Nine Inch Nails doesn’t just arrive. Trent Reznor’s industrial metal act steams in, crushes, always leaves an impression.  

At the stroke of midnight, NIN delivered that full-body experience with the help of Boys Noize, by way of the collaborative album Nine Inch Noize.

Coming in at 46 minutes, with 12 mashups, the collection was announced ahead of their global debut performance as Nine Inch Noize at Coachella on Saturday (April 11), where reworked classic NIN cuts “Heresy” and others got the live treatment at the Sahara Tent at Coachella.

Nine Inch Noize drops like a hammer ahead of Coachella weekend 2, which should see a repeat performance of Reznor and Co. with the pioneering German techno producer on Saturday evening, April 18.

The collaborative album is a natural progression, and walks the tightrope of capturing the studio sound with the chaos of a concert; it’s both a club record and a beating with a metal club. Boys Noize (real name: Alex Ridha) has been the opening act for Nine Inch Nails’ 2025/26 Peel It Back tour, a 63-date international run during which the two acts also played a segment of the show together.

Previously, Ridha worked with Reznor and Atticus Ross last year when he remixed the duo’s lauded, techno-forward soundtrack to the film Challengers.

The Peel It Back tour concluded in March in Sacramento, CA., a show at which frontman Trent Reznor clarified a statement he’d made at an earlier show in Tulsa, OK, that suggested the band was calling time on touring. “I don’t know if we’re going to be touring anymore after this,” he remarked in a fan-filmed video from the show, “but I’m proud of the show that we’re doing right now. And I’m f—ing grateful that you’ve chosen to spend your evening with us tonight. Thank you very much.”

That’s obviously not the case. “To be clear, I think I said something the other day that then got misconstrued into something that is not intentionally, necessarily true,” he later remarked. “What I said was, ‘This is the last show of this tour and we don’t have any shows booked and we don’t have any plans to book any shows anytime in the future, so far.’”

He continued, “that doesn’t mean we may not tour again. We may tour again. It won’t be next month, it won’t be this year. I never said we were intentionally stopping, and I never meant that.”

NIN has been prolific of late, and full of surprises. The heavy-edged act recently released a companion album to its Tron: Ares soundtrack, titled Tron Ares: Divergence. It’s the followup to TRON: Ares, the first-ever film score from Oscar-winning composers Reznor and Atticus Ross (credited under their Nine Inch Nails), which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Nine Inch Nails has landed eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and made 18 appearances on the all-genres Billboard 200, including two leaders: 1999’s The Fragile (one week at No. 1) and 2015’s With Teeth (one week). NIN was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

Stream Nine Inch Noize below.

Olivia Rodrigo‘s new song “Drop Dead” just, well, dropped.

On Friday (April 17), the pop star shared her first single in years to kick off her You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love album era. The track is one of 13 that will appear on the June-slated LP, her first full-length since 2023’s Billboard 200-topper Guts.

“Drop Dead” also gives fans their first look at the concept behind Rodrigo’s new album, which she explained in a recent interview with British Vogue. “I realized all my favorite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them,” she said, revealing that You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love is full of “sad love songs.”

“Falling in love, [I thought] that the second I’m in a really great relationship, I’m gonna start feeling good about myself, and this stuff is going to fall into place. But it just doesn’t work like that,” she continued at the time. “I’m definitely a lover girl. Like, I want to be in something committed and so in love. And yeah, it’s hard these days.”

Leading up to the track’s release, the Grammy winner shared videos on social media teasing “Drop Dead.” “I hope you never finish that beer,” she wrote over a video of herself sipping a Guinness, paired with a wispy, buoyant snippet of the single.

In another clip, she gazes out the window of a moving train. “it’s feminine intuition,” reads pink text over the video.

So far, both of Rodrigo’s lead singles to her past two albums have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. First, “Drivers License” made her a global superstar ahead of the release of debut LP Sour, after which “Vampire” topped the chart ahead of Guts.

