CHARTBREAKERS: The Sound of May 2025

After months of Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" dominating the Billboard charts like an over-caffeinated earworm that just wouldn't quit, we're finally witnessing a pop landscape in transition. So it's time for a new edition of CHARTBREAKERS, our series where we dive into the Billboard Hot 100 to uncover emerging trends and analyze the surprising hits that America is collectively vibing to at this moment.

The Billboard chart is kind of like the oracle of Delphi. You go, you supplicate, and the chart gives you insights into the deeper, innermost recesses of our musical obsessions. And the oracle has plenty to reveal this week. From legacy artists staging comebacks to a wave of worship-adjacent anthems to an honest-to-goodness soul revival, we're grouping these revelations into categories that might help us make sense of what the heck is going on.

THE RELAUNCH

In the streaming era, even the biggest stars sometimes need to recalibrate their approach when things go sideways. This month, we're seeing several established artists effectively performing a CTRL+ALT+DELETE on their careers, revisiting earlier sounds that made them famous while trying to convince us it's fresh.

Drake - "Nokia"

If you'd told us three months ago that Drake would be anywhere near the top five after losing what might go down as the most brutal hip-hop battle in recent memory, we would've laughed you out of the room. And yet, here we are! "Nokia" isn't just charting, it is redefining late-stage Drakeitalism. The track builds around the classic Nokia ringtone (that iconic earworm you definitely had on your first cell phone that we once called the most popular song in the world) into a party-ready foundation for Drake to do what Drake does best: call women on phones and feel feelings. With its throwback 808 drumbeat and a DMX-style roll call of dozens of women he's calling, Drake has wisely taken Kendrick Lamar's backhanded advice to "keep making me dance, waving my hands, and there won't be no threat" and run with it. It's less artistic evolution and more strategic regression, and, yes, it's working.

Ed Sheeran - "Azizam"

Our favorite redheaded melody machine has teamed up with Swedish-Iranian producer Ilya Salmanzadeh, and despite the cultural fusion attempt, the result is... exactly what you'd expect from Ed Sheeran.The backstory sounds promising: Salmanzadeh incorporates his Persian heritage with authentic frame drums and dulcimers. But despite these sonic adornments, the track remains quintessentially Sheeran: simple chord progressions, universal lyrics engineered for maximum radio play, and melodies that use the same four notes on repeat. The most interesting thing is its deceptive 12/8 groove that recalls Disclosure's "Latch." In the end, "Azizam" shows how even well-intentioned cultural fusion can be flattened until you're left with... just another Ed Sheeran song.

Lorde - "What Was That?"

After the polarizing reception to 2021's "Solar Power" (which we personally enjoyed, thank you very much), Lorde is making a calculated return to the minimalist dance-inspired sounds that made her a star. "What Was That?" could've slotted into her 2017 masterpiece "Melodrama" without raising an eyebrow. The track features the same stark electronic production and confessional lyrics (this time about taking MDMA in a back garden) that defined her earlier work, right down to the 2010s era pop drop hook. It's less artistic evolution than deliberate recalibration, but undeniably effective at recapturing the moody, introspective electronic atmosphere that made us fall in love with Lorde in the first place.

WORSHIP POP

One of 2025's most fascinating chart trends is what we're calling "worship pop," secular music that borrows from contemporary Christian worship music's production techniques, lyrical themes, and emotional crescendos. These songs offer vague spiritual uplift without necessarily committing to specific religious messaging, creating a perfect crossover between religious and secular listeners during what seems to be an increasingly conservative cultural shift in America.

Alex Warren - "Ordinary"

TikTok star-turned-musician Alex Warren leads this movement with "Ordinary," a track that's anything but. Building from a humble ukulele introduction to a massive anthem filled with religious imagery ("You're the sculptor, I am the clay"), Warren navigates the line between secular and sacred content brilliantly. The worship music-loving former hype house founder borrows from pop conventions, with phrasing from BTS's "Boy With Love" ("oh my, my") and possibly Billie Eilish's "Birds of a Feather" ("lay me down to where dead and buried"). The result is a crossover hit that works for youth group worship and emotional TikTok backgrounds alike. At #2, it clearly speaks to something larger happening in our collective consciousness, even as Christian TikTok debates whether it's actually a "Christian song" or blasphemous idolatry of Warren's wife (the song's inspiration).

Myles Smith - "Stargazing"

If we were giving out awards for "Most Annoying Song Currently Charting," Myles Smith's "Stargazing" would win uncontested. This song epitomizes the "Love Is Blind" type beat, those generic inspirational anthems playing incessantly on Netflix dating shows. "Stargazing" commits the cardinal sin of starting with acoustic strumming only to build into an EDM drop, a transition that makes about as much emotional sense as following meditation with a monster truck rally. The melodic phrase on "time stood still" is practically a carbon copy of Train's "your lipstick stains," right down to the major third in three-quarter note rhythm. At least Smith has a beautiful voice and a wonderfully British pronunciation of "lost" as "lust." Small mercies.

Forrest Frank - "Your Way is Better"

If Alex Warren keeps one foot in the secular world, Forrest Frank takes a flying leap into full-on Christian territory, merging unmistakably Christian messaging with hip hop production. It sounds essentially white guy Chance the Rapper circa 2017. Its presence at #61 suggests that spiritually-themed content is expanding well beyond overtly religious communities.

VIBE SNATCHING

Interpolation has become a fundamental hit-making strategy, with artists deliberately sampling or referencing familiar hits to create instant recognition with listeners. The practice sits on a spectrum from creative reimagining to borderline plagiarism, with artists constantly testing where that line falls.

