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If you’re looking to upgrade your TV for something more advanced, modern and sleek, you’ll want to consider some of the latest premium TV models from Sony. Available at Best Buy now, the new Sony TVs are made for gaming, watching movies and TV shows, though they’re also fine-tuned to let you stream your favorite music playlist and experience live sports at home, with pristine audio and picture quality. For a limited time, you can save up to $300 on select models at BestBuy.com.
Our pick: The Sony 65-inch BRAVIA 7 II True RGB 4K TV is the company’s latest TV that offers more vivid and brighter colors in picture quality. While sharpness and detail are important in a 4K Ultra HD TV, Sony’s new model shines with brilliant and precise color volume, thanks to its True RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) LED display.
NEW FOR 2026
Sony BRAVIA 7 II True RGB 4K TV
65-Inch
Release date: Monday, June 22
The Sony big screen TV is on sale right now for $2,299.99 (regularly $2,599.99) at Best Buy. But act fast and shop now, as these Sony TV deals end on Sunday (July 5).
With True RGB, picture quality is brighter and vibrant with deeper, richer and more accurate color contrast that pops. This is ideal for gaming, especially with a PlayStation 5 since Sony makes both the 4K TV and console. Watching live sports, meantime, gets more immersive, with active color and action shifts for high-paced motion.
The Sony BRAVIA 7 II True RGB 4K TV is also great for rooms that get direct sunlight that would otherwise cut through picture quality and dull images. The contrasts on screen remain crisp and clear, even in daylight.
As far as audio, Sony’s newest 4K TV sounds as good as it looks with cinema-like audio, thanks to the company’s “Acoustic Multi-Audio+” feature that matches and balances picture with sound for a layered viewing experience.
It also has Sony’s “3D Surround Upscaling” settings for a wider range of audio that’s crisp, clear and detailed with advanced 3D audio. The TV also enhances dialogue and voices with its “Voice Zoom 3” feature, so you don’t have to turn up the volume to hear characters talking to each other in a movie or TV show. The Sony BRAVIA 7 II True RGB 4K TV makes your experience more memorable.
Other features to note: the 4K TV runs built-in Google TV with Gemini AI for voice navigation, controls and recommendations. It features popular video and music streaming apps, including Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube, Spotify and others.
Beginning on Monday, June 22, the Sony BRAVIA 7 II True RGB 4K TV is available with prices starting at $1,599.99 at Best Buy. It ranges from 50 inches to 98 inches in size (though we’re partial to the now-industry standard 65-inch model above). Learn more about Sony’s new 4K TV deals at BestBuy.com.
The Sony TV deals come on the heels of Best Buy’s “Tech Fest” savings event, which offer up to 50% off home theater products, gaming consoles and accessories, audio gear and more.
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
Clive Davis was a chart enthusiast even before he became a music industry legend. In his 1974 biography Clive: Inside the Record Business (which he co-wrote with James Willwerth), he explained his fascination with charts, which, he said, grew out of an earlier fascination with baseball statistics and Variety’s lists of top box-office hits.
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“It was an extension of the star syndrome,” he wrote, “measuring how singers did against each other, watching their songs climb the Hit Parade. I was a reader of charts and statistics, and I found an excitement in them which is hard to explain, as if they represented a form of energy.” (Emphasis in the original.)
Since Davis was a chart fan to begin with, imagine what a kick it must have been for him to see his companies’ records ascend to the top spot on Billboard Hot 100, especially in the nearly four decades that he directly oversaw day-to-day operations at a succession of labels: CBS (Columbia and Epic), Arista and J Records.
According to Davis’ official bio, the exec was appointed vp and general manager of Columbia Records in 1966. In 1967, he was named president of the company. He oversaw Columbia and Epic and, in the early 1970s, signed a deal with Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff’s famed Philadelphia International Records, which had two No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 in 1972-73.
Davis was fired from CBS in May 1973 for reasons that have never been entirely clear, but which most certainly had nothing to do with his ability to do the job. Afterwards, he wasted no time in re-establishing his career: In January 1975, his Arista Records (named after his high school honors society) landed its first No. 1 Hot 100 hit with Barry Manilow’s “Mandy.” Again, Davis signed agreements that brought in more talent, especially in the burgeoning Black music area. He made an agreement with L.A. Reid and Babyface to form LaFace Records in October 1989. And in 1994, Davis and producer/entrepreneur Sean “Puffy” Combs (later known as Diddy) entered into a 50/50 joint venture that resulted in the creation of Bad Boy Records.
