The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 16, we look at whether Chappell Roan’s new single will be able to get into the mix with KPop Demon Hunters and Alex Warren in the fight atop the Hot 100. 

Chappell Roan, “The Subway” (KRA/Amusement/Island/Republic): Like New Yorkers anxious to get to work on time, Chappell Roan’s fans had been waiting for “The Subway” far longer than they’d initially expected. Roan had debuted the song at a couple live dates in summer 2024, but for the next year, there was no indication of an imminent studio release. Then finally, last month, reports of Chappell filming a new music video in New York began to circulate, followed by an official announcement weeks later that the song would finally arrive on the evening of Thursday, July 31, with an official video to follow Friday morning.  

Fans were certainly ready for the dreamy new song, which debuted atop the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart — with over 3.9 million streams in its first full day of release, a high for 2025 — while also briefly topping the iTunes real-time chart, and shooting to the top of YouTube’s Trending chart for music once its video was released the next morning. (The song’s impact on the Apple Music real-time charts has been somewhat less, as it has thus far peaked at No. 6.) The song’s daily numbers have perhaps inevitably receded from that first-day boom, but remain robust, with “Subway” reigning for most of the week on the Spotify daily chart. 

Will it be enough for “The Subway” to pull in atop the Hot 100? That might be a challenge, as it will not be getting any help from physical sales — the vinyl single of the song sold on Roan’s website is currently scheduled to ship “on or before Halloween” — and not much support yet from radio, thoughthe song has early boosters in SiriusXM’s Hits 1, iHeartMedia’s WIHT Washington, D.C., and Cox Media Group’s WBLI Long Island, N.Y., with far more stations still playing her enduring hit “Pink Pony Club” (No. 11 on Radio Songs this week).  

But if the new song can gain a little extra momentum on streaming late in the week, and maybe find a small extra boost or two — like Roan’s Island labelmate Sabrina Carpenter did on her way to a No. 1 debut for “Manchild” a couple months ago — it’s not impossible that “Subway” could find its way to the top. And regardless, a debut in the top three seems very likely, which would make the song the highest-charting of Roan’s career, passing the shared No. 4 peaks of current signature hits “Good Luck, Babe!” and the aforementioned “Pink Pony Club.”  

HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna & Rei Ami, “Golden” (Visva/Republic): It’s six weeks now into the pop culture takeover of KPop Demon Hunters, and against all odds, the soundtrack is still growing. The Netflix soundtrack currently claims the No. 2 spots on both the Billboard 200 (with the full film soundtrack) and the Hot 100 (with HUNTR/X’s “Golden”), with the gaps shrinking every week between it and Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem and Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” on the two charts, respectively. 

It’s a little closer to clearing that final hurdle on the Hot 100, with “Golden” having long lapped “Ordinary” on DSPs — it’s now led Streaming Songs for two weeks — and also sitting right behind it on the Digital Song Sales chart this week (Nos. 4 and 5, respectively). The question of radio remains, but “Golden” is also starting to really make its presence felt there: the song is up 73% in plays Aug. 1-4 over the same period the week before, according to Luminate, and approaching the top 25 on Pop Airplay next week.  

If “Golden” continues to surge, this could be the week it has its moment atop the Hot 100. 

Alex Warren, “Ordinary” (Atlantic): Don’t count out “Ordinary” just yet: After finally starting to slip in radio airplay last week, the nine-week Hot 100 No. 1 has rebounded slightly this week, and the song should secure an eighth week atop the Radio Songs chart. This is happening while his subsequent single “On My Mind” with ROSÉ is also gaining in airplay and his brand-new “Eternity” is also drawing some early radio attention. And like “Golden,” “Ordinary” has been discounted to 69 cents on iTunes for this tracking week — and is benefiting from buzz over his and Luke Combs’ Lollapalooza performance of the song – meaning Warren and his team are still hoping to secure that benchmark 10th week atop the Hot 100 before potentially falling to Roan or HUNTR/X.  

