Josh Baldwin rolls up his first chart-topper on Billboard’s Christian AC Airplay chart (dated Sept. 14) as “Made for More,” featuring Jenn Johnson, ascends a spot to No. 1. Johnson also earns her first leader on the list.

The single increased by 3% in plays Aug. 23-29, according to Luminate. Baldwin wrote it with Jessie Early, Jonathan Smith and Blake Wiggins. It’s from Baldwin’s same-named live album, released in April.

“It’s been so special for me to watch people connect with ‘Made for More,’” Baldwin tells Billboard. “Going on the road and hearing people declare these lyrics of identity and purpose over their lives has given me a fresh perspective of the impact that songs can have.”

Baldwin and Johnson are both members of the Bethel Music worship collective based in Redding, Calif. Johnson is one of the co-founders of the act, which launched in 2001, while Baldwin joined in 2014.

For Baldwin as a solo artist, “Made for More” follows his duet with David Leonard, “Every Hour,” which climbed to No. 17 on Christian AC Airplay last September, and “There Is Freedom,” which hit No. 21 in November 2022. Baldwin, based in Thompson’s Station, Tenn., logged his first of seven entries with the No. 2-peaking “Stand in Your Love,” his first of three top 10s, in February 2019. He has also hit the top 10 with “Evidence” (No. 6, February 2021).

Johnson has banked one additional top 10, also a feature, on Tauren Wells’ “Famous For (I Believe),” which hit No. 2 in December 2020.

Meanwhile, Bethel Music has scored one No. 1, for two weeks in August 2019: “Raise a Hallelujah,” with Jonathan David Helser and Melissa Helser.

Brown Goes ‘Up Up Up’ to No. 1

Anthony Brown scores his sixth Gospel Airplay leader and his fifth in succession as “Up Up Up,” with his backing choir, Group Therapy, rises 3-1. The song, which Brown solely wrote, gained by 8% in plays during the tracking week. (It was originally released by Brown featuring Zach Savage on Brown’s 2023 album Affirmations; the version by Brown and group therAPy is the one being promoted to radio.)

Brown and Group Therapy’s active streak of Gospel Airplay leaders began with “Blessings on Blessings,” which dominated for three weeks in September 2019. It was followed by “This Week” (two, July-August 2020), “Help!” (one week, August 2021) and “Speak Your Name” (one, November 2023). They first led with “Worth,” which began a 24-week command in September 2015.

Brown is one more consecutive leader from tying Todd Dulaney and Jonathan McReynolds, who share the longest active and career streak with six No. 1s in a row each.

Rod Wave is getting back on the road for another North American trek, as the singer announced his Last Lap Tour on Wednesday (Sept. 4).

Moneybagg Yo, Toosii, Lil Poppa, Dess Dior and Eelmatic will be joining as supporting acts on the tour, which is set to kick off in Phoenix on Oct. 19.

“The Most Anticipated Tour Of 2024 Is Almost Here,” Wave wrote on Instagram. “@Rodwave is Bringing A Show You Don’t Want To Miss To A City Near Your! ‘ LAST LAP TOUR’ is coming With Special Guests.”

Tickets for the Last Lap Tour go on sale starting on Friday (Sept. 6) at 10 a.m. local time over on Rod Wave’s official website.

Following a trip to the desert, Rod and company will make stops in Oakland, Sacramento, Houston, Dallas, Memphis, Lexington, Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn, Boston, Baltimore, Philly, Nashville and Orlando, before wrapping up in Ft. Lauderdale on Dec. 18.

Fans were excited and had plenty to say in his comments section, as some wondered if this tour meant a new album was on the way following 2023’s Nostalgia.

“Now announce the album date,” one person commented, while another wrote, “Now, where is the album?”

One fan even made a joke about Rod Wave falling through the stage during a 2020 concert. “Aye this year let’s try not to break the stage.” (After that mishap, the musician footage of the incident and joked on Instagram, “PIMP DOWN I REPEAT PIMP DOWN.”)

The 26-year-old has laid low in 2024 outside of the release of his pensive single “Numb” in April. Rod unleashed his Nostalgia album in September, with a guest appearance from 21 Savage. Wave’s fifth studio LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 137,000 total album-equivalent units sold in the first week. All 18 tracks from Nostalgia also made the Billboard Hot 100.

Find all of the Last Lap Tour dates and announcement below.

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Grotesquerie‘s arrival is less than a month away, and the official trailer for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming drama series dropped on Wednesday (Sept. 4).

In the nearly three-minute clip — which features an introduction from Travis Kelce — Niecy Nash-Betts’ character, Detective Lois Tryon, opens the clip by warning, “Something hellish is here.”