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In 2000, Davis was forced out of Arista for age reasons (he was 68 at the time). But again, he wasted no time in re-establishing himself. That same year, he formed J Records (Jay was his middle name), which in August 2001 landed its first No. 1 Hot 100 hit with Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’.” (Both Manilow’s “Mandy” and “Fallin’” received Grammy nods for record of the year. In addition, “Fallin’” won song of the year.)
In November 2002, Davis became president/CEO of the RCA Music Group, assuming responsibility for RCA, Jive, Arista, LaFace and J. In April 2008, he was appointed chief creative officer of all of Sony Music Entertainment, which, as his official bio notes, represented “a change in operational responsibility but an expansion of the artists he would now creatively be responsible for.”
Our focus here is on the 36 years he was the top man at an individual label, not the later years when he oversaw entire label groups. He had 11 No. 1 hits by Whitney Houston in those years, more than any other artist. Elsewhere, he had four with TLC (on LaFace/Arista), and three each with Simon & Garfunkel, Sly & the Family Stone, Manilow, Billy Ocean (on Jive/Arista), Milli Vanilli and Puff Daddy (on Bad Boy/Arista).
Here’s a list of all the Hot 100 No. 1 hits at Davis-headed labels in those 36 years. The dates represent the date each single first reached No. 1, followed by the artist’s name and title of the record, the number of weeks the song held the top spot and the label.
Jan. 1, 1966: Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sounds of Silence,” (two weeks, Columbia)
Sept. 3, 1966: Donovan, “Sunshine Superman” (one week, Epic)
Oct. 21, 1967: Lulu, “To Sir With Love” (five weeks, Epic)
June 1, 1968: Simon & Garfunkel, “Mrs. Robinson” (three weeks, Columbia)
Feb. 15, 1969: Sly & the Family Stone, “Everyday People” (four weeks, Epic)
Feb. 14, 1970: Sly & the Family Stone, “Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)” (two weeks, Epic)
Feb. 28, 1970: Simon & Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (six weeks, Columbia)
March 20, 1971: Janis Joplin, “Me and Bobby McGee” (two weeks, Columbia)
July 24, 1971: Raiders, “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)” (one week, Columbia)
Dec. 4, 1971, Sly & the Family Stone, “Family Affair” (three weeks, Epic)
Aug. 26, 1972: Looking Glass, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” (one week, Epic)
Sept. 23, 1972: Mac Davis, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me” (three weeks, Columbia)
Nov. 4, 1972: Johnny Nash, “I Can See Clearly Now” (four weeks, Epic)
Dec. 16, 1972: Billy Paul, “Me and Mrs. Jones” (three weeks, Philadelphia International)
March 24, 1973: The O’Jays, “Love Train” (one week, Philadelphia International)
May 26, 1973: The Edgar Winter Group, “Frankenstein” (one week, Epic)
Jan. 18, 1975: Barry Manilow, “Mandy” (one week, Arista)
Jan. 3, 1976: Barry Manilow, “I Write the Songs” (one week, Arista)
Jan. 17, 1976: The Bay City Rollers, “Saturday Night” (one week, Arista)
Sept. 23, 1977: Barry Manilow, “Looks Like We Made It” (one week, Arista)
July 25, 1981: Air Supply, “The One That You Love” (one week, Arista)
Aug. 11, 1984: Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters” (three weeks, Arista)
Nov. 3, 1984: Billy Ocean, “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run” (two weeks, Jive/Arista)
Oct. 26, 1985: Whitney Houston, “Saving All My Love for You” (one week, Arista)
Jan. 18, 1986: Dionne & Friends, “That’s What Friends Are For” (four weeks, Arista)
Feb. 15, 1986: Whitney Houston, “How Will I Know” (two weeks, Arista)
May 17, 1986: Whitney Houston: “Greatest Love of All” (three weeks, Arista)
July 5, 1986: Billy Ocean, “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)” (one week, Jive/Arista)
April 18, 1987: Aretha Franklin & George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)” (two weeks, Arista)
June 27, 1987: Whitney Houston, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (two weeks, Arista)
Sept. 26, 1987: Whitney Houston, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” (two weeks, Arista)
Jan. 9, 1988: Whitney Houston, “So Emotional” (one week, Arista)
Feb. 20, 1988: Expose, “Seasons Change” (one week, Arista)