Now that it’s finally out, listen to “Drop Dead” below.

Glitz and glam dressed Guayaquil’s Sanchez Aguilar Theatre on Wednesday night as the music industry celebrated the fifth annual Premios REM de Sayce (REM Awards).

Jombriel (real name: Jonathan Cedeño), was the night’s top winner, nabbing four awards including the coveted composer of the year and song of the year for “Vitamina” in collaboration with DFZM and Jotta. The latter was even featured on Barack Obama’s Favorite Music of 2025 list.

“I am grateful to God, my team, and my family,” he said in a short-and-sweet acceptance speech. “I dedicate this to my son because I became a father in December. Cheers to being single!”

The breakout star from Esmeraldas, named one of Billboard’s Latin Artists to Watch in 2026, also walked away with the awards for most-streamed male artist and most-played male artist on the radio.

The REM awards (Ranking Ecuatoriano de la Música) is presented by the Society of Authors and Composers of Ecuador (SAYCE), honoring the most popular and consumed artists, composers, and songs of the year. The nominees and winners are based on the local charts in Ecuador reported by the Spanish music operating system BMAT that monitors what is streamed, heard on the radio, played on television, to name a few.

“These are Ecuador’s most prestigious awards—the awards honoring the most-listened-to artists in the country,” Juan Fernando Velasco, president of Sayce and Latin Grammy-nominated artist, tells Billboard. “We have been growing steadily over the past five years, successfully positioning these awards as the most significant element within Ecuador’s music industry, as well as an inspirational brand. This plays a fundamental role in the industry; these awards provide not only recognition but also validation and exposure.”

The evening included unexpected wins, heartfelt tributes, and show-stopping performances from artists such as Dayanara, Andreina Bravo, Jossimar, and Don Medardo y Sus Players—all perfect examples of Ecuador’s booming music scene.

Below, see the full Premios REM winners list:

Audience Favorite: Andreína Bravo

Female Trajectory Artist (Popular Genre): María de los Ángeles

Male Trajectory Artist (Popular Genre): Gerardo Morán

Group/Duo Trajectory Artist (Popular Genre): Don Medardo y Sus Players

Most-Streamed Female Artist (Digital Platforms): Dayanara

Most-Streamed Male Artist (Digital Platforms): Jombriel

Most-Streamed Group/Dup (Digital Platforms): Unísono

Most-Streamed Female Artist (Alternative): Luz Pinos

Most-Streamed Male Artist (Alternative): Gonzalo Ávila

Most-Streamed Group/Dup (Alternative): Estamos Perdidos

Most-Played Female Artist on Radio: Dayanara

Most-Played Male Artist on Radio: Jombriel

Most-Played Group/Duo on Radio: Verde 70

Composer Trajectory Award: Segundo Rosero

Best New Artist: Machaca

Composer of the Year: Jonathan Cedeño (Jombriel)

Song of the Year: “Vitamina,” Jombriel, DFZM, Jotta

Opera and classical music have in Andrea Bocelli not only one of their most acclaimed and recognized voices worldwide, but also one of their most faithful believers. The iconic Italian tenor is convinced that this musical genre must overcome its status as a “niche phenomenon” to become a massive act.

“Opera is the paradise of music; I’ve always believed that,” Bocelli tells Billboard Español in Mexico City, where he will offer a free concert on Saturday (April 18) at the iconic Zócalo, accompanied by the Minería Symphony Orchestra, the Mexican group Los Ángeles Azules and singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana.

“Opera was born a long time ago as a popular musical phenomenon,” he continues. “The opera audience today is a cultured audience, but I realize that people in general appreciate, understand and enjoy it, which makes me suspect that the problem with this type of music is the difficulty of communicating it to the masses.”

Opera has been a recognized art form for over 400 years and has been delighting audiences since 1607, according to the English National Opera’s official website. Its first performance was recorded with Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, which was presented as a carnival spectacle at the Ducal Palace of Mantua.

