Key Album Genre Charts Evolve & Expand in 2025

Beginning in January, Billboard will roll out updates to some of its weekly album charts.

Commencing with the Billboard charts dated Jan. 18, 2025 (reflecting the Luminate tracking week ending Jan. 9), six longstanding album genre charts will transition from sales-only rankings to consumption-based tallies, and expand their depths. Plus, three album genre charts that were already consumption-based will also increase their depths.

Consumption-based album charts rank the most popular titles of the week by equivalent album units earned, as compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

The first Billboard album chart to transition from a traditional album sales-based ranking to a consumption-based tally was the overall all-genre Billboard 200 in December 2014. The bulk of Billboard’s album genre charts migrated to a consumption-based ranking in January 2017. (With the January 2025 updates, essentially all of Billboard‘s genre album charts will have migrated to consumption-based ranking.)

Lastly, the Heatseekers Albums chart, which ranks the week’s most popular albums by new and developing acts, will be retired, beginning with the Jan. 18, 2025-dated list. Billboard will continue to chart new and developing acts on its weekly Emerging Artists chart, which launched in 2017. The Emerging Artists chart ranks the most popular developing artists of the week, using the same formula as the all-encompassing Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across multiple Billboard charts, including the Hot 100 and Billboard 200. (The Artist 100 lists the most popular acts, overall, each week.) However, the Emerging Artists chart excludes acts that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard’s “Hot” song genre charts and/or consumption-based “Top” album genre rankings.

Here’s a recap of the changes to Billboard’s album genre charts beginning with the charts dated Jan. 18, 2025:

Bluegrass Albums – Transitions from a 10-position album sales-only chart to a 15-position consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

Blues Albums – Transitions from a 10-position album sales-only chart to a 15-position consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

Cast Albums – Transitions from a 10-position album sales-only chart to a 15-position consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

Classical Crossover Albums – Transitions from a 10-position album sales-only chart to a 15-position consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

Traditional Classical Albums – Transitions from a 10-position album sales-only chart to a 15-position consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

Kid Albums – Transitions from a 15-position album sales-only chart to a 25-position consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

New Age Albums – Expands from 10 to 15 positions, remains a consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

Tropical Albums – Expands from 20 to 25 positions; remains a consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

World Albums – Expands from 15 to 25 positions; remains a consumption-based chart, ranking albums by equivalent album units.

As with all genre consumption album charts, the rankings for the above album genre charts will be inclusive of both current and catalog titles.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Drops Bail Appeal, Will Remain in Jail Until Start of Trial

Sean “Diddy” Combs has dropped his appeal to be released on bail, according to court documents filed on Friday (Dec. 13). The voluntary dismissal means the hip-hop mogul will remain behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until the start of his criminal trial in May.

“Mr. Combs does not seek to appeal the district court’s denial of his renewed motion and hereby moves to voluntarily dismiss the appeal,” reads the document filed by his attorneys.

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The filing comes more than two weeks after a Manhattan federal judge turned down Combs’ request to be released on bail ahead of trial, arguing there was “compelling evidence of Combs’s propensity for violence” as well as evidence that he poses “a serious risk of witness tampering.” Combs’ lawyers had argued that the hip-hop star could be released on a $50 million bond and be confined to house arrest with “near-total” restrictions. In response, prosecutors alleged that Combs had been attempting to “subvert the integrity” of the case from jail and that he would continue to do so if released.

Among other arguments against Combs’ release, the judge in the case cited evidence that the rapper had “initiated and had unexplained communication” with a witness who had been called to testify before the grand jury and had likely violated prison rules since his September indictment.

Combs is charged with running a wide-ranging criminal enterprise with the goal of satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” Allegations include that Combs held “freak off” parties during which he and other participants would drug victims and coerce them into having sex.

Combs’ trial is currently slated to begin on May 5.

