Just three months after Peso Pluma’s Génesis clocked its 28th week (and so far final week) at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums, the Mexican singer is back atop the 50-album ranking with Éxodo, his fourth studio set which rises 41-1 on the July 6-dated list. The set also launches at No. 5 on the overall Billboard 200 list.

Éxodo debuted at No. 41 on Top Latin Albums (June 22-dated ranking) with only one day of activity, as the album was released June 20 via Double P, the last day of the tracking week. According to Luminate, the 24-song set (21 of which are collaborations), generated 64,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during the 21-27 tracking week.

Streaming units comprise essentially all Éxodo’s second week of activity, with a little over 63,000 units deriving from that consumption method. That sum equates to 87.5 million on-demand official streams of the album’s 24 songs. Traditional album sales and track sales, meanwhile, supply the remaining 1,000. One unit equals one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.

Éxodo becomes just the second album by a regional Mexican act to land at the summit on Top Latin Albums in 2024, following Fuerza Régida’s Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada, which led for three weeks between April and May.

Beyond its coronation on Top Latin Albums, Éxodo likewise rallies 19-1 on Regional Mexican Albums, where Peso replaces himself at No. 1. The new set sends Génesis to No. 2 with a 4% dip in overall units, to 17,000.

The last act to swap No. 1 positions on the chart was Eslabon Armado, whose album Tu Veneno Mortal, Vol. 2 ceded the throne after three weeks to Armado’s Corta Venas, rebounding to the summit on the chart dated July 31, 2021, for its 18th week atop then. (The latter ruled for a total of 54 weeks, the third-most since the list’s inception in 1985.)

Éxodo was preceded by four songs on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, starting with “La Durango,” with Junior H and Eslabón Armado, which rallies 20-9 with the Greatest Gainer honors, awarded weekly to the song with the largest increase in audience.

“La People II” with Tito Double P and Joel De La P, travels 23-18. “Rompe La Dompe,” with Junior H and Oscar Maydon, re-enters at No. 27 after its No. 12 debut and peak (Jan. 13-dated list). “Peso Completo,” with Arcángel reached its No. 42 debut high, while “Teka,” with DJ Snake, climbs 36-45.

“Reloj,” with Iván Cornejo, leads 17 debuts on Hot Latin Songs, which combines airplay, digital sales and streaming data, where it opens at No. 3. It was the most streamed song during the debut week, with 7.7. million official U.S. streams in the tracking period.

With the 17 new recruits, plus two songs already on the list and a re-entry, Peso Pulma places 20 total simultaneous titles on the current chart, the most in 2024.

Here’s the full recap of Peso Pluma’s Éxodo on the Hot Latin Songs chart:

No. 3, “Reloj,” with Iván Cornejo
No. 5, “Vino Tinto,” with Natanael Cano & Gabito Ballesteros
No. 6, “La Patrulla,” with Neton Vega
No.9, “La Durango,” with Junior H & Eslabon Armado
No. 11, “Hollywood,” with Estevan Plazola
No. 16, “Mami,” with Chino Pacas
No. 17, “Put Em In The Fridge,” with Cardi B
No. 18, “La People II,” with Tito Double P & Joel de La P
No. 19, “Santal 33,” with Oscar Maydon
No. 20, “Me Activo,” with Jasiel Nuñez
No. 21, “Bruce Wayne,” with Tito Double P
No. 22, “Sr. Smith,” with Luis R Conriquez
No. 24, “Belanova,” with Tito Double P
No. 27, “Rompe La Dompe,” with Junior H & Oscar Maydon
No. 28, “Ice”
No. 29, “Solicitado”
No. 31, “14 – 14”
No. 37, “Pa No Pensar,” with Quavo
No. 40, “Tommy & Pamela,” with Kenia Os
No. 50, “Mala,” with Ryan Castro

Peso Pluma also reaches global success with three new songs on the Billboard Global 200: “Vino Tinto,” with Natanael Cano and Gabito Ballesteros, at No. 94, with 18.8 million global streams. “Reloj,” with Iván Cornejo, at No. 130 with 15 million universal clicks, and “La Patrulla,” with Neton Vega, at No. 164, with 13.9 million streams worldwide. “Vino Tinto” likewise launches at No. 109 on the Global Excl. U.S. ranking with 12.8 million streams outside the U.S.