“Great composers like Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Chopin — all of them do good for the soul and spirit,” Bocelli points out. “Classical music is a type of music that works as therapy, and this has been scientifically proven. I think people are more than ready to embrace this type of music, as long as there are the right channels or means to disseminate it.”

This is why he believes schools should embrace the role of promoting classical music and opera to introduce them to young people. “It’s never too late,” he says.

Regarding the criticism that actor Timothée Chalamet received after declaring in a February interview with Variety that “no one cares about this anymore,” referring to ballet and opera, Bocelli states, “Beauty has no expiration date.”

“When a work of art, whether musical or otherwise, is of great depth or substance, it doesn’t go out of style, just as Michelangelo’s Pietà or DaVinci’s Mona Lisa will never go out of style. These are all immortal pieces that will always evoke emotions in those who admire them,” he adds.

An example of making opera more accessible and reaching other audiences is, precisely, the free show Bocelli will offer on Saturday at Mexico City’s Zócalo.

“Speaking of the duet I’ll do with this Mexican group [Los Ángeles Azules], I’m very curious,” the tenor says. “I’m very happy to be able to do this collaboration because they always enrich [the experience].”

After his performance in Mexico, Bocelli will continue his Romanza 30th Anniversary World Tour 2026 celebrating his acclaimed 1997 album Romanza, which became the best-selling Italian album and the best-selling predominantly non-English album of all time, according to Universal Music.

On the Billboard charts, Romanza topped World Albums for a whooping 51 weeks and reached No. 5 on Classical Albums, while ranking No. 35 on the all-genre Billboard 200 (where Bocelli has accumulated 29 entries, including nine top 10s and one No. 1, in 2018, with Si.)

“I remember the success of Romanza caught me by surprise,” Bocelli recalls. “I had to learn to manage my strength and energy because, from then on, the world felt small to me as I started traveling across it, far and wide, several times.”

He shares that for this commemorative tour — which will visit the U.S. in two legs, in September and December — he had to relearn the songs from the album because some tracks had already left his repertoire. However, he says, “Feeling the love and appreciation the audience has for these songs made me feel it was the reward for this experience.”

Rihanna doesn’t appear to have babies on the brain at the moment.

RiRi seemed to throw some cold water on pregnancy rumors with her response to a content creator on Wednesday (April 15).

Krissy Clemons, who runs the @EverybodyHateKrissy account on IG, posted a video surrounding speculation of Rihanna being pregnant with baby No. 4 at the moment, which made its way onto the Fenty mogul’s radar, as Rih hopped into the comment section with a word.

“Is the baby in the womb with us?” she quipped.

Fans had a laugh at Rih’s cheeky response, which has compiled 250 likes. “And the only voice that matters in this situation has spoken,” one person wrote.

Another chimed in: “They won’t let your womb alone bruh!”

Rihanna looks to have changed her tune a bit from the top of the year, when she insinuated she had baby fever for 2026. Back in January,  Love Island alum Montana Rose Brown posted a video about how she’s ready for another baby this year, which drew the superstar’s attention.

“Deciding whether to get hot and sexy or get pregnant in 2026,” Brown wrote. Rih commented back: “Wait! So I’m not crazy then?”

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcomed daughter Rocki in September, their third child together alongside RZA (3) and Riot Rose Mayers (2).

It remains to be seen if the Grammy-winning singer will have baby No. 4 with Rocky, who’s set to embark on a global tour this year, later in 2026. Her last pregnancy reveal came in elegant fashion while attending the Met Gala last May.

On the music side, the Navy is still patiently waiting for R9, as Rihanna’s last album, Anti, celebrated its 10th anniversary in January.

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The Grateful Dead is one of the most celebrated bands in music history with a long tradition of engaging with their fans in creative ways. And after celebrating more than 60 years in music, the Grateful Dead’s longtime partnership with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is bearing even more fruit with a new lager collaboration.

