USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
'Luther' leads Hot 100 for a third week
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” leads the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for a third week. Two weeks earlier, the single – whose title is an ode to late R&B icon Luther Vandross, who is

sampled on the track – became Lamar’s sixth No. 1 and SZA’s third. Lamar ties his longest Hot 100 domination. He previously reigned for three nonconsecutive weeks with “Not Like Us” between last May and this February, and for three weeks in a row last April with “Like That,” with Future and Metro Boomin. His other No. 1s ruled for a week each: “Squabble Up,” in December; “Humble.,” in 2017; and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” on which he’s featured, in 2015. SZA extends her longest No. 1 Hot 100 stay. She previously led for a week each as featured on Drake’s “Slime You Out” and with her own “Kill Bill,” both in 2023. “Luther” totaled 53.9 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 6% week-over-week), 34.2 million official streams (down 12%) and 3,000 sold (down 14%) in the U.S. Feb. 28-March 6. The track adds a third week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart; holds at its No. 3 high on Radio Songs; and rebounds 12-8, after reaching No. 4, on Digital Song

Sales. Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” holds at its No. 8 Hot 100 high – and soars 5-1 on Digital Song Sales (6,000, up 4%). It’s the singer-songwriter’s first leader on the latter chart. She previously hit the Digital Song Sales top 10 with “Good Luck, Babe!” (No. 6, October). The top nine tracks on the Hot 100 remain in place from a week earlier. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” ranks at No. 2, following five nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in January. It notches a fifth week atop Radio Songs (64.7 million, up 2%). Below “Luther,” Lamar logs two other songs in the Hot 100’s top five: “Not Like Us,” at No. 3, and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, at No. 4, after reaching No. 2. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” ranks at No. 5 on the Hot 100, following its record-tying 19 weeks at No. 1 beginning last July. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “Apt.” places at No. 6 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 3. Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” is No. 7 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2. Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” which led the Hot 100 for a week in March 2024 – and became the year’s top song – ranks at No. 9. It notches an 81st week on the survey overall. Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Drake’s “Nokia” returns to the region, rising a spot to No. 10, where it debuted two weeks earlier. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a third nonconsecutive week on top. The set climbs 3-1 (on the March 15-dated chart) with 90,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 6 (down 15%), according to Luminate. GNX debuted atop the chart dated Dec. 7, 2024, and returned to the top on the Feb. 22-dated chart in the wake of its physical release and Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show (Feb. 9). Of GNX’s 90,500 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week, SEA units comprise 73,000 (down 15%, equaling 103.14 million on-demand official streams; it holds at No. 3 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 16,500 (down 13%; it’s a non-mover at No. 2 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (down 18%). PartyNextDoor and Drake’s chart-topping $ome $exy $ongs 4 U holds at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 90,000 equivalent album units earned (down 24%; while it holds at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums for a third week). Tate McRae’s So Close To What falls to No. 3 with 87,000 equialent album units (down 51%) after debuting atop the chart a week ago. Nos. 4-6 on the latest Billboard 200 are all former chart-toppers, and non-movers, as SZA’s SOS is No. 4 (74,000 equivalent album units; down 10%), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is No. 5 (64,000; down 16%) and Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos is No. 6 (56,000; down 11%). Lisa has the top debut of the week as her first full-length studio effort, Alter Ego, enters at No. 7 with 45,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 28,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 16,500 (equaling 23.12 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it debuts at No. 31 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 1,000. During the album’s release week, Lisa performed on the Academy Awards (March 2), taking part in a tribute to the music of the James Bond film series, where she performed Wings’ “Live and Let Die.” She recently made her acting debut in the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus (which premiered on Feb. 16). Lisa is a member of the Billboard 200-topping quartet Blackpink, who saw its last album, Born Pink, debut atop the chart dated Oct. 1, 2022, after the act’s The Album became its first top 10 (No. 2, 2020). Lisa is the second member of the group to notch a top 10-charting solo effort on the Billboard 200, following Rosé, whose rosie debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Dec. 21, 2024-dated chart. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200: Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a non-mover at No. 8 (43,000 equivalent album units earned; down 8%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is steady at No. 9 (42,000; up 2%) and The Weeknd’s former leader Hurry Up Tomorrow falls 7-10 (40,000; down 19%).

