The charts are ruled by Morgan Wallen, Alex Warren… and doldrums

Welcome to Morgan Wallen Summer, where the country superstar’s new album I’m the Problem reigns yet again. It’s all over the Hot 100 singles chart, as well — three of its songs are still in the top five — even as Alex Warren‘s “Ordinary” sits at No. 1 for a second straight week. Meanwhile, there’s a sweet little social-media boomlet worth noting, as long-ago chart queen Connie Francis is gathering chart momentum for a song from 1962.

TOP ALBUMS

After a seemingly endless run of advance singles, it’s hard to believe that we’re only in week three of Morgan Wallen’s chart run for I’m the Problem. The album opened to blockbuster streaming and sales numbers — and, of course, a spot at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — which then dropped a modest 42 percent week-over-week for the album to easily hold on to the top spot in its second go-’round.

This time, the news is even better, as I’m the Problem drops just 14 percent, with the lion’s share of its numbers still coming from streaming. The album contains 37 songs, so there’s a lot of I’m the Problem to stream — but, more to the point, streaming numbers are critical to any album’s chart longevity. Sales are great, but they don’t roll over from week to week (as far as the charts are concerned), and streaming algorithms have a way of feeding listeners what they’ve already heard. All of which is to say that I’m the Problem is exceedingly likely to hang out in the top 10 for months — and maybe even years, given the chart longevity of its predecessors. (Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, from 2023, still sits at No. 6.)

Two new albums debut in the top five, but they come in well below I’m the Problem — we’re talking less than 20 percent of its overall numbers. (Still, top five is top five.) The K-pop favorite SEVENTEEN, whose albums and EPs routinely storm the top of the charts, debuts at No. 2 with HAPPY BURSTDAY. But, with virtually all of the album’s numbers generated by sales — thanks in part to a whopping 14 variant editions on CD — its run in the top 10 will likely be brief.

Debuting at No. 4 — but with better streaming numbers — is Miley Cyrus‘ Something Beautiful, which is her 15th album to hit the top 10, assuming you count the work she put out as Hannah Montana back in the day. She released the usual round of vinyl, CD and box-set variants to pump up her first-week numbers, so it’ll be interesting to see how far Something Beautiful falls in its second week — especially as it’s failed, at least so far, to produce a hit anywhere near as gigantic as 2023’s Grammy-winning “Flowers.”

The top five has one other “new” entry, as Taylor Swift‘s 2017 album Reputation zooms from No. 78 to No. 5 in the wake of news that Swift has acquired the rights to her first six albums. It speaks to the power of her fan army that “Taylor Swift got some good news!” is enough of a chart catalyst to send a 2017 album zooming into the top five for the first time in years.

But it also speaks to the industry’s deep doldrums: When you examine the top 10, you’ve got Morgan Wallen lurching over the city like Godzilla, a pair of debuts that look to be short-timers in the chart’s upper reaches, a moment of excitement for Taylor Swift… and then a handful of the usual suspects (SZA, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, et al), as they coast on chart momentum, aided by streaming algorithms that feed people more of what they’ve already heard.

TOP SONGS

Speaking of doldrums, hoo buddy.

Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” finally hit No. 1 last week, which was perfect timing for the track’s bid to become 2025’s “song of the summer.” And, lo and behold, it repeats at No. 1 this time around. With radio stations still adding the song to its playlists, there’s room for further growth, which is to say: This song’s gonna be around for a while.

How long, you ask? Honestly, looking at this week’s top 10, what even is time? Teddy Swims‘ “Lose Control” has been in the Hot 100 for an all-time record 94 weeks — with a record-setting 64 of those weeks in the top 10. Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” spends its 60th week on the Hot 100 holding at No. 6. Benson Boone‘s “Beautiful Things” ticks up a spot to No. 9 in its 71st week on the chart. Nothing’s moving; it’s bleak out there; rinse, repeat.

But, of course, Morgan Wallen knows no doldrums. Three songs from I’m the Problem remain in the top five: “What I Want (feat. Tate McRae),” “Just in Case” and “I’m the Problem.” With the album’s streaming numbers holding as steady as they are — 26 of I’m the Problem‘s 37 songs are still in the Hot 100 — all three of them are bound to stick around a while.

WORTH NOTING

We may not get many new songs on the top of the charts — at least by artists other than Morgan Wallen — but at least one old one is having a moment. That’d be “Pretty Little Baby,” a Connie Francis track from 1962.

“Pretty Little Baby” wasn’t a hit following its initial run — the song was never even released as a single, while the album that spawned it (Connie Francis Sings ‘Second Hand Love’ & Other Hits) peaked at No. 111 — though Francis herself was a colossal best-seller in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Still, “Pretty Little Baby” is having a moment in 2025, thanks to that most mercurial moment-maker, TikTok.

The song hasn’t yet cracked the Billboard Hot 100, though it’s turned up on TikTok and Spotify charts in recent weeks. TikTok users have viewed excerpts of the song tens of billions of times, while high-profile content creators such as Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner have embraced “Pretty Little Baby.”

Best of all, Francis herself is around to enjoy the moment. The 87-year-old singer retired years ago, and isn’t in a position to embark on a promotional tour. But she’s just found a more appropriate way to embrace her unlikely success in 2025: Over the weekend, she joined TikTok.