Young Thug has apologized to GloRilla after calling her “ugly as f—” in a leaked jail phone call with his girlfriend, Mariah The Scientist.

Thugger took to X on Thursday (Sept. 4), walking back his statements from behind bars and saying in reality, he doesn’t think she’s “ugly at all.”

“First of all I’m sorry to u for my words and I honestly don’t think ur ugly at all, I was speaking from jail just having a hard time with life,” Thug wrote. “I don’t like bashing girls and hardly ever did.. I’m sorry to u twin.”

Fans seemed to respect Thug for taking accountability for his words. “Finally a good tweet, this is a step in the right direction,” one person replied.

Another chimed in: “Accountability [checkmark emoji] they don’t know the struggle of sitting in that box alone.”

In the midst of the chaos of her name being thrown around, GloRilla fired off a subliminal tweet about a certain guy blowing up her phone, which many thought was about Thug.

“Mind you dis da same n—a blowing my phone up to ask what color my eyes is lmaooo,” she wrote.

During the jail call in question, Thug mocked Glo’s looks for being compared to Rihanna. “That bi— ugly as f—. They say she ain’t ugly, man that bi— ain’t nothing,” he said. “Long a– bullsh– a– wig, skinny sh–, God damn big a– head, big mouth. … I would not pursue her, like at all… That sh– ain’t nothing.”

There’s been a flood of alleged leaked jail phone calls from Thug during his time behind bars throughout the YSL RICO case (May 2022-October 2024). One that caught fire on social media found the YSL rapper claiming he purchased $50,000 worth of streams for Gunna’s DS4EVER album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 over The Weeknd’s Dawn FM in January 2022.

This summer’s Billboard Japan Hot 100 song chart featured a diverse assortment of songs showcasing the multifaceted quality of Japan’s pop music. Mrs. GREEN APPLE, now a household name in the country, continues to dominate the tally with unprecedented momentum, while the new girl group HANA that debuted just this April has kept two summer anthems in the top 10 for weeks. Songs from the 2000s and 2010s, such as ORANGE RANGE’s “Ikenai Taiyo” and HALCALI’s “Otsukare SUMMER,” are also drawing significant attention for their respective return to the mainstream.

Below, check out five memorable J-pop numbers selected by Billboard Japan from among the myriad of hits that soundtracked the summer of 2025.

AiNA THE END “On The Way” 

The opener for the anime series Dandadan Season 2 has made great strides on the Japan Hot 100, charting for nine consecutive weeks since its release and peaking at No. 5 on the list released Aug. 20. AiNA’s husky, powerful voice grabs your attention from the very first note, while the chorus overwhelms with her aching vocals belting out lyrics expressing determination. Another highlight to listen for is how the song incorporates the anime’s title Dandadan as a phrase in the lyrics, linking it firmly to the show’s universe.

Fujii Kaze “Love Like This”

Fujii Kaze’s “Love Like This” was released ahead of the singer-songwriter’s long-awaited 3rd album Prema, due Sept. 5. The heart-tugging electric piano intro evokes a vast beach at sunset. Is this a song about having found the love of your life, or a song celebrating the partner in your heart (= yourself) who will stay with you for a lifetime? The answer lies within the listener’s imagination. The accompanying music video is set somewhere in sun-kissed Europe and depicts a mature, unrequited love affair reminiscent of the visuals for Gwen Stefani’s “Cool.” Whatever the outcome, someone who has found unwavering conviction is “cool” indeed. 

Official Hige Dandism “”Rashisa”

Official Hige Dandism’s latest release was written for the animated feature film 100 Meters to be featured as its theme song. Synchronizing with the anime’s universe depicting the 100m sprint track event, frontman Satoshi Fujihara’s resonant vocals unfold over the speedy band sound evocative of a sprinter hurtling towards the finish line. The meaning of the song’s title, “Rashisa,” is “the quality that makes you who you are” in the context of the lyrics. While this quality can sometimes weigh you down, the powerful anthem embraces even that inner conflict and gives you a push forward.

