time, over ten years post-release — and it’s largely thanks to TikTok.
Since fall 2025, young listeners have gravitated towards the 2016 Divine Feminine fan-favorite, primarily highlighting Miller’s doe-eyed lyrics and Ty’s sweet hook. With the official “Cinderella” TikTok sound boasting over 2.2 million clips, users have started to employ the phrase, “I was/am so Cinderella by Mac Miller about him/her/them,” to express how deeply in love they are. With other users connecting the song to Miller’s close friend and former partner, pop superstar Ariana Grande, “Cinderella” has touched nearly every corner of TikTok.
Recently, “Cinderella” has quickened its streaming ascent, jumping 146% over the past four weeks. A month ago (March 26-April 2), “Cinderella” earned 2.43 million official on-demand U.S. streams, with that number vaulting to nearly 6 million streams during the week of (April 24-30).
Upon release, The Divine Feminine reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, but all its singles missed the Hot 100 — that could very well change should “Cinderella” continue to rise across metrics. – KYLE DENIS
Facetious X & TikTok Trends Set Off Karlee Girl’s “Right Back” on Streaming
Dream Academy and Building the Band alumna Karlee Girl just rode social media jokes to a burgeoning streaming hit. She first shared “Right Back” in February, but by the top of April, several viral X posts satirically praised the song, helping it gain traction and eventually land in the hands of listeners who truly embraced the upbeat track. On April 19, Doechii shared a TikTok post of her singing along to “Right Back,” and by April 22, Karlee posted a TikTok singing an acoustic version of the song to celebrate reaching the million-stream milestone. By April 27, Sophia and Yoonchae of KATSEYE shared a TikTok of themselves dancing to Karlee’s breakout hit. Not just an X hit, “Right Back” also plays in over 169,000 TikTok posts.
During the week of April 3-9, “Right Back” collected just 39,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, with that number jumping 370% to over 185,000 streams the following week (April 10-16), once the song started making the rounds on X. By the week of April 17-23, which accounts for Doechii’s clip, “Right Back” jumped a further 302% to over 747,000 official on-demand streams. Finally, during the week of April 24-30, which includes the KATSEYE dance-along TikTok, “Right Back” leapt another 53% to a whopping 1.14 million official streams. Over the past four months, “Right Back” has exploded over 2,795% in streaming activity.
Dream Academy has already gifted the world KATSEYE and ADÉLA, and it looks like Karlee Girl is next up. — K.D.
A Migos return might be on the horizon. The Migos’ Instagram account was revived on Tuesday (May 5) and made its first post in over two years, featuring a few photos of Quavo and Offset in the studio.
The post — which boasts over 335,000 likes — has only added fuel to the speculation that the Migos are back. Additional photos from Sunday’s (May 3) studio session found Offset in the booth, signaling new music could be on the way.
Speculation began last week when Quavo took to his Instagram Story, where he teased a posthumous TakeOff album, a sequel to his joint album with his late nephew and a possible Migos tribute album on the way.
“Warriors Never fold. Jobs Not Finished. TAKEOFF ALBUM. UNC N PHEW 2. LAST ????? ALBUM. REAL MIGO BLOOD RUN IN MY VEINS!!! AINT NO NEW CHAPTER JUST THE NEXT ONE,” Huncho wrote.
Offset echoed Quavo’s statement and added to the Migos’ comeback speculation. “On dat,” he wrote.
TakeOff (born Kirshnik Khari Ball) was shot and killed following a party at 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston on Nov. 1, 2022.
Quavo and Offset have been distant in recent years before reuniting over the weekend, which sent fans into a frenzy about a possible reunion.
Their last collaboration came on the Migos’ 2021 Culture III album, which was supposed to be the fourth and final LP from the Atlanta trio prior to TakeOff’s passing. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 130,000 total album units earned, according to Luminate.
On Wednesday (May 6), the full list of honorees for TME Chart’s 30 UNDER 30 “Top 30 Young Singers” was officially unveiled. As an initiative dedicated to spotlighting emerging young talent in the Chinese music scene, this year’s program features a comprehensive upgrade to its recognition system.
Based on annual performance data from the TME Uni Chart and TME Wave Chart, the selection process combined objective metrics with public voting across categorized groups, ultimately recognizing 30 young artists distinguished by their contemporary appeal and strong industry potential.
Lars Huang, Yu Zi and Zhicheng Mu ranked No. 1 in the Core Group, Pioneer Group and Rising Star Group, respectively, earning recognition as representative young singer of their respective age categories.
Categorized by birth year, the honorees are divided into three groups: the Core Group (born 1996-1999), the Pioneer Group (born 2000-2005), and the Rising Star Group (born after 2006). This tiered structure highlights young singers at different stages of development, while the open public voting mechanism enables audience preferences and listener voices to play a meaningful role in the selection process.
Since its launch, TME Chart’s “30 UNDER 30” has grown into a highly influential benchmark for emerging talent in the Chinese music industry. Guided by the principles of professionalism, fairness, and diversity, the initiative encourages young artists to stay true to their creative vision, push artistic boundaries, and express the spirit of youth through innovation — while delivering positive impact through high-quality music.