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If you’re into TikTok, you’ve probably seen the viral ballet flat trend featuring the Reformation Bethany Ballet Flats all over your For You page. You don’t need to be a dancer to join in on the balletcore aesthetic. In fact, the balletcore aesthetic is all about capturing the essence of a ballet dancer by incorporating it into your everyday life, from clothing choices to home decor.

Whether you’re taking a walk at the park or enjoying a night out, these comfortable and versatile flats will keep you staying cool all season long. These Reformation Bethany Ballet Flats feature a flat heel, round toe and ankle security, making you feel comfortable and secure wherever you go. Its breathable design ensures you can go sock-free with ease. With its leather upper insole, rubber sole and buckle strap, you’ll be ready to slip your feet in and take on your day.

You can find these trendy Bethany Ballet Flats on Reformation and Anthropologie.

You can get these Bethany Flats in myriad colors and designs on Reformation, from Black Rhinestone Mesh to Silver. This is one you’ll want in all colors to change up your look.

If you are still a bit unsure on whether or not to hop on this trend, check out the reviews. One Anthropologie customer wrote, “I’m loving the updated take on the ballet flats! The leather is soft right out of the box and needed very little time to break in. They look like they have a thin sole, but once you try them on you’ll feel padding; I can wear if for a whole shift on the sales floor and still feel supported …they look great paired with dresses, skirts, and denim…”

Another Anthropologie customer said, “I love these! I purchased the silver… have them in black as well. The leather is really nice and they go with everything!”

For more product recommendations, check out these Dr. Scholl’s Sandals, these comfortable Mega Crush Crocs for added comfort, and these celebrity-approved Uggs to achieve a relaxed look.

A pair of good friends, tourmates and collaborators reside in the top two spots of the Billboard 200 this week: Taylor Swift remains at No. 1 with her April blockbuster The Tortured Poets Department, while Eras Tour opener Gracie Abrams bows at No. 2 with sophomore album The Secret of Us.

It’s a notable week for both artists. Poets reigns for the 10th consecutive frame, making Swift the only artist with three 10-plus-week No. 1 albums in the 21st century. Meanwhile, The Secret of Us easily marks Abrams’ best showing on the chart to date, beating the No. 52 debut of her 2023 debut LP Good Riddance by a full 50 spots.

How much does this particular chart benchmark mean for Swift? And does Abrams’ strong debut mean she’s now countable among this year’s class of breakout pop stars? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. This week, Taylor Swift notches her 10th consecutive week atop the Billboard 200 with The Tortured Poets Department — the longest total reign of any album since Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time notched 19 combined weeks between 2023 and 2024, and her own longest rule since her original 1989 spent 11 weeks on top between 2014 and 2015. On a scale from 1-10, how meaningful do you think this run is for Swift and where she’s at in her career?

Rania Aniftos: I’m going to say 3, because this is the standard for Taylor at this point! She is without a doubt the biggest music star in the world at the moment, and it would shock me if any album from here on out spends less than 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200. 

Katie Atkinson: Let’s give it a 10 for 10. Looking at the releases that stood in her way, I don’t think anyone would have predicted that Swift would have an uninterrupted 10-week run at No. 1 back in April. After favoring late-year releases for the bulk of her career – especially October and November – it looks like Swift should maybe make the switch to April albums from here on out, seeing just how long she’s able to dominate the spring-into-summer conversation. Taylor continues to unlock new heights in her career just when you think she’s reached the very pinnacle.