Howard Stern unexpectedly returned from his long summer break on Wednesday morning (Aug. 5) to pay tribute to one of his favorite musicians, longtime friend of the show Ozzy Osbourne. With Ozzy’s “Mama, I’m Coming Home” playing the background, Stern said he was playing the song because, “Ozzy’s gone and I’m profoundly sad.”

Calling him “one of the fabulous guests” of all time on his SiriusXM show, Stern invited Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on to discuss Osbourne’s passing on July 22 at age 76 of a heart attack and the to describe the vibe at at Osbourne’s final concert, the all-star Back to the Beginning gig on July 5 in Birmingham, England.

Ulrich first recalled the time in 2006 when Metallica inducted Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and played a few of their songs as Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward looked on from the audience. He described the “generational element of respect and love” he and his bandmates had for their metal forebearers and inspirations, despite, or perhaps because of, Metallica’s subsequent success. “They were the generation that helped shape, and ultimately dictate, what we became” he said of Sabbath and their ilk.

That’s why when Back to the Beginning musical director Tom Morello called in September asking Metallica if they’d take part in what was being billed as Ozzy’s final show the answer was a quick hell yes. “For him to feel that the journey was coming to a respectful end, that fulfilling end that he needed so the book could be closed… and I knew in my heart that he wanted to do that,” Ulrich said of Osbourne’s determination to play one more show for fans despite the many serious health issues that had kept him off the road for seven years.

“Of course we were [like] ‘f–k yeah!,’” Ulrich said of Metallica’s answer to the invite to honor their musical heroes. Stern reminded Ulrich that he once said that heavy metal should have probably just been called “Black Sabbath” given how influential the band was to the genre. “You’ve always had this complete love for Ozzy,” Stern said to Ulrich, before wondering if Lars had gotten a chance to say a personal goodbye to his friend. “Did you have a sense he was going to be dead in a few days?” Stern wondered.

“No, no… we hung, we said hello, we hugged,” Ulrich said of the interactions he had with Osbourne over the 3-4 days they were in Birmingham for the show. He described longtime Ozzy photographer Ross Halfin pulling together group shots of Ozzy and his Sabbath bandmates on one of the first rehearsal days, with Ozzy taking his seat on the huge throne he performed from during the gig.

“He was there and the Sabbath guys were there and we all positioned ourselves around [Ozzy] and Ross was directing traffic and he asked me to sit on the armrest of Ozzy’s throne next to Ozzy,” Ulrich said during the shoot that he said felt like a “class reunion.”

“It was such a great moment, because you walk in and it’s, ‘Oh my God, there’s Steven Tyler! Oh my God, there’s Chad Smith! Oh my God, there’s Sammy Hagar! Oh my God there’s Yungblud!,’” Ulrich said before describing sitting on the armrest and hugging it out with Ozzy before asking him what it felt like to be back in his hometown for this final bow.

“He was very eloquent and very sharp in his answer,” Ulrich said of Osbourne, who grew up about a mile or two from the stadium where the show took place. “We were just sitting doing small talk, but it was so warm and he was very present, coherent. It was just his body that was not in good shape, but his mind… he was eloquent and talking and in the moment.”

He and his Metallica mates were also among the few on hand who got to watch Black Sabbath’s soundcheck the next day. “All the rest of us were just losing our f–king minds and then they started playing ‘War Pigs’ with the lights on and the show and air raid sirens and then we were obviously, as fans — and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn here or being disrespectful — as fans I think there was a sense from all the other musicians and friends of Black Sabbath who were there… we were hoping for the best. We wanted it to be the best. We wanted it to be a grand slam, but we didn’t know, because ultimately none of us knew what kind of shape they were in.”

As they continued playing “War Pigs,” Ulrich said everyone realized that Sabbath sounded just as good, if not better than ever. “Then Ozzy came in singing and sounded great, hit all the notes and the lyrics and the timings and everybody was like, ‘this is gonna be fine, they’re gonna f–king kill it,’” Ulrich said he thought.