April 9, 1988: Billy Ocean, “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” (two weeks, Jive/Arista)
April 23, 1988: Whitney Houston, “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” (two weeks, Arista)
July 1, 1989: Milli Vanilli, “Baby Don’t Forget My Number” (one week, Arista)
Sept. 23, 1989: Milli Vanilli, “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” (two weeks, Arista)
Nov. 25, 1989: Milli Vanilli, “Blame It on the Rain” (two weeks, Arista)
April 7, 1990: Taylor Dayne, “Love Will Lead Me Back” (one week, Arista)
Dec. 1, 1990: Whitney Houston, “I’m Your Baby Tonight” (one week, Arista)
Feb. 23, 1991: Whitney Houston, “All the Man That I Need” (two weeks, Arista)
Nov. 28, 1992: Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You” (14 weeks, Arista)
March 12, 1994: Ace of Base, “The Sign” (six weeks, Arista)
Jan. 28, 1995: TLC, “Creep” (four weeks, LaFace/Arista)
July 8, 1995: TLC, “Waterfalls” (seven weeks, LaFace/Arista)
Nov. 25, 1995: Whitney Houston, “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” (one week, Arista)
July 27, 1996: Toni Braxton, “You’re Makin’ Me High” / “Let It Flow” (one week, LaFace/Arista)
Dec. 7, 1996: Toni Braxton, “Un-Break My Heart” (11 weeks, LaFace/Arista)
March 22, 1997: Puff Daddy (feat. Mase), “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” (six weeks, Bad Boy/Arista)
May 3, 1997: The Notorious B.I.G., “Hypnotize” (three weeks, Bad Boy/Arista)
June 14, 1997: Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (feat. 112), “I’ll Be Missing You” (11 weeks, Bad Boy/Arista)
Aug. 30, 1997: The Notorious B.I.G. (feat. Puff Daddy & Mase), “Mo Money Mo Problems” (two weeks, Bad Boy/Arista)
Feb. 14, 1998: Usher, “Nice & Slow” (two weeks, LaFace/Arista)
April 25, 1998: Next, “Too Close” (five weeks, Arista)
Oct. 3, 1998: Monica, “The First Night” (five weeks, Arista)
Feb. 13, 1999: Monica, “Angel of Mine” (four weeks, Arista)
April 10, 1999: TLC, “No Scrubs” (four weeks, LaFace/Arista)
Sept. 18, 1999: TLC, “Unpretty” (three weeks, LaFace/Arista)
Oct. 23, 1999: Santana feat. Rob Thomas, “Smooth” (12 weeks, Arista)
April 8, 2000: Santana feat. The Product G&B, “Maria Maria” (10 weeks, Arista)
Aug. 18, 2001: Alicia Keys, “Fallin’” (six weeks, J)
Legendary label executive Clive Davis, who died on Monday (June 22) at the age of 94, had an extraordinary career. After joining CBS Records subsidiary Columbia Records as an assistant counsel in 1960, he rose to the top ranks of the music business. Known for his ability to discover and shepherd music talent, Davis signed and/or mentored stars including Janis Joplin, Aerosmith, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Carlos Santana, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick.
During his 66-year run in the business, he launched two hugely successful labels: Arista Records — which launched stars including Houston and Manilow — and J Records, which was responsible for rocketing Alicia Keys to fame, among other artists. In recognition of his massive contributions to the music industry, Davis was bestowed with a number of honors during his career, including four competitive Grammys and the prestigious Trustees Award by the Recording Academy.
“To the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives,” said the Davis family in a statement summing up his legacy. “He discovered, mentored, and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations.”
Following the news of Davis’ death, Billboard has put together a timeline of the legendary music mogul’s career, spanning from his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1960 to the 50th anniversary of his annual pre-Grammy gala earlier this year.
Check out the full timeline below.
Leave it to Beyoncé to drop the ultimate Father’s Day tribute.
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On Sunday night (June 21), Queen Bey’s haircare brand, Cécred, closed out Father’s Day by sharing a link to a seven-minute vlog titled “The Blueprint.” And, when it comes to The Carters, the whole world knows exactly who “The Blueprint” refers to.
Narrated by Beyoncé, the new clip follows the complete timeline of Jay-Z’s hair journey — from a low-cut Caesar to his Basquiat-esque wicks and now, his voluminous Afro, which he debuted during his headline-dominating Roots Picnic set last month (May 30).