Hannah Dailey: I’d say 7. On paper, that’s an incredibly impressive feat and very indicative of the career apex/popularity high Swift is currently riding. However, I can’t help but think the achievement is a little bit watered down by the fact that she released so, so many digital alternative versions along the way to stay on top (assuming that was her intention). Regardless of whether those sales were actually needed to elongate her reign, her latest accolade remains diluted by public perception that she was purposefully blocking other artists from nearing the No. 1 spot with that strategy.  

Jason Lipshutz: A 6. Obviously spending 10 straight weeks atop the Billboard 200 represents a towering commercial feat, although these types of accomplishments are all relative for the biggest artist in the world, who’s in the middle of a precedent-smashing stadium tour, fresh off a record-setting fourth album of the year Grammy win, and who started this run at No. 1 with the biggest album debut of the 2020s. Plus, Swift has already spent more weeks atop the Billboard 200 with a different album (albeit one with a more radio-friendly sheen). So while TTPD reaching double-digit weeks at No. 1 is another testament to Swift’s continued enormity, the achievement itself probably feels less meaningful when stacked next to all of Swift’s other, bigger ones.

Andrew Unterberger: An 8. As massive as so many of Swift’s wins have been this decade, this is a sustained chart victory like she hasn’t really seen before. And of course, it’s one she’s seemed particularly motivated to maintain, so clearly it’s one of some amount of personal significance to her.

2. Just below her on the chart this week, Swift’s Eras Tour opener Gracie Abrams bows at No. 2 with 89,000 units moved for her new album The Secret of Us — both easily the best numbers of her career. What do you think is the particular “secret” to Abrams’ success with this album?

Rania Aniftos: Her songwriting, for sure. Today’s music fans seem to love a storyteller, as we’ve seen with stars like Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan, Teddy Swims and more. Gracie is so honest in her music, and this album is a masterclass in authenticity and musicality. She deserves this overdue success! 

Katie Atkinson: We can’t overlook the Taylor bump, of course. Sabrina Carpenter is currently reaching her apex just after opening for Swift in Latin America, Australia and Asia. Now Gracie is having her breakout moment after putting in more than a year as an Eras Tour opener. In this case, she quite literally has a hit Taylor collaboration on her new album, so it’s not just the appearance of a Taylor bump; it’s an actuality. But none of this would be happening if Abrams weren’t a solid artist in her own right who has earned the loyalty of the Swifties through her diaristic songwriting and fondness for Taylor-connected producers (Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff).

Hannah Dailey: I think Abrams has long been on an upward trajectory, steadily accumulating listeners from the moment she debuted in 2019 with “Mean It.” But it’s also clear to me that Swift’s cosign – from inviting Abrams to be an opener on the Eras Tour to collaborating on “Us” — is the thing that gave her the extra big push she needed to make it as high as No. 2, a huge improvement from debut album Good Riddance’s peak of No. 52.  

Jason Lipshutz: The combination of Abrams’ artistic evolution and tireless work ethic has led her to her career-best chart showing. The Secret of Us marks a significant leap forward for Abrams as a songwriter, co-producer and vocal performer — last year’s Good Riddance was a strong debut, but its follow-up is more distinct and revealing, as if Abrams has dug deeper into what makes her special this year after scratching the surface in 2023. Meanwhile, Abrams has been grinding out tour dates, including headlining gigs and opening stints for her pal Swift, as well as executing a promo blitz for The Secret of Us that put the album release on a lot of radars. She’s issuing the best music of her career to an audience eager to lap it up.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s easy to just give a two-word answer to this — and it’s inarguable that the added spotlight that Taylor Swift has granted Abrams both on the Eras Tour and via her appearance on this set’s “Us” has helped greatly increase her profile. But it’s important to note that Abrams was headed in this direction for years before her association with Swift really developed, building a devoted fanbase, honing her writing and strengthening her performance, securing the right collaborators and slowly but surely extending her reach. She was always likely to get here, Swift just basically ensured that it would definitely happen — and quickly.