She tries to get to the bottom of a particularly gruesome murder along with a nun journalist, before scenes of devastating crimes flash on the screen. Kelce’s character makes an appearance, ominously stating, “There is no future after this.”

In the show, “a series of heinous crimes have unsettled a small community,” per the description. “Detective Lois Tryon feels these crimes are eerily personal, as if someone—or something—is taunting her. With no leads and unsure of where to turn, she accepts the help of Sister Megan. However, they find themselves ensnared in a sinister web that only seems to raise more questions than answers.”

In addition to Betts and Kelce, Grotesquerie also stars Courtney B. Vance, Lesley Manville and more.

Grotesquerie is the latest in Kelce’s growing list of entertainment gigs off the Kansas City Chiefs’ field.  Prime Video confirmed earlier this year that Kelce is slated to host its upcoming game show Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, a spin-off of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? The series will feature contestants using celebrities to help with 11 elementary-school-level questions as they compete to win $100,000.

Watch the official Grotesquerie trailer in full below. The show hits FX and Hulu starting on September 25.

In the span of three years, Tennessee native Chase Matthew has gone from wielding wrenches and pliers to commandeering guitars, microphones, and massive stages. His song “Love You Again” currently ranks at No. 11 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and has 154.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate.

The former ATV mechanic wrote “Love You Again” with co-writers Casey Brown (“I Am Not Okay,” “Blue Tacoma”) and Taylor Phillips (“Thinkin’ ‘Bout Me,” “World on Fire”), at Brown’s home studio near Nashville.

“I call it the Magic Room,” Matthew tells Billboard. “There’s so many great songs that came out of there. Co-writing is not something I’ve done until recently, so to have an opportunity to do that with those two legends … the song came together really fast, in like 30 minutes.”

He further noted that much of the finalized version fans hear on the radio is what they recorded that day as a demo, including his vocals.

“Sometimes you can’t recreate those things and it’s cool to be able to say we just caught something in the moment, and it turned out to be more than good enough,” he says.

Matthew was born in Sevierville, Tennessee and his family moved to Ashland City, just outside of Nashville, when he was three months old. Matthew grew up in a musical family — his parents were both aspiring artists at one point, playing shows in downtown Nashville bars and in Printer’s Alley, while Matthew grew up playing drums in his church’s youth band. He started writing songs at 12 and putting out cover songs at age 15. He dropped out of high school and balanced work as a mechanic with crafting music.

Early on, other Nashville-area natives and members of the music community, including Jelly Roll, Ryan Upchurch and Struggle Jennings, took notice. Matthew, who is managed by Loyd Potts and Ken Madson of Ignition Management, was encouraged to post music on TikTok. His first video, for the searing post-breakup song “County Line,” which immediately gained traction on the platform, earning nearly a million views. Matthew followed with his six-song EP County Line, issued through Upchurch’s Holler Boy Records, in partnership with ONErpm. “County Line” presently has 242.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams through Aug. 29, according to Luminate.

“I wrote that song in my bedroom on a $200 laptop that I got off of Facebook marketplace — it was probably stolen, I don’t even know,” Matthew recalls. “It’s awesome that so many OGs like Ryan Upchurch and Jelly Roll have been part of it along the way. I’m grateful for it.”

Matthew released his full-length album Born for This in 2022 on Holler Boy Records. That same year, he took his momentum to the major labels, joining Warner Music Nashville’s artist roster through a joint venture. Last year, he released the whopping 25-song Come Get Your Memory (via Warner Music Nashville/Chase Matthew Music). This year, he’s steadily continued releasing music, including the five-track EP Always Be Mine (with four of the tracks co-written by Matthew). This year, the UTA-repped Matthew also opened shows for Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, and in 2025, will join Keith Urban’s High and Alive World Tour. He also earned his first major music award nomination, in the People’s Choice Country Awards’ new artist of 2024 category.

Billboard spoke with Matthew, our September Country Rookie of the Month, about his early musical experiences, collaborations, and his goals for what lies ahead.

What made Warner Music Nashville your label of choice?

I was doing as much as I felt like I could have been doing independently at the time and I wanted to level up. They jumped in with me and — I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say this — I kind of named my deal, and it was cool, because they believed in it and they showed me that they believed in me. I wanted to hear myself on the radio, not an independent-owned station, though that’s awesome. I wanted to turn on the radio in New York City and hear myself being played there. I met with a lot of labels … and they believed in me more than anybody else in town. They haven’t tried to change a thing about me. They’re definitely the artist label of Nashville, is what I would call it.

This year, you released the EPs We All Grow Up and Always Be Mine. Is another project in the works?

I’ve probably got 300 songs on my phone just begging to be released. I’ve got another album that will drop next year. It’s going to be some really good songs and I’m being very selective on what’s going to end up on that project.

