genre pop

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 August 9, we look at the chances of the biggest song from the KPop Demon Hunters phenomenon to be able to unseat Alex Warren atop the Hot 100 — and how long that might ultimately take to happen. 

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HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna & Rei Ami, “Golden” (Visva/Republic): Five weeks into the pop culture takeover of Netflix animated musical KPop Demon Hunters, there are now a whopping nine songs from the soundtrack on the Hot 100 — including not only the in-universe hits from fictional K-pop idol groups HUNTR/X and Saja Boys, but also both of the songs on the set from the IRL genre hitmakers TWICE. But one has clearly separated from the rest of the songs as the OST’s breakout hit: HUNTR/X’s seemingly unstoppable “Golden.”  

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This week, “Golden” jumps another two spots to No. 2 on the Hot 100. (Saja Boys’ “Your Idol,” the second-highest-ranking KPDH song, also climbs to No. 12.) Having lapped Justin Bieber and Morgan Wallen (with Tate McRae), now only one chart foe remains left for the superstar superheroes: Alex Warren, whose pop-folk power ballad “Ordinary” has reigned on the chart for eight weeks.  

“Golden” has been fully embraced by audiences on DSPs, topping Billboard‘s Streaming Songs ranking for the first time this week, and has an extra boost coming in the way of a new David Guetta remix, released at the beginning of this tracking week (July 25). But to clear that final Hot 100 hurdle, it will need support from within an arena where Warren has ruled for the last six weeks: radio. “Golden” is currently growing on the airwaves — it debuts at No. 35 on Pop Airplay this week, and is up another 24% in plays July 25-28 over the same period from the week prior (according to Luminate). But it’s still got a long way to go to meet “Ordinary” — it’s still nowhere to be found on Radio Songs, nor is it particularly close yet — and as long as that gap between the two remains so sizeable, it will be tough for “Golden” to get over the top on the Hot 100.  

Alex Warren, “Ordinary” (Atlantic): “Ordinary” has reigned on the Hot 100 for two months now, and continues to be dominant across the board — in addition to topping Radio Songs for a sixth week, it holds in the top five on Streaming Songs, and ranks at No. 9 as the top non-Ozzy Osbourne-related entry on Digital Song Sales. Like Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” last year, the song’s cross-platform dominance is strong and steady enough that it’s still unlikely to simply fade from the Hot 100 anytime soon; another song will almost certainly have to actively seize the crown from it.  

But while the song is unlikely to rapidly recede in the oncoming weeks — and just got a bump in its tracking thanks to the July 18 release of parent album You’ll Be Alright, Kid — it does finally appear to have stopped growing. While it spent the last couple of months just getting bigger and bigger on radio, its numbers there are leveling off, though it should still easily reign on Radio Songs for a seventh week next week. The question is if “Golden” can keep its cross-platform momentum going long enough to take advantage of any “Ordinary” slippage and capture its moment — which may still take a few weeks, if it happens at all.  

Justin Bieber, “Daisies” (JRC/ILH/Def Jam/Republic): Despite its relatively unconventional, organically warm-feeling sound for a 2025 single, Justin Bieber’s “Daisies” is off to a tremendous start within the pop realm. After debuting at No. 2 on the Hot 100, thanks to strong initial performance on DSPs that led to it bowing atop Streaming Songs, it slides to No. 4 after some inevitable week-two weakening — but it’s also already really gaining on the airwaves, up 58% in plays July 25-28 as the top gainer on pop radio, and headed top 20 on both Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay. “Daisies” also has a way to go before being a true threat to “Ordinary,” but gaining that solid radio footing also probably means it won’t be wilting in the top 10 anytime soon.  

IN THE MIX 

Morgan Wallen feat. Tate McRae, “What I Want” (Mercury/Big Loud/Republic): It’s ranked in the Hot 100’s top five for all 10 weeks on the chart, and after having to wait its turn a little as prior Wallen singles circulated through radio, “What I Want” is also starting to pick up there: It could reach the top 10 on Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay in the next week or two. It’s also slowly making its presence felt on Country Airplay, but it’s still mostly in the waiting room there, as “Just in Case” still reigns on that chart and “I Got Better” climbs 25-22 there as the next officially promoted country radio single from Wallen’s I’m the Problem.  

Drake feat. Central Cee, “Which One” (OVO Sound/Republic): “What Did I Miss,” Drake’s presumed lead single from his upcoming Iceman set, has already slid out of the top 20 of the Hot 100 in just its third week on the listing, but it should be replaced in that chart region next week by new release “Which One,” featuring U.K. rap star Central Cee. The song is getting some early radio support, but will mostly bow based on streaming returns, having bowed at No. 2 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA listing and ruled for multiple days on the Apple Music real-time chart — though it has already begun its slide on both DSPs. If it can bow at No. 17 or higher, it will become Cee’s top-charting hit on the Hot 100, passing last year’s No. 18 peak for Lil Baby collab “Band 4 Band.”