Lady Gaga’s album “MAYHEM” debuted at No. 1 this week. It’s her seventh No. 1 and 11th Top 10 to date. The album moved 219,000 units during the week—the highest for a female artist since last September, when Sabrina Carpenter recorded 362,000 units with “Short n’ Sweet.” Breaking “MAYHEM” units down further, album sales accounted for 136,000, putting it at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart. Streaming generated 108 million streams, equivalent to 80,000 units. This was the best the artist has ever done in streaming and made “MAYHEM” the No. 1 album on the Top Streaming Albums chart.

Gaga went live with plans for her album on January 27, 2025, showing up more and more via different avenues leading up to the March 7 release. Major events included the “FireAid” charity concert for Los Angeles wildfire relief, the Grammys, and the “SNL” 50th anniversary concert. She also appeared on YouTube series like the “Hot Ones” hot wings challenge and a “Vanity Fair” lie detector segment. As the album release neared, Gaga was interviewed by Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, held a Spotify listening party, and put on the “Little Monsters Press Conference” for her fanbase of the same name. She capped it all off release weekend by performing both host and musical guest duties on “SNL.”

To boost album sales, “MAYHEM” has been released in multiple versions, including 14 vinyl editions, four CDs, and two digital albums. Vinyl sales alone hit 74,000 copies, making up more than half the total album sales. Meanwhile, she’s putting on a number of concerts to keep all eyes on the new release. Starting with a headline slot at Coachella in April, Gaga will tour Mexico, Brazil, and Singapore through May.

No. 2 through No. 6 this week have all previously taken No. 1—in order, “GNX” by Kendrick Lamar, “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” by PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake, “SOS” by SZA, “So Close To What” by Tate McRae, and “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter. Next at No. 7 was JENNIE’s album “Ruby,” which debuted on the “Billboard” 200 this week with 56,000 units sold, marking her first time on the chart. Album sales accounted for 26,000 units, making it No. 2 on the Top Album Sales chart as well. It logged 40 million streams, or 29,000 units, debuting at No. 13 on Top Streaming Albums. In just three months, the members of BLACKPINK have individually sent three of their solo albums soaring up to the Top 10: ROSÉ with “rosie” in December, LISA with “Alter Ego” last week, now JENNIE with “Ruby.”

All eyes on the Hot 100 this week were waiting to see whether Lady Gaga’s new album might propel “Die With a Smile” from No. 2 to No. 1. Ultimately, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s duet “luther” held onto the top for a fourth consecutive week. It also topped the Streaming Songs chart, was No. 2 on Radio Songs, and was No. 17 in digital sales. Streaming did dip 9% from the previous week, but it remained the only track to be streamed over 30 million times. While “Die With a Smile” narrowed the gap from 10 million to just some 5 million by doubling its streams, it wasn’t enough to bump “luther” from the top. “luther” actually rose to its best position yet on Radio Songs, climbing from No. 3 to No. 2. This was driven by both an increase in airplay and a sharp decline in plays of Shaboozey’s single “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”

“Die With a Smile” jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 on the Streaming Songs chart while maintaining its Radio Songs dominance for a sixth straight week. The streaming boost also influenced its position on the global charts: The song remained at the top of the Global 200, now in its 12th week, and reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the Global Excl. US chart after previously dipping to No. 2.

Elsewhere, Kendrick Lamar’s songs “Not Like Us” and “tv off” were at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. He’s now recorded six separate weeks with three or more songs in the Top 5, tying him with Drake and placing him only behind the Beatles, who hold the record with eight weeks.

The songs at No. 1 through 12 shuffled around but no new tracks entered. ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ collaboration “APT.” held steady at No. 6 and “ANXIETY” by Doechii debuted at No. 13. “ANXIETY” was expected to enter the Hot 100 after debuting at No. 3 on Bubbling Under last week on the strength of just two days of sales, but it’s actually exceeded expectations. Doechii might have her first Top 10 hit with “ANXIETY” rather than last year’s “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” which is currently at No. 23. “ANXIETY” has already given Doechii her first Top 10 on the global charts, reaching No. 6 on the Global 200 and No. 7 on the Global Excl. US chart.

There was a small but notable change on the album charts this week. Noah Kahan’s album “Live From Fenway Park” debuted at No. 5 on the Top Album Sales chart and returned to the “Billboard” 200 at No. 37. The live album documents Kahan’s two-night concert for 70,000 fans last summer at Fenway Park in Boston. At the time, his 2022 album “Stick Season”, after slowly gaining traction, eventually went to No. 2 on the “Billboard” 200 in March 2024. The Fenway concert marked the pinnacle of two years of touring. While “Stick Season” was still on the “Billboard” 200 by September 2024 at a respectable No. 9, “Live From Fenway Park”—which specifically went after streams—initially debuted at No. 89. Its resurgence this week was fueled by the vinyl release on March 7. Album sales were boosted by fans eager to relive the iconic concert.