There were no final goodbyes, Ulrich said, because nobody felt that this was the definitive end. “Obviously it was the end of the music and the end of the live experience, but it wasn’t like… yes, he wasn’t in great shape, but nobody walked away from that three or four day weekend going, ‘that’s the last time we’ll see Ozzy,’” he said.

So, when Osbourne passed two weeks later, Ulrich said the shock of the “surreal” news was “indescribable.”

“We were all just so stunned,” Ulrich said of the universal reaction among Ozzy’s many musical compatriots and friends. “So sad. But at the same time he got to live, to accomplish that concert and that appearance that had been in him since before COVID. He got up there, he played [five solo songs and four Sabbath songs]…. and I think probably if you’re going go play [a] little quarterback/psychiatrist, Monday morning, maybe it was just a load off his shoulders and he got to accomplish what he wanted and maybe he just sort of let go.”

Stern praised Osbourne as a great friend, but also a “great radio guest,” who would always do something wacky on his show, with both men also noting that Ozzy was funny, warm and caring and, as Ulrich said, “made everybody laugh that was in the room.”

Ulrich also said he’s spent his time off this summer checking out Oasis on their reunion tour, including a gig at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday night (Aug. 3). Asked by Stern if he went backstage to “counsel them” on how to get along — in reference to formerly battling brothers and Oasis co-founders Liam and Noel Gallagher who split for 16 years following a last straw backstage row in 2009 — Ulrich said he could assure Howard that “the love up on stage and the love in the stadium… they don’t need any counseling. They’re getting along like a house on fire. It’s beautiful.”

Metallica famously brought in a therapist in the early 2000s to hash out their toxic intergroup dynamics, but when Ulrich noted that he was also at the first Oasis reunion shows in Cardiff, Wales on July 4, he said there’s nothing the Gallaghers need from him. “As awesome and as next level as it was in Cardiff a month ago, which was the first show in 15 years, it was even better at Wembley a couple days ago. They don’t need any counseling or advice from me,” said self-proclaimed “huge” Oasis fan Ulrich, who has seen the band between 20-30 times over the years.

Though they were happy to discuss Ozzy and Oasis, the ostensible reason for the chat was to announce the year-round Maximum Metallica channel on SiriusXM, which will launch on Aug. 29 on channel 42 and the SiriusXM app. To help launch the channel, the band will play a live show at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, N.Y. on Aug. 28.

South Korea’s HYBE said on Wednesday (Aug. 6) that its second quarter revenue rose 10.2% year-over-year to 705.6 billion KRW ($516.7 million), while operating profit jumped nearly 30% of 65.9 billion KRW ($48.3 million) due to successful global tours and releases from several of its artists, including BTS members Jin and j-hope.

Concert and merchandise revenue rose by mid-double-digit percentages following tours by SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and LE SSERAFIM in the first half of the year. J-hope’s 33-show tour, Hope On The Stage, sold nearly half a million tickets from February to June, followed by his headlining performance at Lollapalooza Germany. Jin’s 18-show run in nine cities marked his first tour as a solo artist.

HYBE executives said that news of BTS members completing their mandatory military service in South Korea and regrouping drove monthly users of its super fan platform Weverse to an all-time high of 12 million users, showing that the boy band’s enduring success is still a main driver for HYBE’s business.

Revenue from recorded music sales, concerts, advertisements and appearances, which HYBE lumps together as “artist direct involvement revenue”, rose by 5.7% year-over-year to 447.9 billion KRW ($328 million). While revenue from recorded music fell by 8.4% to 228.6 billion KRW ($167.4 million) year-over-year due to lower vinyl sales, revenue from concerts was up 31% to 188.7 billion KRW ($138.2 million). Earnings from HYBE artists’ advertising and appearances rose by nearly 1% to 30.6 billion KRW ($22.4 million).

