NEWS
Playboi Carti is having a moment. He managed to translate all the anticipation and buzz surrounding his album into a massive first week. MUSIC lived up to its lofty title by dominating the music conversation. It racked up impressive streaming numbers, and Hip Hop All Day likened its first week numbers to some of the biggest rap albums in recent memory. Here's the thing, though. MUSIC's numbers do not reflect its physical sales, and everyone, including Playboi Carti, is confused.
Hip Hop All Day reported that Carti's album moved 250K just from streaming units. They likened these healthy streaming numbers to blockbuster releases like UTOPIA by Travis Scott and WE DON'T TRUST YOU by Future and Metro Boomin. The account noted, however, that MUSIC's first week numbers fail to incorporate physical and bundle sales. Why? They've no idea. A fan asked Hip Hop All Day why such an obviously established metric would no unreported during its most important. The outlet responded. "Not a clue," it wrote. "They never report the sales like this, seems odd." Then, Playboi Carti responded. The rapper quote tweeted Hip Hop All Day and wrote: "IT IS ODD."
Playboi Carti is doing fine, of course. MUSIC is projected to debut at number one on Billboard 200, which would mark the biggest debut of his career. This album has absolutely dwarfed the albums and mixtapes that precede it, despite them all being hailed as classics. Carti is the rare artist who has sold increasingly more with each new release. His self-titled album sold 28K units first week, while Die Lit sold 61K. Then, the highly anticipated and highly influential Whole Lotta Red sold 100K units in 2020. Despite being such an enigmatic figure, it seems Playboi Carti's approach to releasing music is proving effective.
If physical sales and bundles were included, one can imagine that the first week numbers would be even more impressive. In this regard, it's easy to see why Carti is annoyed. Still, he's doing fine. In fact, MUSIC is on pace for a historical first three days. Hip Hop All Day claims the album amassed 139 million streams on Spotify during its first day, followed by 89.7 million streams its second day. The album is therefore on pace to achieve a top three biggest opening week of all time for a hip hop release.
NEWS
Lorde returned to Governor’s Ball for the first time in nine years and gave fans a unique take on her collaboration with Charli XCX, ‘Girl, So Confusing’.
The New Zealand singer made her long awaited comeback to the New York festival on Friday (June 5), where she headlined the opening night.
Speaking to the crowd about stepping back onto the Governor’s Ball stage after almost a decade away, Lorde admitted it was “the most nervous I’ve been for a show in a while”. She then treated fans to a string of beloved tracks including ‘Royals’, ‘What Was That’, and ‘Hammer’.
One of the standout highlights of the evening arrived near the end of her 21 song performance when she performed ‘Girl, So Confusing’, the track she later reworked alongside Charli XCX.
The song first appeared on Charli XCX’s hugely successful 2024 album ‘Brat’ without Lorde’s involvement, though it was inspired by her. In the lyrics, Charli reflected on the complicated feelings between the two artists and revealed she had once felt “super jealous” of the New Zealander’s achievements during her early career.
The pair later teamed up for a remix after Charli shared the song’s meaning with Lorde ahead of the release of ‘Brat’. Following that conversation, Lorde proposed creating a collaborative version together.
At Governor’s Ball, Lorde performed the remix adaptation during the closing section of her set and added her own personal touch to the track.
Charli was not present for the performance, leaving Lorde to deliver the song on her own. The moment stood out even more because the track had only appeared sparingly throughout Lorde’s recent ‘Ultrasound’ tour. More footage from the show can be seen below.
In addition to revisiting fan favourites and reimagining ‘Girl, So Confusing’, Lorde also surprised the audience with a preview of brand new material.
Early in the set, she introduced a portion of an unreleased song from the side of the stage. Standing behind a synthesizer setup, she sang: “Don’t look for me now that I’m gone/ Don’t look for me, I’m gone.”
Lorde’s festival appearances this summer follow her recent ‘Ultrasound’ tour, which was launched in support of her newest album, ‘Virgin’.
Released last June, the record earned a four star review from NME, which stated: “‘Virgin’ is a vibrant combination of Lorde’s best qualities, and then some.”
“With her newfound candour, the record combines the emotional whirlwind of ‘Melodrama’, the chilling minimalism of ‘Pure Heroine’ and the breezy freedom of ‘Solar Power’,” it added. “This might be called ‘Virgin’, but Lorde proves she’s not afraid to strip herself bare.”
While ‘Girl, So Confusing’ was not a regular feature during the ‘Ultrasound’ tour, Lorde did perform it at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles last October, where she surprised fans by bringing Charli XCX on stage.
Since releasing ‘Virgin’ and launching the accompanying tour, Lorde has contributed more than $200,000 from merchandise sales to Minnesota immigrant funds. She has also been announced as a headliner for All Points East 2026 in London, where PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson and additional artists are also set to appear.