Available year-round nationwide, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager is an American Rice Lager that’s described as a “crisp, clean and super-sessionable with a splash of citrus for a drinking experience reminiscent of sunshine and daydreams,” according to the brewery. It’s made from rice and sustainable African Fonio grain, as it’s hopped with a blend of Lemondrop and Contessa hops, as well as features lemongrass, lime and lemon peel for brightness.

The beer itself is bright, flavorful and ideal on a summer day with a crisp and clean finish, as well as notes of lemon and lemongrass.

“Fans of the Grateful Dead are totally engrained in its culture and can easily identify when something doesn’t fit seamlessly with the band’s ethos,” says David Lemieux, the Grateful Dead’s archivist & legacy manager, in a press release. “It’s Dogfish and the Dead’s shared values of creativity and nonconformity, and their laser focuses on remaining true to themselves that has made this partnership so successful.”

Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, which is 5.3% ABV (Alcohol by Volume), isn’t the band’s only collaboration with Dogfish Head. Last year, the band and brewery partnered with the fan-favorite Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale, a light and breezy pale ale that was Dogfish Head’s most successful launch to date.

“Fans felt the genuine connection between our brands with Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale and I’m certain they will with Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, too,” continues Lemieux.

In addition, Dogfish Head launched the Daydream Playbook, a new online hub for creative exploration via storytelling, music, and art. It’s a way for fans to engage with the collaboration through curiosity and creativity.

“Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead both began as mere ideas, and thinking back to the beginnings of Dogfish, never in my wildest daydreams did I imagine we would one day be collaborating with a group as culturally influential as the Grateful Dead,” says Sam Calagione, Dogfish head brewer & founder. “One heck of a wild ride, our now more than 10-year relationship with the Dead has reinforced my belief in the value of thoughtful, authentic, against-the-grain experimentation… failures be damned. It is only by continuously pushing the boundaries of the beer and music industries that both Dogfish and the Grateful Dead have blossomed into what we are now, and together, I hope we can inspire others to do the same – to chart their own courses as they embark on their own explorations of goodness.”

Meanwhile, Dogfish Head has a few surprises for Record Store Day this year, which lands on Saturday, April 18, 2026. The brewery, which is the official beer of Record Store Day, is set to have the new beers available, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager and Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale, as well as a vinyl record collaboration with the Grateful Dead titled On A Back Porch, Vol. 3. The release features classics, deep cuts and fan-favorite performances from the iconic band. Learn more about Dogfish Head x Grateful Dead x Record Store Day here.

In the meantime, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, which comes in six-packs of 12-ounce cans, is now available at grocery and beverage stores across the country. Learn more about Dogfish Head x Grateful Dead, or find where to buy the new lager near you here.

Tennessee’s House Finance, Ways and Means committee has blocked legislation designed to provide funding to independent music venues across the state. The committee defeated the act with an 11-15 vote on Thursday (April 16).

The bipartisan bill, titled the TN Live Music Support Act, previously passed the state’s Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with an 8-1 vote. It would have supported a proposed $2 million pilot program within the Live Music Fund, overseen by the TN Entertainment Commission, to help independent venues make capital improvement upgrades to remain competitive in a rapidly consolidating live entertainment marketplace.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that members of the Tennessee General Assembly chose to vote down this important legislation this week,” said Chris Cobb, executive director of the Music Venue Alliance Nashville, in a press release. “Independent venues will continue to struggle this year while out-of-state secondary ticketing companies continue to extract value from our music community at the expense of Tennessee music fans. This bill represented a practical solution supported by venues, artists and industry leaders across the state.”

The Tennessee Live Music Fund was created with unanimous legislative support in 2024 as a tool to strengthen the state’s music ecosystem. The TN Live Music Support Act represented the next step in implementing that vision by establishing a sustainable funding mechanism for the program. The act would have established a 5% fee on the sales price of all tickets sold at retail through the secondary ticketing market for any live music and performance event occurring within the state.