Major releases in the quarter included Jin’s EP Echo, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200; j-hope & GloRilla’s single “Killin’ It Girl,” which reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100; SEVENTEEN’s HAPPY BURSTDAY, which was among the highest selling albums in the first half of 2025 in Korea; ENHYPEN’s mini album DESIRE: UNLEASH, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200; and ILLIT‘s 3rd mini album bomb.

Revenue from segments artists aren’t directly involved with — including official merchandise, intellectual property licensing, content and fan club memberships — totaled 257.8 billion KRW ($188.8 million), with merchandise and licensing revenue jumping a whopping 40% to 152.9 billion KRW ($112 million). Fan club revenue rose 46% to a record-high 34.6 billion KRW ($25.3 million).

Though it does not break out Weverse’s financials, HYBE executives said revenue for Weverse rose 41% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. The platform averaged 10.9 million monthly active users (MAUs) in the quarter.

HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang spent several minutes on a call discussing earnings to address the restructuring of its HYBE America operations. In July, the company named Isaac Lee, previously chairman of HYBE America and chairman of Latin America, as CEO of HYBE America, taking over from Scooter Braun, who transitioned to advisory and board director roles.

Lee said the reorg was more than a short-term change and grew out of a review of the North America division’s past four years.

“It is about shifting our business focus to label business,” CEO Lee said. “Given that earnings from management business tend to fluctuate depending on the level of activities by artists, we would like to strengthen the label business to generate stable earnings based on streaming, thereby improving profitability and business fundamentals.”

The move flattens management of HYBE’s America and Latin America operations, with the aim of connecting its operations in both places “to further strengthen and broaden [HYBE’s] global business.”

The Rocky Horror Picture Show didn’t receive a single Oscar nomination when it was released in 1975, but the film has since become a cult classic, so much so that even the Motion Picture Academy has taken notice. On Sept. 26, the Academy Museum in Los Angeles will host a “50th Anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show” program.

Music industry legend Lou Adler, who was one of the producers of the film; Tim Curry, who starred in the film as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite alien scientist; and Sins O’ The Flesh are scheduled to appear. “Join us for a sing-along and shadow cast experience for this one-night-only 50th anniversary program,” the event’s notes advise. “Prop kits will be sold at the theater for maximum audience participation.”

The film also starred Barry Bostwick and future Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, and helped introduce future rock star Meat Loaf. The film was based on the 1973 musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, with music, book and lyrics by Richard O’Brien. The cast album to that show bubbled under the Billboard 200 in November 1974.

The film opened in the U.K. at the Rialto Theatre in London in August 1975 and in the U.S. the following month at the UA Westwood in Los Angeles. Initial response was mixed to negative, but it soon became a hit as a midnight movie, when audiences began participating with the film at the Waverly Theater in New York City in 1976.

Adler received a Grammy nomination in 1976 for producing the cast album, which was released on his Ode Records (through A&M). The album eventually reached No. 49 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold. The track “Time Warp” has become a classic.

In 2005, the film was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Adler, 91, is an industry legend. He founded Dunhill Records in 1964, producing hits by such artists as The Mamas & The Papas and Scott McKenzie. He helped produce the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967. He signed Carole King to his Ode Records in 1970 and produced eight Gold, Platinum or multiplatinum albums by her. In 1972, he and King won Grammys for album of the year (Tapestry) and record of the year (“It’s Too Late”).

Adler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 (receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award, presented by Cheech & Chong, for whom he produced four Gold albums). He received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 2019.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has had a long afterlife. The Rocky Horror Glee Show aired on Fox in October 2010 as part of the second season of Glee. It featured cameos by Bostwick and Meat Loaf. An EP from the show, which included “Time Warp,” “Damn It, Janet” and “Sweet Transvestite,” reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

In October 2016, Fox aired a modern-day “reimagining” of the film titled The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again.