Doechi - "Anxiety"

Doechi leads this wave with "Anxiety," repurposing the iconic xylophone line from Gotye's 2011 mega-hit "Somebody That I Used to Know" into an exploration of mental health. She employs a dizzying array of vocal techniques—whispered, sung, and rapped lines layered together—to physically embody anxiety's experience. The result is either brilliantly innovative or headache-inducing, depending on your perspective. But that's the fascinating thing about interpolation: sometimes loving the original makes you more resistant to its reinterpretation.

Lil Tecca - "Dark Thoughts"

If Doechi represents creative interpolation, Lil Tecca shows what happens when borrowing becomes near plagiarism. The track instantly makes you think Pharrell Williams produced it thanks to his distinctive four-beat producer tag and electric guitar sound used on hits from Kelis's "Milkshake" to Kendrick Lamar's "Alright." Check the credits though, and Williams had nothing to do with it. Producers Lucas Schaff and Foley have simply... borrowed his signature sound. It's one thing to be influenced by Pharrell; it's another to literally start your track with his iconic tag.

Katsye - "Gnarly"

This six-woman group formed on the reality show Dream Academy (produced by HYBE, the K-pop entertainment company behind BTS, and Geffen Records) represents a fascinating fusion of global influences. What's fascinating about "Gnarly" is how it sounds nothing like what you'd expect. Instead of polished K-pop production, the track builds around what sounds like the Mortal Kombat theme song, complete with sword-unsheathing sound effects. The lyrics are equally bizarre, with lines about fried chicken and boba tea delivered with hyper-pop glitchy textures and Sophie-style snares.

VIBE SHIFTING

Beyond recycling familiar sounds, some artists are pushing pop into genuinely new territory by reinterpreting classic sounds through contemporary lenses.

The Marias - "No One Noticed"

The Marias' "No One Noticed" feels like a genuine breath of fresh air. This track completely rejects conventional verse-chorus structures in favor of a dreamlike approach that unfolds with tantalizing slowness. Their harmonic progression cycles through a sequence that never quite lands on a definitive tonal home. Maria Zardoya's delicate, close-miked vocals float above instrumental elements that would be at home in a 1970s jazz fusion track: trumpet solos, guitar solos, keyboard solos. After 32 weeks on the charts, their success suggests audiences might be ready for more adventurous song structures.

Ravyn Lanae - "Love Me Not"

Ravyn Lanae's "Love Me Not" manages to feel simultaneously vintage and cutting-edge. The song's foundation is pure 1960s soul: arpeggiated electric guitar, walking basslines, and vocals processed with slap-back echo you'd hear on an old Motown record. What elevates it are the surprising contemporary touches, like the strange electronic effect (like a turntable winding backward) that introduces a dramatic shift into a character-driven vocal approach reminiscent of Nicki Minaj. This creates a tension between reverence for soul traditions and playful subversion of them.

Leon Thomas - "Mutt"

Leon Thomas's "Mutt" offers yet another direction for the contemporary soul revival, what we might call "Funk-and-B." Built around a sample of the 1977 track "Silly Love Song" by Enchantment, it combines P-funk elements with contemporary R&B production, following in the tradition established by Steve Lacy's "Bad Habit." The track shows how sampling can be a foundation for genuine innovation rather than just a shortcut to familiar emotion.

VOICE AUDITION POP

Music writer Larisha Paul coined the perfect term for a certain strain of emotionally excessive, vocally strained pop performance currently dominating the charts: "Voice audition pop." These songs feel like they were custom-built for reality singing competitions, prioritizing technical vocal showcases and emotional authenticity over songwriting innovation.

Teddy Swims - "Bad Dreams"

Few artists embody voice audition pop better than Teddy Swims, whose previous hit "Lose Control" set the record for longest consecutive climb to #1. The white soul singer phenomenon continues with "Bad Dreams," which bears an uncanny (probably unintentional) resemblance to Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" in its chord progression.

Benson Boone - "Sorry, I'm Here for Someone Else"

Former American Idol contestant Benson Boone epitomizes what we're calling "gumption pop," the willingness to push his voice into uncomfortable territory even when it leads to shouting rather than singing. There's something fascinating about this deliberate technical imperfection. When Boone strains for high notes, it creates a relatability that connects with karaoke strugglers everywhere. The vocal performance communicates authenticity precisely through its limitations, not polished, but feeling real. The man has gumption, we'll give him that.

THE SHORTEST SONG EVER

Jack Black - "Steve's Lava Chicken"

"Steve's Lava Chicken" by Jack Black from the Minecraft movie soundtrack is officially the shortest song ever to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 at just 34 seconds long. This goofy snippet (co-composed by Jack Black and Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess) beat the previous record-holder, Kid Cudi's 37-second "Beautiful Trip," letting us cross off our Switched On Pop 2025 Bingo prediction for a sub-two-minute charting song. The track features Black demonstrating how to make "lava chicken" in the Minecraft universe. It’s nonsensical, bizarre, and yet somehow charting. In 2025's musical landscape, literally anything is possible.

Pop's Beautiful Chaos

We're witnessing a moment of beautiful chaos where multiple competing visions of what pop can be are simultaneously thriving. What ties these disparate trends together is how they reflect our collective anxieties and aspirations. The rise of worship pop suggests a desire for transcendence in uncertain times (and possibly connects to America's rightward cultural shift); the soul revival indicates nostalgia for perceived authenticity; voice audition pop reflects our fascination with emotional vulnerability over technical perfection.

The oracle of Billboard has spoken, and its message is clear: in 2025, pop music continues its endless process of death and rebirth, simultaneously looking backward for inspiration while attempting to navigate an uncertain future.