“Jay told me a few months ago he was planning on combing out his locs for the Philly show with The Roots. He wanted to do this in honor of his father… his dad used to rock a fro, so he wanted to rock a fro in his honor,” Beyoncé explains between bits of behind-the-scenes Roots Picnic rehearsal footage, including a sweet clip of Rumi, their youngest daughter, shadowing her father onstage. “I wasn’t all the way convinced that he would be able to comb out his locs, considering he had such thick, long wicks, and his hair had been locking for over eight years. I thought it was always beautiful that the real reason Jay grew out his hair was to show Blue that her hair was like his hair.”
Those old enough to remember will recall the way the world treated Blue Ivy when she was born in 2011. Both online and in real life, people lambasted The Carters for “not combing” Blue’s hair and denigrated its look and texture. According to Beyoncé, Blue was around five years old when she first expressed a lack of confidence in her hair, which, in turn, inspired Jay to start growing out his. “We really wanted her to love and embrace every inch of her gorgeous curls,” says Beyoncé.
Pouring into their daughter eventually became part of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s artistic mission. Blue appeared with her natural hair in both Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning “Formation” music video and Jay’s Ava DuVernay-helmed “Family Feud” clip, provided guest vocals on her mother’s “Brown Skin Girl,” and even narrated Matthew A. Cherry’s Hair Love audiobook, picking up a voice arts award in the process (best voiceover — children’s audiobook). The Carters also used a photograph of a Black woman picking out a Black man’s Afro for the cover of their 2018 Everything Is Love joint album. Blue Ivy also appears in the new Cécred clip, pitching in to help comb and detangle her father’s hair while quipping, “I’m gonna be an influencer!”
Even though Beyoncé wasn’t initially on board with Jay taking out his locs — “It’s a lot of memories stored in locs,” she muses over a clip of Jay holding and kissing their twins Rumi and Sir. “Locs can be like antennas, connecting us to frequencies and energies” — she understood that this was also an emotional transformation.
It took six days for Beyoncé, Blue and Houston loctician Letisia “Lety” Ravelo to comb out Jay’s locs — and an additional day just to detangle his hair. They exclusively used Cécred products, which Jay has also been using for his hair for the past eight years, including the brand’s parting tail comb, detangling spray and hair and scalp balm.
“And on show day, his fro was beautiful, from start to finish,” Beyoncé closes out the vlog, complete with family-centric backstage footage from Hov’s fiery Roots Picnic headlining set. “I wanna thank Jay for trusting Cécred on his hair journey.”
It’s been a banner year for Jay-Z as he celebrates 30 years of his debut studio album Reasonable Doubt. The New York Times hailed him as one of the 30 greatest living American songwriters; he fired back at everyone from Dame Dash to Nicki Minaj in his buzzy Roots Picnic freestyle, and he’ll play a trio of Yankee Stadium shows next month (July 10-12), one of which will honor the 25th anniversary of his classic The Blueprint.
Check the full Cécred blog recounting Jay-Z’s hair journey below.
This is definitely what dreams are made of.
Hilary Duff has finally kicked off her Lucky Me Tour, opening with a shimmering first show at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre on Sunday night in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Complete with a variety of chic stage looks and dreamy lighting effects, the singer/actress’ long-awaited first night on the road featured a setlist spanning her career, from her Lizzie McGuire days to her most recent album, 2026’s Luck … or Something. Before the show was done, concertgoers were treated to a pyrotechnic-filled sendoff as Duff belted out timeless classic “What Dreams Are Made Of,” complete with a shower of sparks, explosions of confetti and beach balls.
Following a limited run of intimate performances on her Small Rooms, Big Nerves mini-tour, Duff is now officially back on the road for her first full-scale tour in nearly two decades. It serves as a victory lap celebrating the success of Luck … or Something, which — despite being 10 years separating it from her last album, 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out. — reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
“You guys have made this all possible for me,” she gushed at one point Sunday night, thanking the fans in the audience. “It feels like such a celebration of our past younger selves to now and who we are. This just feels so full circle and so exciting.”
After another night at the West Palm Beach amphitheater, Duff will continue her trek with performances across the United States before embarking on legs in Europe, Australia and Canada. Whether you’re planning on catching a show or just want to see which of Duff’s songs made it onto the setlist, check out all the tracks she played on night one of her Lucky Me Tour below.
Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which entered the Billboard Hot 100 last week at No. 1, is the fifth film song to enter that chart in pole position. The song holds at No. 1 for a second week (chart dated June 27).
Does that mean it’s guaranteed an Oscar nomination for best original song? Not exactly. The first film song to enter the Hot 100 at No. 1, Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” from Waiting To Exhale, wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. In fact, the film, in which Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochonx, wasn’t nominated in any categories.
But Swift’s fast start with “I Knew It, I Knew You” certainly makes it a strong candidate for an Oscar nod for best original song. The other three film songs that debuted at No. 1 were at least nominated for an Oscar in that category. One of them won.
And each of the first four installments in the Toy Story franchise spawned an Oscar-nominated song. One of them, “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3, won. Randy Newman wrote all four songs by himself.
Other leading contenders for best original song Oscar nominations at the 2027 Academy Awards include “How to Write a Song Without You,” which both Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd perform in John Carney’s Power Ballad; “Shape of a Woman,” which Lady Gaga performs during her cameo appearance in The Devil Wears Prada 2; and whatever Diane Warren’s camp submits. Warren has been nominated for best original song the last nine years in a row, an unprecedented feat. She has, famously, yet to win in the category, despite 17 nominations.
Here’s a complete chronological list of the five movie songs that have entered the Hot 100 at No. 1, along with how those songs fared at the Oscars and the Grammys.
From “Jealousy, Jealousy” on Sour, “Lacy” on Guts and “My Way” on You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, the topic of jealousy as shown up in Olivia Rodrigo‘s songs across all three of her albums.
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In a cover story interview with Pitchfork published Monday (June 22), the pop star explained why she thinks envy — specifically in regard to other women — has been such a dominant emotion in her life and music. “It’s something I have felt intensely since I was young,” she began, tracing it back to when she got her start as a child actress and found fame on Disney’s Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
“It’s sort of the thing of like, ‘If you don’t want to do this, we’ll get another cute little 12-year-old girl to do it,’” she continued. “I think it was some weird programming in my brain that tripped that wire. I think it’s not specific to my experience, it’s a larger play against women.
“As I got older, I realized more and more how some of my female friendships matter the most to me,” Rodrigo added. “And that intensity you get from them is so important.”
Despite struggling with jealousy, Rodrigo has never let it get in the way of her passion for championing women and girls. After establishing herself as an activist with her Fund 4 Good — which, over the course of her 2024 Guts World Tour, raised more than $2 million for abortion funds and other charities supporting women’s education and freedom — the Grammy winner has now announced that she’s starting her own festival benefit.
Dubbed Daisy Chain Fields, the event will feature a lineup consisting of Chappell Roan, KATSEYE, Stevie Nicks, Doechii and other women artists, including Rodrigo. All of the net proceeds will go to organizations supporting women and girls.
“I actually feel like it’s my calling in some weird way,” she told Pitchfork of the festival. “I … have had this dream to do this festival for a really long time.”
The interview and festival announcement comes shortly after the release of You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love earlier in June. Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the project moved 485,000 equivalent album units in its first week — marking the best opening week Rodrigo has had for an album to date, and 2026’s second-biggest opening week (after BTS’ Arirang) for an album.
See Rodrigo on the cover of Pitchfork below.
Robert Smith appears on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist for the first time in his career this week, thanks to his guest appearance on Olivia Rodrigo’s “What’s Wrong With Me.”
The track debuts at No. 17 on the Hot 100 (dated June 27), fueled by 15.5 million official U.S. streams in its opening week, according to Luminate. The song arrived June 12 on Rodrigo’s third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, which opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 485,000 equivalent album units, the second-largest week of 2026, after only the opening week of BTS’ ARIRANG.
While Smith has charted extensively as the frontman of The Cure through his decades-long career — the band first made a Billboard survey in July 1980, after it formed in 1976 — “What’s Wrong With Me” marks his first appearance on the Hot 100 billed as a solo artist. The Cure charted 14 songs on the Hot 100 in 1986-96, led by “Love Song,” which reached No. 2 in 1989.