3. After a tough few years for rising pop artists attempting to break through, we’ve seen a number of very impressive crossover success stories this year, including Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Tommy Richman. Do you think Abrams now belongs in the category with those still-rising new star artists, or does she still have a little more yet to prove?

Rania Aniftos: I think she’ll need one more big hit to follow “Close to You” to solidify her as a pop star, but she’s so close to sitting at that table. We’ll be seeing her headlining festivals in the future for sure.

Katie Atkinson: I think Gracie is at the moment now that Sabrina Carpenter was at last year – which is to say she has a strong following, some A-list endorsements, and a handful of buzzy songs, but she doesn’t yet have her jolt of “Espresso.” When Abrams has an undeniable signature song like that one break through not just on pop radio or with fringe pop fans but to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, that’s when she’ll have officially arrived.

Hannah Dailey: As pop-facing as The Secret of Us is, Abrams is still way more in the indie singer-songwriter lane than Carpenter or Roan are, which makes it hard to compare them. Even so, there’s no matching the astronomical rises those latter two artists have seen this year. To Abrams’ credit, though, I can’t think of many other rising stars who are as close behind them as she is. It might just be a matter of time.  

Jason Lipshutz: Yep, she belongs in that class to me. Those aforementioned artists all have singles that have either reached the top 10 of the Hot 100 or come darn close; Abrams isn’t there quite yet, but I could see the singles from The Secret of Us, “Risk” and “Close to You,” make a push as the album receives more streams this summer. And in the same way that Carpenter turned an opening spot on the Eras tour into her own arena headlining gigs, Abrams is playing some major venues in support of The Secret of Us, with arenas not too far away, in my opinion. Abrams was already rising prior to this album release — she scored a best new artist Grammy nom, after all — but The Secret of Us is going to level her up into a new class of young stars.

Andrew Unterberger: In a different way, but basically, yes. She doesn’t have a major pop hit yet anywhere near the level of “Espresso,” “Million Dollar Baby” or even “Good Luck, Babe!” — that might come soon or it might still be an album or two away. But what she does have is arguably more valuable: a fanbase willing to shell out for physical albums, as Secret tops Billboard‘s Top Album Sales chart this week with its 50,000 sold, also adding another 38,000 in streaming equivalent album units. When you’re both selling and streaming in strong numbers, that means not are you really big, but you’re probably gonna stay that way for some time to come.

4. Swift and Abrams have a song together, “Us,” that debuts at No. 36 on the Hot 100 this week — becoming Abrams’ highest-ranking hit yet on the chart — while Abrams’ own “Close to You” remains at No. 60 after debuting at No. 49 a couple weeks ago, and her previously released “Risk” makes its debut at No. 94. Which of the three do you see ending up becoming the biggest hit from The Secret of Us, if any of them?

Rania Aniftos: I do love “Close to You” because it really has something for every pop fan. It has the songwriting, it has the catchiness, it has the vocals, it has the TikTok virality. I see it becoming a longtime fan favorite hit.

Katie Atkinson: I’m going to put my money on “Close to You,” just because I can see its uptempo production hanging around a little longer than the Taylor duet. To keep the Sabrina analogy going, maybe “Close to You” will be Gracie’s “Feather,” which was Carpenter’s first Pop Airplay No. 1 before her certified breakout with “Espresso” and then “Please Please Please.”

Hannah Dailey: “Close to You” is such a bop, and fans have been begging her to release it for about seven years now – that’s a lot of built-in hype. Plus, it’s all over TikTok. I think that song’s the front-runner. 

Jason Lipshutz: I was a big fan of “Risk” upon its release, and “Us” sounds like a worthy addition to Swift and Dessner’s enchanted forest of indie-leaning folk-pop. But “Close to You” is the one, thanks to its tempo and urgency: the song stomps forward as Abrams declares “I burn for you / And you don’t even know my name,” in a way that recalls Lorde’s subtle yearning but also sounds primed to soundtrack thousands of crestfallen TikTok clips. “Close to You” is going to make noise, and I, for one, can’t wait to see Abrams blow it out on tour.