Will there be any collaborations on that album?

Yes, there 100% will be. I’m trying to decide what I want to do and which friends I want to reach out to and say, “Hey, man, I want you to be a part of this.” But it’s coming along.

Speaking of collaborations, you have a collaboration with Flo Rida, “Floats Your Boat,” that was just released. How did that come about?

That dude was my childhood. That’s the dude we would listen to on MP3 players that barely worked with our Dollar General earbuds while we were riding our bikes. Someone on my team told me he was looking for maybe a country collab. I recorded a vocal on the song and they loved it. I was like, “Does that mean we get to put the song out together?” And here it is.

Later today, we’re going over to the lake to shoot some content for the song to promote it. We’re going to show him how we throw a boat party, redneck style. I’ve never met the man. We’ve been DMing on Instagram a bit here and there, but I’m just excited about the final product.

Your song “Darlin’” is gaining a lot of traction. What is the story behind that?

We wrote that song sitting in a casino, and we had a couple of days to kill out west because we didn’t want to drive back to Nashville. Me, my lighting guy and my guitar player started writing this song and brought it back to Nashville, finished it up with my producer, Alex Maxwell. It’s just become everybody’s heartbreak anthem. I’m grateful that we wrote it that day. I lost a lot of money [that day] but got a song out of it — and that might be better in the long run.

What is the first concert you remember seeing?

I grew up around live music so I was always seeing live performances, but probably my first concert was this thing in Nashville they have every year called WinterJam. They bring all these Christian music artists to Bridgestone Arena. I remember I saw BarlowGirl there. I was a big fan of them back in the day—and I mean, being a young boy who saw three pretty girls who loved Jesus, why wouldn’t you?

What was the first album you fell in love with?

Breaking Benjamin and Phobia. My brother left a CD in my dad’s Jeep and when I was younger I would go out there and tinker with the Jeep and the CD was still in it. It had “The Diary of Jane” on it and that album was great.

What podcast or book have you been into lately?

I don’t keep up with anybody really, but I love Theo Von. He’s setting the bar for that industry. One day, I hope I’ll end up running into that guy, meeting him and getting to tell him myself how much I like his stuff.

Outside of music, what are some of your goals?

I do plan on making my mark. I want to buy 100 acres and start building that family farm. Some people, some artists in town, they grew up on a farm. My family never had a farm, but I want to have that property that my grandkids and great-grandkids someday can come to. I want to establish a generational imprint. I think that’s something we should all focus a little more on, what we are going to leave behind for the next generation — and not just in our family, but in the world.

Daddy Yankee will publish his first book, titled ReaDY! The Power to Change Your Story. 

HarperCollins Publishers announced on Wednesday (Sept. 4) that it has acquired all languages rights to the inspirational work by the artist (born Raymond Ayala). The rights were acquired by Cris Garrido, VP and Publisher of Spanish. 

“Raymond has been inspiring and entertaining millions of people over the past three decades as Daddy Yankee,” said Garrido in a press statement. “We’re excited to partner with him in this new chapter of his life and career as an author. I’ve loved working with Raymond on the book — it reflects the same level of commitment and excellence that he brings to everything he does. The storytelling is rich and captivating, and he does a wonderful job of drawing from his own experiences and life lessons to show readers of all walks of life that we each have the power to change our stories.”

The book — “where music, resilience and faith converge in a story filled with trials, triumphs and transformative lessons” — is expected to publish in April 2025 in Spanish by HarperCollins Enfoque in the Americas, HarperCollins Iberica in Spain and in English by Dey Street Books with Carrie Thornton, VP and Publisher of Dey Street Books.

“Dey Street Books is proud to partner with our colleagues at Enfoque as the publisher of Daddy Yankee’s first book,” said Thornton. “Raymond Ayala Rodriguez is a pioneer in the music world and a cultural ambassador. As an author, he will have the opportunity to speak to his millions of fans, and a legion of readers, in a more intimate and in-depth way than he ever has before. As the publisher of the English-language edition of ‘ReaDY,’ Dey Street is excited to collaborate with Daddy Yankee and his team to reach new audiences and do what we do best, help launch cultural conversations.”

Yankee opened up about his new life chapter during his four back-to-back farewell concerts in Puerto Rico late last year. 

“For many years I’ve tried filling a void in my life that no one could fill,” the global Latin urban star, known for spearheading the reggaetón movement with his 2004 breakthrough hit “Gasolina,” told fans at the time. “I tried finding a purpose — on many occasions it seemed as if I was happy, but something was missing for me to feel complete. I have to confess that those days are over, and someone was able to fill that void that I felt for a lot of time. I realized that for everyone I was someone, but I was no one without him.”