HANA “Blue Jeans”

HANA’s second single “Blue Jeans” depicts a girl lacking confidence who falls fatefully in love (or so she believes). Starting with a muffled guitar refrain, the sound gradually builds intensity, clearly expressing the soaring emotions. The appeal of each of the seven members’ vocals shines through in this compact number and it’s no surprise that it launched with the highest total weekly points for any song this year on the Japan Hot 100 song chart.

ORANGE RANGE “Ikenai Taiyo”

The current trend in Japan is “Heisei,” meaning a revival of the culture around the 2000s and 2010s. ORANGE RANGE’s “Ikenai Taiyo” from 2007 symbolizes this throwback to the era that officially began in 1989 and ended in 2019. The five-man band hailing from Okinawa dropped a new music video accompanying the summery bop, packed with 72 recognizable Japanese pop-culture references from the Heisei era. The comic visuals drew attention not only from the band’s loyal fans, but also from a new generation of listeners. Other Heisei summer hits like RIP SLYME’s “Nettaiya” (2007) and YUI’s “SUMMER SONG” (2010) are also going viral again, making this a particularly noteworthy trend this year.

Snow Man’s “CHARISMAX” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released Sept. 3.

The nine-member boy band’s latest single, released digitally on Aug. 25, set new personal records for both first-week downloads and streams, topping the former metric and coming in at No. 16 for the latter. The track also hit No. 2 for video views and radio airplay. This marks Snow Man’s second Japan Hot 100 chart-topper this year following “SERIOUS,” and their eleventh No. 1 of its career. The group has been accelerating its global expansion, performing at this year’s SUMMER SONIC BANGKOK 2025 and on the K-pop music program M COUNTDOWN, while also launching pop-up shops　beginning in Seoul.

BE:FIRST’s “Secret Garden” bows at No. 2. The popular boy band’s latest single, released Aug. 25, is currently being featured in Unilever’s promotional campaign. Downloads for the track launched with 31,085 units, surpassing the group’s previous release “Sora” in July to hit No. 2 for the metric. It also tops radio and video, while coming in at No. 2 for streaming.

HANA’s “Blue Jeans” holds at No. 3, staying in the top 3 for the seventh consecutive week since its debut on the Japan Hot 100.

Debuting at No. 4 is STU48’s “Kizutsuku koto ga seishun da” with 210,234 copies sold in its first week, and Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu’s “Heart na mune no uchi” follows at No. 5 with 113,433 copies sold. 

Elsewhere on the tally, Stray Kids’ “CEREMONY” charts for the second week, jumping 63-28 with streams gaining 222% compared to the previous week. Fujifabric’s poignant end-of-summer classic called “Wakamono no subete” from 2008 soars 73-44, surging in streams (137%) and radio airplay (186%).

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Aug. 25 to 31, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 

This week: Oasis’ well-received reunion tour hits new streaming highs as it ramps up in America, while Metro Boomin and Reneé Rapp both experience breakout hits from their recently released albums and a solo nu-gazer has a big viral moment.

Oasis’ Streams Surge Again With American Labor Day Weekend Takeover 

Two months ago, we covered the massive gains in sales and streams that Britpop giants Oasis experienced in the U.S. upon the much-anticipated, much-covered kickoff of their Live ‘25 Tour in Cardiff, Wales. As the Gallagher brothers bounced around stadiums in the Atlantic Archipelago for the rest of July and August — five nights in Manchester, England here, two in Dublin, Ireland there — those U.S. streaming and sales numbers invariably began to recede a little, though they still stayed well above where they’d been before the tour launch. 

And now that Oasis has arrived on U.S. shores, it’s back up to that early-tour peak. The band began the North American leg of its tour with a pair of Toronto shows in late August, then swung by Chicago last Friday (Aug. 28) for a date at Soldier Field. Then, it was to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for a pair of shows (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) over Labor Day weekend — with celebrities ranging from John McEnroe to Matt Damon in attendance — before the Gallaghers visit southern California this weekend (Sept. 5-6). 