“Tennessee has long been recognized as a national leader in smart, forward-thinking music policy. So, it is deeply disappointing to see legislation with strong bipartisan support blocked after pressure from secondary ticket resellers like StubHub,” said National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) executive director Stephen Parker.

Parker continued: “By siding with companies whose business models extract revenue from local music economies without reinvesting in them, these legislators have risked the closure of small businesses in their districts and the loss of jobs. Independent venues are essential cultural infrastructure, and we urge lawmakers to stand with Tennessee communities instead of out-of-state corporate interests.”

Following the vote, advocates, venues and music industry partners across Tennessee have stated their intention to continue working to find solutions to fund the proposed $2 million pilot program.

A genuine Canadian music business legend has died.

Montreal concert promoter, record producer and label head Donald K. Tarlton, more commonly known as Donald K. Donald, has passed at the age of 82.

The news was confirmed yesterday (April 13) by CTV News and other sources.

Over six decades, Tarlton had a huge impact on the live music scene in Montreal and beyond. He was a major inspiration to many of Canada’s biggest promoters, worked with legends like The Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin, and helped launch many influential record labels including Aquarius Records, Tacca Music and Last Gang.

The Montreal-born Tarlton attended Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) and an interest in entertainment promotion began in his youth. In 1966, Tarlton founded Donald K. Donald Productions, a concert promotion and booking company that had a huge impact on the live music scene in Montreal and beyond.

A major career boost for Tarlton came along in the form of Janis Joplin in 1968. A 2011 feature in The Montreal Gazette recalled “an accident backstage at the old Montreal Forum one night in 1968 when rock legend Janis Joplin puked all over the shoes of Tarlton’s mentor, renowned local promoter Sam Gesser.

“It was the beginning of the rock’n’roll era and Sam had a hard time relating with the culture,” Tarlton told a Gazette journalist many years later. “He hired me as the stage manager. Janis was drunk and threw up all over his shoes. Sam was horrified, looked at me and said, ‘Donald, you can take over all the rock stuff.’ And that was it. I became the rock promoter of Montreal.”

With the Montreal Forum his key venue, Tarlton promoted thousands of concerts there and in other area venues in the following decades.

In 1969, Tarlton ventured into the record business as co-founder of independent label Aquarius Records, alongside Terry Flood, Bob Lemm, Dan Lazare and Jack Lazare. Flood served as label president of the label from its beginning in 1969 until 1990 and he and Tarlton would grow Aquarius into one of Canada’s most important independent record labels. It found major commercial success with such artists as April Wine (managed by Flood), Corey Hart and Sass Jordan and, later, Sum 41.

Canadian Encyclopedia notes that “Under Flood’s direction as president, Aquarius had issued more than 55 albums by 1990, most the work of Quebec-based anglophone rock artists. April Wine has been its most productive act, issuing some 19 albums 1971-89, while Corey Hart’s The Boy in the Box (1985) has been its most successful release, selling more than one million copies in Canada. The Aquarius roster also has included Roger Doucet, Freedom North, Lewis Furey, Myles Goodwyn, the Guess Who, Sass Jordan, Mindstorm, Moonquake, Morse Code, Peter Pringle, Walter Rossi, Sword, Tchukon and Teaze. Distribution of Aquarius recordings was handled by London Records until 1978.”

In 1990, Keith Brown took over from Flood as president. Contacted by Billboard Canada, he offered this tribute to Tarlton: “Working for Donald between 1969 and 2010 I think I can speak for hundreds of co-workers I encountered. Donald was the head of a family. For me, his departure was like losing an immediate family member and I believe countless others feel the same way. We were so lucky have encountered Donald Tarlton.”