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Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre Drop ‘Missionary’ Album: Stream It Now

Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre dropped their Missionary album on Friday (Dec. 13) via Death Row Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.

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Missionary features previously released singles “Gorgeous” (featuring Jhené Aiko), “Outta da Blue” (featuring Alus) and “Another Part of Me” (featuring Sting). “Gorgeous” helped the iconic West Coast hip-hop duo return to Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for the first time in 13 years when the song debuted at No. 29 last month (it later peaked at No. 26).

The 15-track project also features other collaborations with BJ the Chicago Kid (“Fore Play” and “Now or Never”), Tom Petty and Jelly Roll (“Last Dance with Mary Jane”), K.A.A.N. (“Pressure” and “Sticky Situation”), Method Man and Smitty (“Skyscrapers”), Cocoa Sarai (“Fire” and “Sticky Situation”), 50 Cent and Eminem (“Gunz n Smoke”), and Dem Jointz, Stalone and Fat Money (“Gangsta Pose”).

“We have Sting on the song. Man, it’s an amazing roster of artists that’s on this album. I shouldn’t have revealed that, to be honest,” Dr. Dre told Entertainment Tonight in an interview back in August.

It’s their first full-length project together since Snoop’s 1993 Doggystyle debut studio album, which topped both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Its Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit single, “Gin and Juice,” earned a nomination for best rap solo performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

Missionary is also the first project Snoop has put out since 2022, when he released his 19th studio album BODR (Bacc On Death Row) and the debut album of the West Coast rap supergroup Mount Rushmore (Snoop, E-40, Too Short and Ice Cube), Snoop Cube 40 $hort.

Listen to Missionary below.

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GloRilla Recruits Kehlani to Ring in the Holidays with ‘Xmas Time’ Collab: Stream It Now

GloRilla and Kehlani are getting everyone in the spirit for “Xmas Time” with their new collaboration that dropped on Friday (Dec. 13).

“Good luck with yo Mrs dis as merry as I’m getting,” the rapper wrote on Instagram earlier this week while announcing the single with a video of both artists’ animated bobble heads in a festive and fitting snow globe, which marks the first time both artists have been on a song together. “NOT ME IM A P! GOOD LUCK W YO MRS!” the R&B singer responded in the comments.

The two linked up for another video together, this time featuring a mashup of Mariah Carey’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “All I Want for Christmas is You” and GloRilla’s “Whatchu Kno About Me,” featuring Sexyy Red.

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“Xmas Time” arrives two months after GloRilla’s debut album Glorious, which she released CMG and Interscope. The 15-track project featured collaborations with Latto (“Procedure”); Sexyy Red (“Whatchu Kno About Me”); Muni Long (“Don’t Deserve”); Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard and Chandler Moore (“Rain Down On Me”), Megan Thee Stallion (“How I Look”), BossMan Dlow (“Step”), T-Pain (“I Luv Her”) and Fridayy (“Queen of Memphis”). It reached No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

Both Glo and Keh both scored nominations ahead of the 2025 Grammy Awards; the former is nominated for best rap song and best rap performance with “Yeah Glo!” while the latter is up for best progressive R&B album (Crash), best R&B song (“After Hours”) and best melodic rap performance (“KEHLANI” by Jordan Adetunji).

Listen to “Xmas Time” below.

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Record Store Day Black Friday 2024’s Top Sellers: Noah Kahan, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo & More

Vinyl releases from Noah Kahan, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, MF Doom and The Beatles were among the top-sellers from Record Store Day (RSD) Black Friday 2024 in the U.S., according to data tracking firm Luminate.

The indie record store celebration, which took place on the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 29) is a partner holiday to the main Record Store Day blowout that traditionally happens annually in April. Both occasions spur the release of many unique and limited-edition music releases, largely vinyl pressings, that are only available at participating independent record stores. More than 150 titles were slated to be released for RSD Black Friday 2024 festivities.