Andrew Unterberger: “Close to You” is definitely the frontrunner right now, but I heard “Risk” on the radio over the weekend and it felt like a better fit than I would’ve expected. Would probably still bet the former if I had to — and it certainly has a good lead to start — but I could definitely see a world where the latter has the longer tail.

5. Make a prediction: How many total weeks will The Tortured Poets Department spend at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 before ceding the top spot for good?

Rania Aniftos: Let’s say 20! Why not beat Morgan Wallen?

Katie Atkinson: Well, I wish we knew when, exactly, Zach Bryan’s next album is coming out. According to his Instagram, The Great American Bar Scene is coming out July 4th, but it’s unclear what time of day. And since Independence Day is a Thursday, if he releases it during the day, he would only have 24 hours of tracking in this chart week if it comes out early, or he could have a full week on our charts if it came out at midnight into Friday. He’s Taylor’s strongest competition, so I’m going to guess that his first full week will beat hers – meaning she would have 11 straight weeks atop the Billboard 200. But I think she’ll have *at least* one more week left in the tank after that too, with a potential Anthology vinyl release waiting in the wings. So my prediction is 12 weeks at No. 1 overall, surpassing the 11-week runs of the original 1989 and Fearless.

Hannah Dailey: It would be easier to predict if another comparable star was planning to release an album soon, but the front half of the year was so loaded that the second half is kind of a question mark. With that in mind, I’ll give her an even, optimistic 20 weeks. She may be looking to beat Morgan Wallen’s 2020s record, and it definitely seems like it’s in reach for her right now.  

Jason Lipshutz: Without a ton of heavy competition in the coming weeks and six-figure equivalent album units months after its release, I could see Department ruling the roost for quite some time. Let’s go with 15 weeks before all is said and done.

Andrew Unterberger: My instinct is 16 or 17, but I feel like if Taylor seems herself being within arm’s reach of 20, she’s not gonna let that opportunity go by. So yeah, let’s say she takes advantage of a couple slow weeks towards the end of the calendar to get to an even 20 weeks this time — and maybe tries to match her second-favorite-number next time out.

Country music has always had a flair for the theatrical, from performers decked out in bedazzled suits or attention-commanding gowns, and wielding glittering guitars, to the genre’s exquisitely detailed story songs.

So the genre’s connection to stories, live musical performances and high-flying acrobatics feels natural in the upcoming Cirque du Soleil show Songblazers: A Journey into Country Music, which opens at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) today (July 2). Songblazers, written and directed by Amy Tinkham, runs at TPAC through July 28.

The show serves as “a love letter to country music,” UMG Nashville chair/CEO Cindy Mabe tells Billboard.

The production’s story arc centers on the journey of two characters, as they work to forge their own path to country music stardom. UMG Nashville presents the new show with Cirque du Soleil, with much of the label’s catalog of country music providing the heart and soundtrack for the production. The show features roughly 30 songs, with shorter snippets of some songs featured, while others are showcased in full.

“I am sitting on this incredible catalog and watching how the storyline unfolds through the different eras and landscapes of country music,” Mabe says.

One of those decades-spanning links arrives most notably through the work of UMG Nashville artist Sam Williams, a third-generation country music performer, who is the son of Hank Williams Jr. and grandson of country music architect Hank Williams, Sr. Williams co-wrote the original song “Carnival Heart” specifically for Songblazers, marking the only full song that was newly-written for the event.

“Carnival Heart” centers on discovering renewed confidence, strength and uniqueness within oneself, despite external and internal struggles, depicted in lyrics such as “I found the magic was hidden in me/ There beneath all the sadness, somewhere in the deep and the dark.”

“I write pretty autobiographically, and this was one thing that I felt, to make it as best as it could be, needed to really come from me,” Williams tells Billboard. “What is my story? I don’t think any of our lives are as pretty or as cookie-cutter as people may think on the outside. I wrote it at a time when I felt a ‘me against the world’ narrative that I get sometimes, but in a good way — I felt like I could do all things through a power that is bigger than me. So I thought, ‘I’m going to write this chorus and I’m going to sing the hell out of it.’”