Here’s a look at the band’s full history on the chart:
Peak Position, Title, Peak Date
No. 2, “Love Song,” Oct. 21, 1989
No. 18, “Friday I’m in Love,” Aug. 8, 1992
No. 40, “Just Like Heaven,” Jan. 9, 1988
No. 42, “High,” May 2, 1992
No. 44, “The 13th,” May 11, 1996
No. 46, “Fascination Street,” June 17, 1989
No. 54, “Why Can’t I Be You?,” Aug. 8, 1987
No. 58, “Mint Car,” July 20, 1996
No. 65, “Hot Hot Hot!!!” April 9, 1988
No. 71, “Pictures of You,” May 19, 1990
No. 72, “Never Enough,” Nov. 17, 1990
No. 74, “Lullaby,” Dec. 16, 1989
No. 97, “Close to Me,” Jan. 26, 1991
No. 99, “In Between Days,” Feb. 15, 1986
The group, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, has enjoyed even greater success on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, sending 17 songs onto the ranking, including four that hit No. 1: “Fascination Street,” “Never Enough,” “High” and “Friday I’m in Love.” The Cure returned to the chart in 2024 with “A Fragile Thing,” which reached No. 14 and became the band’s first entry on the ranking in 16 years.
Rodrigo has frequently cited The Cure among her favorite artists, and fans had speculated about a potential collaboration after the pair shared the stage during her headlining set at Glastonbury last year.
Ahead of the new album’s release, Rodrigo reflected on the collaboration in a handwritten letter shared through her fan email newsletter. “I’ve been insanely excited to tell you guys about this song & it’s been so hard to keep it a secret!” she wrote. “It’s the first feature I’ve ever done on an album and I actually cannot believe I got to do it with Robert Smith!
“Somebody pinch me!!!” she continued. “Robert has been soundtracking my life for as long as I can remember. He has written some of my favorite songs of all time. His music moves me & inspires me to a degree that is hard to put into words. I’ve also been lucky enough to spend time with him over the last year & experience first hand his generosity & graciousness.”
Though this marks Smith’s first Hot 100 entry as a solo artist, he has twice reached Billboard’s charts outside of The Cure. In 2004, Junior Jack’s “Da Hype,” featuring Smith, spent a week at No. 1 on the currently inactive Dance Club Songs chart, while Crystal Castles’ “Not in Love,” featuring Smith, hit No. 24 on Alternative Airplay in 2011.
Olivia Rodrigo returns with another blockbuster week on Billboard’s charts (dated June 27) thanks to the arrival of her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.
Released June 12 via Geffen/Interscope Capitol Records, the set launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 485,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in its opening week, according to Luminate. Not only is that Rodrigo’s biggest week ever by that metric, but it also marks the second-largest opening week of 2026, trailing only BTS’ ARIRANG, which debuted with 641,000 units in April. Rodrigo’s opening sum was fueled by 273,000 album sales and 218.41 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs, both the largest figures of 2026 among women.
Those totals power Rodrigo from No. 14 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100, where she logs a ninth week on top.
On the Billboard Hot 100, all 13 songs from You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love land in the top 30, including 11 debuts. Here’s a breakdown (with all entries debuts except where noted).
Rank, Title:
No. 3, “Stupid Song”
No. 4, “Drop Dead” (up from No. 13; debuted and spent one week at No. 1)
No. 6, “The Cure” (up from No. 17; debuted and peaked at No. 5)
No. 9, “Honeybee”
No. 12, “Maggots for Brains”
No. 15, “My Way”
No. 16, “Begged”
No. 17, “What’s Wrong With Me,” with Robert Smith
No. 19, “u + me = <3”
No. 20, “Expectations”
No. 21, “Less”
No. 25, “Purple”
No. 27, “Cigarette Smoke”
With 11 debuts this week, Rodrigo ups her career total to 43 Hot 100 entries. Of those, 10 have reached the top 10 and 37 have hit the top 40. Notably, every song from the standard editions of her three studio albums — Sour, Guts and You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love — has reached the Hot 100’s top 40. Already the only artist to place every title from two initial albums in the top 40, she expands upon her record.
Rodrigo also charts four songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously for the first time. Her previous best was three, achieved following the release of Sour in 2021, when “Good 4 U,” “Déjà Vu” and “Traitor” ranked at Nos. 2, 3 and 9, respectively.