Record Of The Month
Federico Olivieri, better known as Olly, won the Sanremo Music Festival 2025
with the song 'Balorda Nostalgia'
and he automatically receives the ticket for the Eurovision Song Contest.

United Kingdom
Music Week Report (excerpt)
'Pink Pony Club' reaches the top spot
Monday, March 10, 2025
by Alan Jones, London
 
Artist Of The Year and, for Good Luck, Babe!, Best International Song) in absentia last Saturday (1st), Chappell Roan has more reason to celebrate this week, as Pink Pony Club becomes her first No.1 single, its consumption climbing 6.92% week-on-week to a best-yet 38,645 units (136 7-inch

vinyl, 1,698 digital downloads and 36,811 sales-equivalent streams). An April 2020 release which achieved consumption of just four units in its first frame, Pink Pony Club thus completes a 255-week gestation. Pink Pony Club first entered the chart last September, debuting at No.21, peaking four weeks later at No.13. ACR and Christmas resurgents saw it denied a chart placing for nine weeks until it returned to contention in January, since when it has moved 22-16-22-26-14-4-3-2-1. It became Roan’s third platinum single last week, and has to-date consumption of 658,425 units, trailing only introductory No.2 smash, Good Luck, Babe! (1,479,167 sales) and No.4 hit Hot To Go! (831,825 sales) in her canon. Surpassing the No.7 position it achieved on debut three weeks ago, Ordinary (8-3, 27,774 sales) reaches a new peak for Alex Warren. His two earlier hits, Carry You Home (34-28, 13,781 sales) and Burning Down (43-37, 11,744 sales) continue to creep closer to

