Travis Scott Has New Music OTW

The Weeknd has secured his fifth No. 1 album with HURRY UP TOMORROW. In other news: 

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Travis Scott talks about his next album’s sound 🎵

• Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show had subliminals 👀

• Industry Insights 🔎 

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Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Last week’s mentions are having a great week on the charts, especially Kendrick Lamar after his record-breaking Super Bowl performance. At the same time, “Cry For Me” from The Weeknd’s new album has made it to the top 15.

Travis Scott Speaks on Next Album, Grammys, and Chart Success 

With a new number-one song under his belt thanks to “4x4,” La Flame sat down with Billboard to talk about music and other opportunities he is pursuing to build on his success. He has been able to partner with brands like McDonalds and Nike with Cactus Jack and boost his popularity around the world. Nevertheless, fans are still waiting on details about his next album. Luckily, Scott revealed some minimal (but significant) details. 

The album has “some more tweaking to do” 

Not revealing the album's name yet because “people aren’t going to understand it,” Scott did reveal what to expect sound-wise.

“I feel like for Utopia, I was striving to push things to a high level. I’m still reaching for that. I’ve been having so much fun with music and shit that I think it’s cool to be artistic and have fun with it. I’ve been producing more, making a lot of the album, and going in on that level is making it more exciting. I can’t wait, actually,” he said. 

Despite fans trying to pit Scott and pop star Sabrina Carpenter against one another when Days Before Rodeo and Short n’ Sweet were battling for the No. 1 album spot on Billboard, La Flame says it’s all love and even wants to work with her in the future. 

“Charts, shmarts, man. Who measures that? Her album’s cool. Days Before Rodeo is 10 years old. It all works,” he said. 

The list of artists he’d like to get in the studio with includes Sabrina, Taylor Swift, and a band called Khruangbin. Why Taylor or Sabrina? “Because I have some ill ideas,” Scott said.

After multiple snubs for Astroworld and Utopia, Scott no longer sees the Grammys as a main career goal and has found his version of greatness. 

“I think it’s the ability to wake up and still go hard at this. Still have the drive to go hard and not give up on what you set out to do from the beginning. That’s greatness for me. Achieving that level no matter how many times you could be shunned from a Grammy or whatever the fuck could happen. It’s waking up every day to be like, ‘There’s still somebody out there listening and somebody that cares.’ Let’s go hard for that and yourself. I really care about that — it keeps me going,” he said. 

All of the Easter Eggs in Kendrick’s Super Bowl Performance

Kendrick Lamar introduced the world to the “great American game” at Super Bowl halftime. The Compton native performed some of his biggest hits along with TDE’s SZA and continued what he started back in 2024. Teasing the highly anticipated song “Not Like Us” throughout his time on stage, crowds around the world literally erupted when the Mustard-produced beat kicked in. 

Amid all the excitement, you may have missed some of Lamar's little clues and jabs throughout the spectacle. Don’t worry—we broke down some of his biggest Easter eggs below. 

Kendrick Lamar is a petty genius 

Some of the secret meanings and blatant shots Lamar had included:

Kicking off the show with the song from the original GNX teaser (allegedly called “Bodies”), making fans speculate that he might have even more music on the way. 

“Uncle Sam” (played by Samuel L. Jackson) represented the censorship side of America that doesn’t want music “too ghetto” or “too loud.” It alludes to the compromises Black artists, rappers in particular, have historically had to make to secure widespread acceptance. Nevertheless, Lamar continued to fight back against that notion in the performance. 

His stage was designed like a PlayStation, symbolizing “the great American game” he found himself trapped in. He closed the show with “tv off," metaphorically shutting off his screen before drone lights in the crowd spelled out "Game Over"—a potential double entendre marking both the end of the halftime show and the rap beef.

Yes, you’ll probably see those bootcut Celine jeans everywhere now. Focusing on the rest of Lamar’s fit, though, his “a” chain was a reference to pgLang (although it cleverly sparked “A-minor” speculation), while his “Gloria” jacket was a fashionable shoutout to his pen game. 

His backup dancers during “Humble” created an American flag formation—but it split apart with Lamar in the center, potentially nodding to the country’s divisions after the recent election. 

Last but not least, the diabolical cameo by Drake’s rumored ex, Serena Williams, was an inspirational level of hating. She crip walked during “Not Like Us,” serving as a jab at Drake, a tribute to her and K.Dot’s shared Compton roots, and a defiant response to the criticism she faced for doing the same dance after winning Olympic gold at Wimbledon in 2012.

Whether you loved or hated it, Lamar cemented his GOAT status at this year’s Super Bowl, with apparently even more to come. With his tour with SZA getting closer and closer each day, fans cannot wait to see how the Compton native will change the rap game next. 

• The NFL has even more surprises for fans. They have dropped a live visual album with this year’s performances.

• GloRilla is making more money moves. She is now the ambassador for all four of Rihanna’s brands, including Savage x Fenty. 

• Bad news for Pharrell. The musical based on his life has officially been scrapped despite production being completed.

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