Plus, Rodrigo claims exactly half the spots of the Hot 100’s top 20 this week, a personal best. She becomes the fifth artist ever to chart at least 10 songs in the top 20 simultaneously, joining Drake, Taylor Swift, 21 Savage and Kendrick Lamar. The all-time record remains 15 concurrent top 20 hits, shared by Drake and Swift.
iLe comenzó a trabajar en Como las canto yo casi que por impulso. Dentro de sí, siempre había querido grabar un disco que constara de sus propias interpretaciones de los boleros que marcaron su adolescencia, solo que no había encontrado el momento de hacerlo. Cuando por fin sintió que había llegado la hora, quiso incorporar grandes arreglos porque le daba miedo que cada canción perdiera su esencia, pero se desprendió de su visión de fanática para dar lugar a una instrumentación más minimalista que les diera un sonido crudo y directo. Con este concepto en mente creó Noches de Ronda, una serie de shows pequeños en distintos pueblos de Puerto Rico que se caracterizaron por su minimalismo y su cercanía con el público. “La pasamos demasiado lindo”, dice. “Era mi deseo. Uno siempre se prepara para lo peor porque siempre hay cosas inesperadas entre medio, pero lo inesperado fue lo que quería que fuera y mejor todavía”.
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iLe dice haber quedado contenta con el resultado, también en parte por la exploración de las distintas maneras en que se podía traducir el disco a un directo. Para ello la acompañaron varios guitarristas con los que grabó Como las canto yo, así como el músico chileno Martín Silva en el requinto, quienes le aportaron una “onda más ‘guitarrosa’”. “Siento que les da otro color y una fuerza distinta a las canciones”, comenta.
Uno de los objetivos de hacer sus Noches de Ronda era quitar las barreras entre artista y público, logrando presentaciones que retomaran el carácter callejero del bolero en el que la conexión musical y humana es lo que prevalece, aunque esto siempre ha caracterizado a su proyecto musical.
De a poco, iLe ha ido construyendo una comunidad que ella aún no sabe describir con exactitud, pero que le ha permitido tener libertad y un sentido de horizontalidad en el que nadie es superior a otros. “El otro día justo un amigo me dijo, ‘Me gusta tu público. Tienes un estilo de público que tiene los pies en la tierra”, apunta. Lejos del postureo en redes sociales o de la asistencia a conciertos netamente por el FOMO, sus seguidores se centran en vivir el momento y en disfrutar de la música en compañía de otros seres humanos que gozan de lo mismo. Precisamente es “esa familiaridad que trasciende todo lo demás” lo que más le gusta de dedicarse no solo a hacer música sino a interpretarla. “Siento que es otro tipo de lenguaje más emocional y eso, sobre todo hoy día, es lo que más necesitamos: conectar más a través de la emoción y no necesariamente a través de cosas visuales”, opina.
Detrás del micrófono, Como las canto yo ha sido todo un camino de autodescubrimiento y de romper con limitaciones que se había autoimpuesto por temor a faltarle el respeto al género, un proceso que a su vez le ha dejado buenos aprendizajes de cara a su próximo álbum de estudio. Al funcionar como un paréntesis entre su música original, el disco le dio la oportunidad de reconectar con una parte que había abandonado un poco y, al mismo tiempo, la llenó de energía e inspiración para seguir experimentando con sus canciones propias.
Desde la publicación de Nacarile hasta hoy, han pasado casi cuatro años y aunque en términos de industria pueda parecer mucho tiempo, ella es clara en afirmar que sus ritmos son distintos y que nunca ha buscado adaptarse ni satisfacer a nadie más. “Si voy deprisa es porque yo quiero ir deprisa; si voy un poquito más lenta, es por mí, porque me gusta siempre estar conectada un poco con mi intuición”, señala. Considera que está en un buen lugar a nivel compositivo, pero aún no puede explicar la dirección que tomará. Lo que sí puede adelantar es que está en medio de un proceso creativo que tiene su cabeza “en un montón de sitios” y a la vez enfocada en algo específico. “Estoy ‘pompeá’, como decimos aquí en Puerto Rico”, añade.
Para esta ocasión, ha querido interiorizar mucho más que no hay un camino inamovible que la dirija hacia cierto fin, por el contrario, cada situación puede tener más de una solución y que esta puede llegar en un instante, o bien, tardarse en aparecer. “Es como la vida misma, que no es una línea recta. Todo tiene su movimiento y sus vueltas, entonces estoy un poco partiendo desde ahí, pero todavía en proceso de descubrir muchas cosas más”, dice.
Sea lo que sea que traiga entre manos, es seguro que detrás estará su visión de acercar su música a más gente para que más personas la disfruten y sigan compartiendo con ella sus interpretaciones personales. Allí radica la verdadera satisfacción de lo que hace.
The post “Necesitamos conectar más a través de la emoción”, iLe appeared first on Rolling Stone en Español.