Kahan has the top-selling RSD Black Friday 2024 title, with his tiger eye brown-colored vinyl of Town Hall (Stick Season Collaborations). (See the full list of the top 25-selling RSD Black Friday 2024 albums, below.) The rest of the top five is filled out by Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft (Isolated Vocals), Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS (spilled) (on red and purple-colored double vinyl), MF Doom’s Operation: Doomsday 25 th Anniversary (on metallic silver with purple, and metallic silver with green-colored double-vinyl) and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music From the Movie and More… (on clear with yellow and pink splatter-colored vinyl).

The top-selling RSD Black Friday 2024 single was The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” / “I Saw Her Standing There” (on 7-inch vinyl). (Scroll down for the top 10-selling singles.) Other big-selling singles included titles from Pearl Jam and Stevie Nicks.

Top-Selling Record Store Day Black Friday 2024 Exclusive Albums at Independent Record Stores in the U.S.

Rank, Artist, Title
1. Noah Kahan, Town Hall (Stick Season Collaborations) (tiger eye brown-colored vinyl)
2. Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft (Isolated Vocals) (vinyl)
3. Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS (spilled) (red and purple-colored double vinyl)
4. MF Doom, Operation: Doomsday 25th Anniversary (metallic silver with purple, and metallic silver with green-colored double-vinyl)
5. Soundtrack, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music From the Movie and More… (clear with yellow and pink splatter-colored vinyl)
6. U2, How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb (black and red-colored vinyl)
7. Kacey Musgraves, Deeper Into the Well (green-colored vinyl)
8. Van Halen, Live In Dallas 1981 (red-colored double vinyl)
9. Ramones, Greatest Hits (red-colored vinyl)
10. Grateful Dead, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 5/5/77 (four vinyl LP set)
11. The Doors, Live In Detroit (four vinyl LP set)
12. The Allman Brothers Band, Manley Field House, Syracuse NY April 7, 1972 (orange, blue and splattered-colored triple vinyl)
13 (TIE). Rage Against the Machine, Democratic National Convention 2000 (window pane clear-colored 180-gram vinyl)
13 (TIE). Various Artists, Jazz Dispensary: The Golden Hour (golden wave swirl-colored vinyl)
15. The Rolling Stones, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out (candy cane swirl-colored vinyl)
16. Jimi Hendrix, Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts (blue and violet swirl-colored vinyl)
17. Jerry Garcia, Electric On the Eel: August 29th, 1987 (orange sunshine-colored vinyl)
18. Modest Mouse, Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again (vinyl)
19. Joni Mitchell, Hejira Demos (180-gram black vinyl)
20. Helmet, Betty (baby blue-colored double vinyl)
21. Teddy Swims, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1.5) (baby blue-colored vinyl)
22 (TIE). Yes, Fragile Outtakes (vinyl)
22 (TIE). The Byrds / Buffalo Springfield, Live at the Monterey International Pop Festival (opaque orchid and opaque sky blue-colored double vinyl)
22 (TIE). Morphine, B-Sides and Otherwise (lemonade yellow and black marble-colored vinyl)
22 (TIE). Stone Temple Pilots, Purple Rarities (purple-colored vinyl)
22 (TIE). Tegan and Sara, So Jealous (milky-clear translucent-colored double vinyl)
22 (TIE). Thievery Corporation, The Richest Man in Babylon (red and white-colored double vinyl)
Source: Luminate, for the week ending Dec. 5, 2024