Over the course of the first five days of this tracking week, from the Friday of the Chicago show to the Tuesday following the two New Jersey shows, the band’s catalog racked up nearly 11 million official on-demand streams, according to early data provided to Luminate. That’s up over 30% from the same period the prior week, and it even outpaces the numbers that they posted at the beginning of the tour — proving plenty of stateside folks still needed a little time to wake up, wake up to the Gallaghermania once again sweeping the globe, three decades after the band’s commercial peak. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

YKNiece’s Viral Touchdown Celebration Dance Lifts Metro Boomin Track 

After assisting fellow ATL rappers Pluto and BunnaB on summer hits “Whim Whamiee” and “Innit,” respectively, YKNiece has blessed Metro Boomin with a fast-rising new hit. “Take Me Thru Dere,” a cheeky cut from Metro’s A Futuristic Summa mixtape that also features Quavo and Breskii, has jumped nearly 180% in streaming activity over the past two weeks, according to Luminate. 

On Aug. 3, just two days after the mixtape dropped, TikTok user @slawspitter shared a video dancing to YKNiece’s “Take Me Thru Dere” verse, featuring a casual lasso-like move during the lines, “Girl, throw yo’ wham in a circle/ Even if it lil’, make it jump like a hurdle.” That specific move quickly gained traction as the song grew in popularity, and, eventually, it became the latest new move for touchdown celebrations in college football. To date, user @slawspitter’s original clip boasts over 1.6 million views and nearly 300,000 likes. The official “Take Me Thru Dere” TikTok sound plays in over 35,500 posts, while two unofficial sounds account for another 46,600 and 25,700 posts, respectively. 

During the week of Aug. 8-14, “Take Me” earned just under 700,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. That figure jumped by nearly 50% to over 1.04 million official streams during the week of Aug. 15-21. By the final week of the month (Aug. 22-28), streams for “Take Me” jumped another 86% to over 1.95 million official on-demand streams. 

Already a Hot 100-charting artist thanks to “Whim Whamiee” (No. 51), maybe YKNiece can help Metro earn his first Hot 100 hit from A Futuristic Summa. – KYLE DENIS  

TikTok Trend Boosts Snarky Reneé Rapp Deep Cut 

Although Reneé Rapp’s new Bite Me album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, none of its singles landed on the Hot 100. That could change with the recent trajectory of “I Think I Like You Better,” a sarcastic midtempo number tucked away in the album’s back half. Bite Me dropped Aug. 1, and by Aug. 2, TikTok user @aliyahpaigebryant made a post highlighting Rapp’s cheeky delivery of the lines, “I think I like you better when you’re/ Across the f—king country!”

That clip now boasts over 782,000 views and 105,000 likes, helping kick off a trend where people pretend to scream the lines, which Rapp actually sings in falsetto. The official “I Think I Like You Better” TikTok sound now plays in nearly 75,000 posts, and Rapp herself has several posts with the song that have surpassed over one million views each. 

During the week of Aug. 15-21, “I Think I Like You Better” pulled over 796,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. By the following week (Aug. 22-28), once the TikTok trend really picked up steam, that number leapt a whopping 152% to over two million official streams. – KD

‘Tower’ of Streams: Ivri Scores a Viral Hit

While singer-songwriter Ivri has been posting snippets online since she was 15 and officially releasing singles for nearly five years, she just unveiled her independently released debut album, The Theory of You, last month. One song from the album has separated itself from the rest: “Tower of Memories,” which was released in July, gathers shoegaze-y guitars, dreamy vocals and glitchy electronic elements into an unlikely anthem. If you’ve been jamming on Deftones’ great new album private music recently, this one might have popped up in your algorithm, too.

As TikTok users have discovered “Tower of Memories” and honed in on the lyrical phrase, “I’m right where you left me/ The tower of memories,” Ivri has earned herself a viral hit. During the chart week ending Aug. 14, the song earned 688,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate; that weekly streaming total had more than doubled two weeks later, to 1.83 million streams during the week ending Aug. 28. “I’ve never had a song perform this swell,” Ivri marveled on Instagram earlier this week. “So excited for the future.” – JASON LIPSHUTZ