their original 2024 peaks of No.23 and No.34, respectively. No.1 last March, Beautiful Things continues its recent resurgence for Benson Boone, advancing 5-4 with consumption up 5.65% to 27,589 units. Now in its highest position for 43 weeks, the track’s to-date tally of 2,030,447 units makes it the 43rd song to achieve consumption in excess of 2m. units in the 2020s and, by some distance, Boone’s most-consumed track ahead of No.21 hit In The Stars (884,957 units) and No.14 hit Slow It Down (797,590 units). All three are on Boone’s debut album, Fireworks & Rollerblades – but his new single, Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else, which is the highest of just four new entries to the Top 75 this week at No.30 (13,442 sales) – is not. It's a bad week for Kendrick Lamar, with the two-week reign of Not Like Us (1-2, 31,213 sales) coming to an end, while his SZA collaborations Luther (6-11, 21,330 sales) and All The Stars (7-14, 20,579 sales) exit the Top 10. Winner of the Rising Star award at Saturday’s BRITs, Myles Smith sees resurgences of the two songs he performed as a medley on the show, namely Nice To Meet You, which catapults 53-8 (22,703 sales) and Stargazing (66-43, 10,326 sales). It is the highest position for Nice To Meet You since it peaked seven weeks ago at No.6, and a six week high for Smith’s biggest song Stargazing, which reached No.4 last year and ends the week with to-date consumption of 1,199,828 units, 172 away from double platinum. Other Brits bounces include Messy (9-7, 23,715 sales) by Lola Young, Bad Dreams (16-10, 21,348 sales) by Teddy Swims and a re-entry at No.45 (10,345 sales) for Angel Of My Dreams, the No.7 debut solo hit for Little Mix star Jade. ACR casualty Messy continues atop the Combined Tracks chart, with unadjusted consumption of 45,307 units. The rest of the Top 10: Sports Car (3-5, 26,738 sales) by Tate McRae, Abracadabra (4-6, 24,557 sales) by Lady Gaga and Revolving Door (10-9, 22,288), which reached a new peak for Tate McRae. Overall singles consumption is up 0.63% week-on-week to 30,482,342 units, 4.61% above same week 2024 consumption of 29,140,070 units. Paid-for sales are down 5.41% week-on-week at 252,960, 9.65% below same week 2024 sales of 279,992. British bands with at least one previous No.1 album to their name – Architects, The Lathums and Doves - filled all of the top three places in the week’s early sales flashes with their new albums but none of them was able to improve their tally of chart-toppers in the final analysis, with Sabrina Carpenter cutting a swathe through them, and all other contenders to return to No.1 with Short N’ Sweet. Its consumption increasing a modest 3.21% to 17,761 units (1,345 CDs, 694 vinyl albums, 134 digital downloads and 15,588 sales-equivalent streams), following her appearance at the Brits - where she sang a medley of Espresso and Bed Chem and picked up the Global Success Award - Short N’ Sweet has lived up to its title on previous three chart reigns, each of which were for just one week. It opened at the summit last August, returned to pole position for Christmas, and was most recently No.1 a fortnight ago, following the release of its deluxe edition. Carpenter’s UK tour starts tomorrow (March 8), at The O2 Arena. Brighton metalcore quartet Architects have a long history with 10 prior studio albums since their 2006 debut, topping the chart for the only time with the ninth, For Those That Wish To Exist in 2021. Six of their other albums charted, though none of them reached the Top 10. Their new set, The Sky The Earth And All Between does, debuting at No.2 on consumption of 15,619 units, surpassing by 24.53% their previous best of 12,542 units, as set by the aforementioned For Those That Wish To Exist. No.1 with both of their previous albums, Wigan indie rock quartet The Lathums were in that position for the first five of this week’s sales flashes with Matter Does Not Define but ultimately had to settle for a No.3 debut on consumption of 14,679 units. It is two years to the week since their second album, From Nothing To A Little Bit More, debuted at No.1 on consumption of 17,937 units, while their first album, How Beautiful Life Can Be, achieved 16,341 units as it debuted at No.1 in September 2021. The most senior of the British bands mentioned above – they formed in 1998 – indie rock trio Doves comprise 54-year-old singer Jimi Goodwin and 55-year-old twins, guitarist Jez and drummer Andrew Williams, and have three No1 albums from their five earlier studio albums, including most recent set, The Universal Want, which sold 17,400 copies opening at the top of the chart in 2020. Follow-up, Constellations For The Lonely, debuts at No.5 (13,539 sales) this week. Veteran of five Top 10 albums as lead vocalist and guitarist with The Vamps, 29-year-old Bradley Simpson extends the streak to include his first solo album, The Panic Years, which debuts at No.7 (7,810 sales). The BRIT Awards used to have a massive effect on the charts but their power has diminished somewhat in recent years, although, after she won five awards at the latest ceremony last Saturday, Charli XCX’s Brat returns to the Top 10 ending an absence of seven weeks, with consumption increasing 25.59% to a nine-week high of 6,916 units as it jumps 13-10. Teddy Swims albums I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part Two) (35-21, 5,270 sales) and (Part One) (53-30, 4,411 sales) and Myles Smith’s EP, A Minute… (174-72, 2,422 sales) reap tangible tangential benefits too, with week-on-week increases in consumption of 64.70%, 71.21% and 8922%, respectively. Its consumption diving 86.67% week-on-week, People Watching dips 1-4 (14,282 sales) for Sam Fender. The rest of the Top 10: So Close To What (2-6, 13,298 sales) by Tate McRae, +-=÷× Tour Collection (5-8, 7,536 sales) by Ed Sheeran and The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess (7-9, 7,164 sales) by Chappell Roan. Overall album sales are down 0.72% week-on-week at 2,574,421 units, 4.71% above same week 2024 sales of 2,458,664. Physical product accounts for 326,031 sales, 12.66% of the total.