Top-Selling Record Store Day Black Friday 2024 Exclusive Singles at Independent Record Stores in U.S.
Rank, Artist, Title
1. The Beatles, I Want To Hold Your Hand / I Saw Her Standing There (7-inch vinyl)
2. Pearl Jam, Waiting for Stevie (Live) / Wreckage (Live) (12-inch 45-RPM vinyl)
3. Stevie Nicks, The Lighthouse (white-colored 7-inch vinyl)
4. Bluey, Rug Island / Bluey Theme Tune (picture-disc 7-inch vinyl)
5. The Beatles, All My Loving (3-inch vinyl)
6. Echo & The Bunnymen, The Killing Moon (12-inch vinyl)
7. Jane’s Addiction, Imminent Redemption (12-inch vinyl)
8. Steve Martin, King Tut (picture-disc 12-inch vinyl)
9. Sam Cooke, A Change Is Gonna Come / Shake (white iridescent-colored 7-inch vinyl)
10. Jungle, Back On 74 (12-inch vinyl)
Source: Luminate, for the week ending Dec. 5, 2024

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Q Lazzarus Album, Documentary Slated for 2025 Release

The mysterious and reclusive Q Lazzarus will have her legacy cemented with the impending release of an album and documentary next year.

The musical moniker of Diane Luckey, Q Lazzarus rose to fame in 1991 when her song “Goodbye Horses” was prominent featured in Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs.

It was Demme, who initially discovered Luckey — a cab driver at the time — in the mid-’80s when she picked him up for a ride and played him her demo tape. Demme was entranced enough by Luckey’s enigmatic dance-pop as frontwoman of Q Lazzarus that he made her a fixture in his movies for most of the next decade. He included her “The Candle Goes Away” in 1986’s Something Wild, and then featured “Goodbye Horses” in a pair of his movies: 1988’s Married to the Mob and 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs.

Following the dissolution of her band Q Lazzarus and the Resurrection, Luckey retreated from the public eye, with her whereabouts becoming the subject of a widespread search in 2017. Sadly, Luckey passed away in 2022 at the age of 61, with her obituary revealing a retrospective look back had been in the works.

“At the time of her death, Diane was finishing work on a feature documentary about her life and music with filmmaker and friend, Eva Aridjis,” the obituary wrote. “The film will be released in 2023, along with an album of songs spanning her entire musical career.”

Now, following screenings in New York City and Los Angeles this week, it has been revealed that Aridjis’ film – Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus – will hit streaming services in early 2025.

“An intimate journey through the life of singer Diane Luckey also known as Q Lazzarus, narrated through her own words, lyrics and music,” the film’s description reads. “The exceptionally talented but vastly under-appreciated Q, who sang the cult hit song ‘Goodbye Horses,’ reveals the reason behind her mysterious 25-year-long disappearance and paves the way towards her re-emergence, with stories heartbreaking, hilarious and moving.”

Alongside this news, Sacred Bones Records has announced the release of a 21-song compilation of unreleased music. The songs, which have all been recorded between 1985 and 1995, will also be released as a 10-track vinyl edition. The collection features the original single edit of “Goodbye Horses” alongside a “New Wave” version of the song, and a cover of Talking Heads’ “Heaven”, which had been performed in Demme’s 1993 film, Philadelphia.

Pre-orders for Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus (Music From the Motion Picture) are live ahead of its Feb. 21 release date.

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The Red Clay Strays Accept Top Country Duo/Group | Billboard Music Awards 2024

The Red Clay Strays accept the Top Country Duo/Group award at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.

The Red Clay Strays:
Hey, everybody, we’re The Red Clay Strays. Just wanted to say thank you for this awesome award, Top Country Group. This is from Billboard, and it’s a huge honor. It’s all statistic based. So thank you to our fans for listening to us. It means a lot, and what a milestone. Looking forward to playing for y’all some more next year. How about you coming? Thank you.

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Cece Winans Accepts Top Gospel Artist & Top Gospel Song | Billboard Music Awards 2024

Cece Winans accepts Top Gospel Artist and Top Gospel Song at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.

Cece Winans:
“That’s My King,” what a powerful song. Thank you to all the writers of this song. It is so powerful. It is so much fun. Thank you to Kylie for bringing me this song, and I just thank my Lord and Savior for being my king. God is so good. Thank you again, Billboard, for this honor. God bless you.