He adds of Songblazers, “It’s a beautiful marriage of comedy, music and celebration and country music and I think it’s going to be unlike anything anyone’s ever seen before.”

The show marks Cirque’s first venture using country music. “Working with this new specific music genre challenges our creative team to innovate and come up with unique ways to interpret the music,” Cirque du Soleil CEO Stéphane Lefebvre told Billboard in an earlier interview. “It pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in live entertainment. Shows like Love and MJ One have taught us that the synergy between our extraordinary performances and the power of the music can create a powerful and captivating live experience, and we are convinced that pairing our expertise with the country music genre including artists from Universal Music Group’s vast repertoire, will be a successful collaboration.”

The storyline for the theatrical event wasn’t fully fleshed out when Mabe brought up Williams’ name in meetings.

“I said, ‘Let me tell you why Sam is so special,’” she recalls, “because I do feel like he’s going to touch a different culture and a different group of people — not unlike what his father has done and what his grandfather has done, because they all did it uniquely. I first heard Sam’s music during the pandemic, when everything on the radio was a party, and about escapism from what was happening around the world. But he was doing his own thing. He wasn’t looking for me, he wasn’t looking for a record deal. He had been through a lot of things, and his music just cuts to the soul.”

Mabe pinpoints one musical moment where the main character sings Hank Williams Sr.’s classic “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” followed by a musical breakdown with a recording featuring Hank Sr.’s voice, which then matches up with the show closer, “Carnival Heart.”

“At that moment at the end of the show, it almost brings me to tears when I see it — because it completely links him to his grandfather, whom he never met. But you feel his voice and it is powerful,” Mabe says.

Elsewhere, songs from across the eras of country music prominence are on display — such as Billy Ray Cyrus’s 1992 hit “Achy Breaky Heart,” as the soundtrack to a dance-filled honky-tonk scene. Later, when Shania Twain’s 1999 hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” plays, two women acrobats take things to new heights, as they twirl, flip, and spin from a bar and ropes suspended high above the stage floor — often dangling precariously from one another as they completed their aerial, graceful acrobatic moves. The late Toby Keith’s party hit “Red Solo Cup” also gets a turn in the spotlight, as one performer juggles red cups while the rest of the cast watches and cheers. Other songs featured include “Down to the River to Pray” (a song prominently featured in the 2000 film O Brother Where Art Thou?) and the Willie Nelson-written hit “Hello Walls,” which became a hit for Faron Young in the 1960s.

“Seeing all these throughlines of who we are in country music, from the circle being unbroken to these things that have held us together as a genre, is a gift,” Mabe says.

After its opening run in Nashville, Songblazers will visit Birmingham, Ala.; St. Louis, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; Fayetteville, Ark.; New Orleans; Tulsa, Okla.; Baltimore; Green Bay, Wisc.; Dallas, and Sugar Land, Texas.

As the show crisscrosses the U.S., Williams continues forging his unique position in country music. In 2021, Williams released his debut album Glasshouse Children. Songblazers opens as Williams has just released his latest project, Scarlet Lonesome: Act 1, the first part of a trilogy of albums set to roll out over the next several months. The new release features, in addition to several original songs, Williams pairing with fellow country artist Carter Faith for a sultry rendition of the Tammy Wynette classic “’Til I Can Make It on My Own.”

“It’s a wide range of music,” he says of the overall trilogy. “I wanted to present the music in three different pieces, so I can paint a different picture for each one. Act 1 paints a picture that is very romantic and a bit dark. Then, [in the trilogy] there’s music that is introspective and emotional but there are also really big pop records and really fun trap beats.

“Sam is going to bring an entirely different audience to country music that’s never been here before,” Mabe says, adding, “There’s been no one like him before, but he is absolutely a Williams.”