Also working closely with Aquarius and Tarlton was Toronto music publicist (Bentertainment) and label executive Nanci Malek. She tells Billboard Canada that “Donald was a titan of the industry. Working with him for years taught me so much and I was very lucky to have such a mentor. I think back on that smile that was always present. He believed in his staff and in his artists and supported us through all the adventures.

“He made me his VP of English Canada and he trusted me to launch Francophone artists into English markets, as well as artists such as Sass and the boys of Sum 41, amongst many others. The career that Donald had cannot be matched and his legacy will be remembered forever.”

In 1991, Tarlton and Nick Carbone co-founded another independent label, Tacca Music. It won multiple Felix Awards for record producer and publisher of the year, alongside multiple nominations in the label of the year and album of the year categories. Artists on the Tacca roster included Kevin Parent, France of Love, Annie Brocoli, Jorane, Lennie Gallant, Harmonium, Andre Gagnon and Dumas.

In 1998, Tarlton founded the music industry promotion company Le Groupe DKD (The Donald K. Donald Entertainment Group), and it launched other record labels, including DKD Disques. Now operating as DEJA Musique, that imprint put out albums by such artists as La Chicane, Dany Bedar, Jonas and Eric Maheu.

Yet another independent record label co-founded by Tarlton was Last Gang Records, launched in Toronto by Tarlton and top Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor in the fall of 2003. A decade later, it was acquired by Entertainment One in March 2016, with Taylor being appointed the new president of eOne Music, now MNRK Music Group. An influential indie label, Last Gang worked with artists like Metric, Crystal Castles, Death From Above 1979 and more.

As a concert promoter, Tarlton worked extensively with the Rolling Stones in the Montreal market. In 1972, the Stones gave him the Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Award after Tarlton and his team managed to secure new equipment for the band at the very last minute, after the Teamsters allegedly dynamited a couple trucks containing the Rolling Stones’ tour equipment at the band’s Montreal stop.

Tarlton’s tour production company DKD!Spectacle enjoyed its greatest success as the global producer and touring representative for Celine Dion throughout the 1990s.

Recently reunited Canadian rock legends Rush posted a tribute to Tarlton alongside a concert poster from a show in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

“Very sad to hear of the passing of Donald K. Donald,” they wrote on Instagram. “He was the consummate and classic old school promoter. Always telling stories, working the room but with a broad smile and ready for a laugh…and he knew his business. We loved working with Donald in Quebec and beyond, and we have a boatload of great memories of Rush and him together. He was unique and will be sorely missed. RIP Donald and thank you”

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Tarlton was also an occasional theatre promoter in the United States, including the Tony Award-winning Black and Blue and Tango Argentino.

In 2000, Tarlton’s contributions to the Canadian music industry were recognized by his induction as a Member of the Order of Canada. The official Order biography states that “From his modest beginnings, hiring teenage bands for school dances, he has emerged as one of the country’s top concert producers. Through his vision, he has transformed several sports arenas, such as the old Montréal Forum and Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, into huge concert venues.

“A devoted volunteer, he has helped his community by raising funds for the Missing Children’s Network and the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. He also produced a concert that benefited flood victims in the Saguenay region.”

Other honours for Tarlton included earning the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 (upgraded to the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012) and, at the Juno Awards in 2007, the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, one of the most prestigious industry honours. Reporting on that latter award, The Globe and Mail termed Tarlton “a rock impresario who was a central figure in the small network that built Canada’s nascent recording industry from the 1960s.”

In 2012, Tarlton and Terry Flood jointly received the 2012 MMF (Music Managers Forum) Pioneer Award in Toronto during Canadian Music Week.

In 2015, Tarlton was presented with the SOCAN Special Achievement Award, “saluting the prodigious amount of work he has accomplished since the 1960s.” The citation referenced the fact that Tarlton was also “the cofounder of the Tacca Musique imprint, an influential record label that launched the careers of several major artists in Québec.”

Tarlton also won the Builder Award at the 2017 CIMA Awards, and was presented the award by Derrick Ross, president of Slaight Music.