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Jack Antonoff Accepts Top Hot 100 Producer | Billboard Music Awards 2024

Jack Antonoff accepts the Top Hot 100 Producer award at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.

Jack Antonoff:
Billboard. Thank you so much for this award. I love these records. I think everyone who listened to them and who got them to this crazy point that means a lot to me. And I’m at work right now, and I’m gonna stay at work and talk to you guys soon. Thank you so much.

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Bluesfest Byron Bay Backflips on Festival’s Last Stand

Only months after announcing the 2025 edition of Byron Bay’s enduring Bluesfest would be its last, festival director Peter Noble has changed his tune.

The long-running festival has become an institution on the Australian festivals calendar across its 35-year history. Names such as Bob Dylan, BB King, Paul Simon, John Mayer, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, plus homegrown stars Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil and Crowded House, have all performed over the years, with the dizzying lineups also offering chances for rising stars to receive a vital platform.

In August, however, Noble explained that the festival – held annually across the Easter long weekend on Australia’s east coast – would come to a close after one final outing.

“To my Dear Bluesfest Family, and after more than 50 years in the music business, Bluesfest has been a labour of love, a celebration of music, community, and the resilient spirit of our fans,” Noble wrote in a statement.

“But after the 2025 festival, as much as it pains me to say this, it’s time to close this chapter,” he continued. “As I said earlier this year at Bluesfest 2024, next year’s festival will be happening and it definitely is, but it will be our last.”

News of the festival’s impending demise was another chapter in the ongoing story of the wider festival industry and its struggle to stay afloat. Noble’s announcement arrived only weeks after Splendour in the Grass – another Byron Bay festival and one of Australia’s most prominent musical events – was planned to hold its latest edition prior to an unexpected cancellation.

However, a new interview with Noble has revealed that the festival may be around for some time to come, explaining to IQ Magazine that the decision to call time on the event was an attempt to regain the support of the New South Wales state government.

“August was a time of great disappointment,” Noble told IQ. “We had said to the government ‘Look, we need investment at this time, the cost of living crisis is really affecting events and there are cancellations everywhere’.

“They sent me a Dear John letter saying we’ve decided not to invest in you. During the last 12 years, Bluesfest brought $1.1 billion to our state through inbound tourism. That is a tsunami of gold but it seemingly doesn’t count. The [state government] just wanted to put it in their coffers and not take responsibility for Australia’s great events.”

Noble also pointed to the Australian launch of South by Southwest in Sydney last year, which received sizeable investments from the state government across its first two events.

“So what do we have to do? Do we have to say it’s the last Bluesfest to get people to focus on us?” Noble asked. “Are we the long-suffering wife and South by Southwest is the mistress who gets the diamond rings?

“All we’ve asked our state to do is to show us that they care about the most highly awarded event in the history of Australian music. Regardless, I will always find a way for Bluesfest to go forward – that is my job.”

The 2025 edition of Bluesfest is scheduled to take place across the Easter long weekend in April 2025 and features a largely homegrown list of headliners, including Crowded House, Hilltop Hoods, and Vance Joy. A vast array of international names are also present, including Gary Clark Jr., George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Allison Russell, BJ The Chicago Kid, and more.

Per Noble’s claims, his clarion call will potentially result in the “most successful festival yet”.

“We’re on the path to selling out, with 89,000 passes sold and I’m sure we’ll go past 90,000 after [yesterday’s] artist announcement,” he explained. “We’re probably the best-selling festival in Australia at the moment. We’ve been shown that people care about events and culture.”

During its heyday, Bluesfest averaged 85,000 attendees. That figure swelled to 102,000 in 2022, when live music returned from the lockdown years. The most recent show, however, counted fewer than 65,000 attendees.

Noble also revealed he was in the process of booking artists for the 2026 edition of Bluesfest. The fruits of his recent labor will ostensibly be revealed around August/September 2025, as is traditional for the festival’s first lineup announcement.

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