Kahan’s approach aligns with the growing trend for artists to favor stadium concerts over festivals. Zack Bryan is one such example. In 2023, Bryan, who was pushed into the limelight thanks to his fervent fans, played eight country festivals. That number dropped to two last year, and this year he’s shifting his focus to playing arenas. The change doesn’t render festivals irrelevant, though. The major festivals remain well-publicized and well-known opportunities for artists to connect with diverse, engaged listeners. In today’s livestream-friendly era, their reach is only amplified. Economically, the appearance fees to be made for headlining festivals can rival the profits reaped through playing stadiums, but without having to foot the bill.

But playing the same arena over multiple nights makes the option more cost effective. Loyal fans may prefer spending $200 or $300 for a more focused, comfortable concert experience with their favorite singer over paying two or three times that for a festival. From there, it only makes sense to release songs first revealed in concert as singles, and then move onto an album. Vinyl sales of Kahan’s live album highlight how a single concert can have lasting vitality and expansive influence.

“APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars marks its 21st week on the Hot 100. Although it’s currently at No. 6, it now holds the record for charting at No. 5 longer than any other K-pop song in history. ROSÉ also holds the record for the longest time on the Hot 100 among female K-pop soloists. The previous record was 20 weeks, set by the Weeknd, JENNIE, and Lily-Rose Depp’s “One Of The Girls.” “APT.” is No. 10 on Streaming Songs, No. 8 on Digital Song Sales, and No. 4 on Radio Songs. Its spot on the airwaves is up from No. 5 last week and has now reached a new peak, hinting at the potential to challenge No. 3, currently held by “Stargazing” by Miles Smith—and the gap isn’t big. Could we see a K-pop song in the radio Top 3? ROSÉ’s album “rosie” marks its 14th week on the “Billboard” 200 at No. 47, the highest-ever position for a K-pop solo album in its 14th week. ROSÉ herself is No. 39 on the Artist 100.

“Who” by Jimin celebrates its 33rd week on the Hot 100, now at No. 29. This extends the record for the longest time a K-pop song has ever spent on the Hot 100. “Who” is No. 23 in streaming and returns to the Digital Song Sales chart at No. 14. Jimin’s album “MUSE” has now spent 34 weeks on the “Billboard” 200, extending its record for longest time on the chart by a K-pop solo album and currently at No. 134. The BTS member returns to the Artist 100 at No. 65.

j-hope and Miguel’s collaboration “Sweet Dreams” makes its Hot 100 debut at No. 66, j-hope’s sixth song on the chart. “Sweet Dreams” also debuts at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales, a first for the singer who also returns to the Artist 100 at No. 74.

JENNIE and Dua Lipa’s duet “Handlebars” debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 80. JENNIE also debuts her song “like JENNIE” at No. 83, and her collaboration with Doechii, “ExtraL,” returns to the chart, now at No. 99. With two new entries this week, JENNIE has how held a record-breaking six songs on the Hot 100, the most for an individual female K-pop artist. Five of those tracks are off “Ruby,” making it the K-pop solo album to have had the most of its songs on the chart. On top of all that, the BLACKPINK member has more songs on the Hot 100 simultaneously—three—than any solo female K-pop artist ever has. Her album “Ruby” debuts at No. 7 on the “Billboard” 200 and No. 2 on the Top Album Sales chart. It’s also No. 13 on Top Streaming Albums, the highest a K-pop release has ever gone. JENNIE returns to the Artist 100 at No. 11, marking her third appearance and highest position to date.

LISA’s album “Alter Ego” is No. 62 on the “Billboard” 200 and No. 14 on Top Album Sales. The singer is No. 59 on the Artist 100.

The Stray Kids album “HOP” is No. 186 on the “Billboard” 200 and No. 11 for sales. The group is now No. 60 on the Artist 100.

Over on Top Album Sales, ENHYPEN’s “ROMANCE: UNTOLD” is No. 34 and G-DRAGON’s “Übermensch” is No. 47.

On the Emerging Artists chart, MINNIE is No. 45 and ILLIT is No. 47.

Finally, on the Global 200, eight tracks off JENNIE’s album “Ruby” are charting simultaneously. Five make their debut this week, with “like JENNIE” at No. 5—the best K-pop debut so far this year. j-hope and Miguel’s “Sweet Dreams” debuts at No. 16, making j-hope’s third song to reach the Top 20. Finally, let’s take a look at the bigger K-pop picture on the chart.