Billboard Canada will be collecting more tributes to and anecdotes about Donald K. Tarlton for a feature to follow.

This story was originally published by Billboard Canada.

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: Justin Bieber’s post-Coachella streams continue skyward, while more modest gains await his two fellow Indio headliners, and a Village People song gets virally recontextualized (again).

Bieberchella Not Over Yet: Justin’s Streams Still Going Up Several Days After Headlining Set

Billboard reported on Tuesday that Justin Bieber enjoyed the biggest streaming day of his 2026 on Sunday (Apr. 12) — following his much-buzzed-about headlining set at Coachella, where he mostly performed songs off his Swag album, outside of a mid-set run of playing his old songs on YouTube and singing over them. He amassed 24.6 million streams that day, his highest total since July 18, 2025. 

Well, the 12th’s run as The Bieb’s biggest day of the year lasted all the way to the 13th. On that Sunday, Bieber’s official on-demand U.S. streams increased to just over 29 million — a gain of around 20%, according to early data provided by Luminate. And then sure enough, the 13th handed the title to the 14th, as his catalog racked up 30.9 million that Monday, a 7% gain. (All in all, his streams are up 314% from Apr. 5, when he notched under 7.5 million total daily streams, with that number increasing every day since.) 

Bieber’s Swag songs are obvious beneficiaries from the bump, since that’s the album he drew the majority of his set from. His two big hit singles from the LP, “Daisies” and “Yukon,” have both seen their streams double in the three days following his Coachella appearance (Apr. 12-14) from the equivalent period the week before (Apr. 5-7), with the former up 138% to 4.6 million streams and the latter up 109% to 4.3 million. (The full Swag album has amassed a combined 21.6 million streams over that period, a 208% gain from the week before.) 

But his back catalog is seeing some massive gains as well. “Baby,” his 2010 national breakthrough alongside Ludacris, is up 220% to 3.7 million streams over that same period, while “Confident,” his fan-favorite 2013 collab with Chance the Rapper, has spiked 270% to 3.2 million. And the biggest bump of all was reserved for his Believe-era 2012 Nicki Minaj teamup “Beauty and a Beat,” which has racked up a jaw-dropping 5.1 million streams over that time period — a 390% gain — while even entering the top five on both the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart and Apple Music’s real-time songs listing. 

All in all, the bump Bieber is seeing off his Coachella headlining set is more akin to the gains usually seen by recent halftime headliners at the Super Bowl — and not even all of them have seen spikes like this. It should have a fascinating impact on the rest of Bieber’s 2026, and may very well result in him being a major presence on the Billboard charts next week. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

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Don’t Forget About the Other Coachella Headliners: Sabrina Carpenter & Karol G Also See Catalog Gains

While Justin Bieber dominated the headlines and the streaming charts following his much-anticipated, internet-captivating Coachella comeback performance, he was of course just one of three headliners the festival greeted last weekend. The other two, Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G, have not posted streaming gains as unprecedented as Bieb’s, but have also seen their catalogs trend up as a result of their performances. 

Carpenter, who headlined on Friday — as she predicted she would back when she performed at the fest in 2024, as she closed her “Nonsense” performance with “Coachella, see you back here when I headline” — totaled nearly 50 million streams over the four day period following her set (Apr. 11-14), according to early data provided by Luminate, up 40% from the same period the week before. Her Man’s Best Friend album (including new single “House Tour,” which she kicked off her set with) was responsible for 23.1 million of those streams, up 58% from the prior week. 

Meanwhile, Karol G, who closed out the weekend as the Sunday night headliner, totaled nearly 15.9 million streams across the two days following her set (Apr. 13-14), up 51% from her catalog streams the same period the prior week. Of those nearly 16 million streams, 5.1 million were for songs from her 2025 album Tropicoqueta, which her set pulled from heavily — a gain of 67% from the previous week.

And outside of the headliners, some other buzzy acts saw modest streaming gains: KATSEYE, whose Friday set on the Sahara stage was nearly as hyped (and as packed) as Carpenter’s Coachella Stage performance, posted 21.6 million streams in the four days following its performance, up 74% from the previous period. (Much of that was also due to the Thursday debut of new single “Pinky Up”; not counting that song, its catalog was up 17% to 15 million.) And Slayyyter, the rising dance-pop artist whose Worst Girl in America album recently became her first Billboard No. 1 after debuting atop Dance Albums, racked up 5.7 million streams in the four days following her Friday performance, a 15% gain from the week before. – AU

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How Much Did Streams Increase for Alicia Keys’ ‘Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart’ After ‘The Drama’ Synch? 

The Drama, A24’s subversive, Kristoffer Borgli-helmed romantic black comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, has emerged as one of the buzziest films of the year — and its soundtrack is benefitting from all the chatter. 

Amongst a soundtrack primarily comprised of ‘50s and ‘70s folk tunes, Alicia Keys’ 2009 fan favorite “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart” immediately struck a chord with audiences during the film’s wedding portrait shoot scene. Naturally, the scene both introduced the song to those unfamiliar and triggered key memories for those who grow up with it, leading to impressive streaming gains. According to early data provided by Luminate, “Try Sleeping” collected 201,000 official on-demand U.S. streams during the five-day period including The Drama’s theatrical debut (April 3-7). A week later (April 10-14), that figure jumped 36% to just under 275,000 official streams. 

Notably, “Try Sleeping” was already posting small increases over the past two and a half months. The biggest trigger happened to be Keys, who shared a sweet clip of she and Karol G belting out an impromptu duet of the song during the Latin pop sensation’s Con Cora Land Benefit Gala on March 22. A few weeks before that clip hit social media (Feb. 13-19), “Try Sleeping” logged 171,000 official on-demand U.S. weekly streams. A few weeks after the video made the rounds (April 3-9), the song leapt 80% to over 310,000 official weekly streams. 

Some might argue that “Un-Thinkable” slightly overshadowed “Try Sleeping” back in 2009-2010, but now the latter can enjoy its day in the sun all by itself. — KYLE DENIS 

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Why Is Village People’s ‘In the Navy’ Trending Again? 

Village People is popping off on streaming — and it’s not because of their classic “YMCA” anthem. “In the Navy,” their other 1979 Hot 100 top five hit (No. 3), is back in rotation thanks to the coalescing of two TikTok meme challenges. 

On Feb. 24, TikTok user @/brenton_kerr posted a TikTok animatedly dancing to “In the Navy,” and his eccentric style earned the clip nearly 11 million views and over 1.5 million likes. Two other trends were brewing at the same time. First, more users were posting about the proliferation of propaganda on American TikTok in the wake of the Iran War; second, a push-up-centric fitness challenge set to Timbaland and Fatman Scoop’s “Drop” was steadily growing. Eventually, these trends folded into each other, resulting in a push up challenge set to the chorus of “In the Navy,” with users jokingly pointing out how prepared (or not) they are should they be drafted into the war. While some users picked up on the song’s sexual innuendo, that wasn’t the case for everyone. 

The week before user @/brenton_kerr’s post (Feb. 13-19), “In the Navy” pulled just 52,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. Over the past two months, that figure exploded an eye-popping 1,668% to over 927,000 official on-demand U.S. streams last week (April 3-9), according to Luminate. On TikTok, the official “In the Navy” sound plays in nearly 2,000 posts; an unofficial sound can be heard in another 32,000 clips, and  the unofficial sound playing in @/Brenton_kerr’s post appears in 18,000 additional TikToks. The official sound also plays in nearly 9,000 Instagram Reels. Village People also got in on the fun, sharing several throwback posts featuring the track over the past few weeks.

No matter the generation, Village People always seem to find themselves in the center of discourse that combines politics and music. — KD