Within the first half of 2025 in the US, Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Drawback was the most well-liked album, whereas Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” was the most-streamed track (by on-demand audio streams), respectively, in response to information monitoring agency Luminate.
Learn extra about midyear metrics within the 2025 Luminate Midyear Music Report.
No ‘Drawback’: For the monitoring interval of Jan. 3 by means of July 3, 2025, Wallen’s I’m the Drawback was the most well-liked album within the U.S. The set was launched on Could 16 and earned 2.562 million equal album items within the first half of the yr. (See full prime 10 chart, beneath). I’m the Drawback debuted at No. 1 on the weekly Billboard 200 chart dated Could 31 and spent its first eight weeks atop the record (by means of essentially the most not too long ago printed chart, dated July 19). It marked his third chief on the chart, following 2023’s One Factor at a Time and 2021’s Harmful: The Double Album. The 2 initiatives additionally completed as Luminate’s hottest album of 2023 and 2021, respectively.
Probably the most-streamed track by on-demand audio streams (inclusive of user-generated content material [UGC] streams) was Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” with 530.4 million clicks within the first six months of the yr.
Equal album items – for album titles and chart rankings cited beneath (however not business quantity numbers) – comprise conventional album gross sales, monitor equal albums (TEA) and streaming equal albums (SEA). Every unit equals one album gross sales, or 10 particular person tracks offered from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official and audio streams generated by songs from an album.
Equal album items cited for album titles on this story, and within the “Midyear High 10 Albums in U.S.” chart don’t embrace user-generated content material (UGC) streams. UGC streams are included in Luminate’s business quantity numbers and its midyear track streaming rankings. (UGC streams aren’t factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)
For the sake of readability, equal album items don’t embrace listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts. All numbers cited on this story are rounded, and for the U.S. solely. Programmed streams aren’t included in any of the information on this story.
Luminate (previously MRC Knowledge, Nielsen Music and SoundScan) started monitoring music consumption in 1991. Luminate’s gross sales, streaming and airplay information is used to compile Billboard’s weekly charts.
Of I’m the Drawback’s 2.562 million equal album items earned at midyear, SEA items comprise 2.326 million (equaling 3.06 billion on-demand official audio and video streams of the set’s songs), album gross sales comprise 211,000 and TEA items comprise 25,000.
The highest 5 hottest albums on the midyear level within the U.S. are I’m the Drawback, SZA’s Dec. 2022 launch SOS (1.711 million; bolstered by its December 2024 deluxe reissue dubbed SOS Deluxe: LANA), Lamar’s 2024 launch GNX (1.706 million), Unhealthy Bunny’s 2025 launch DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (1.65 million) and Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 album Quick n’ Candy (1.331 million). Quick n’ Candy and SOS have been the Nos. 3 and 4 hottest albums of the yr in Luminate’s 2024 year-end report.
2025’s Midyear High 10 Albums in U.S. (by Equal Album Models)
1. Morgan Wallen, I’m the Drawback (2.562 million)
2. SZA, SOS (1.711 million)
3. Kendrick Lamar, GNX (1.706 million)
4. Unhealthy Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (1.650 million)5. Sabrina Carpenter, Quick n’ Candy (1.331 million)6.The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow (1.229 million)
7. PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U (1.229 million)
8. Morgan Wallen, One Factor at a Time (1.099 million)
9. Girl Gaga, MAYHEM (966,000)
10. Playboi Carti, MUSIC (949,000)
Supply: Luminate, for the monitoring interval Jan. 3 by means of July 3, 2025. UGC (user-generated content material) streams aren’t included on this chart, however are included in Luminate’s on-demand streaming charts (beneath). Luminate’s equal album unit totals embrace SEA and TEA for an album’s songs registered earlier than an album’s launch, however solely through the monitoring interval.
2025’s Midyear High 10 Promoting Albums in U.S. (Bodily & Digital Album Gross sales Mixed)
1. The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow (495,000)
2. Kendrick Lamar, GNX (326,000)
3. Sabrina Carpenter, Quick n’ Candy (275,000)
4. Girl Gaga, MAYHEM (238,000)
5. Morgan Wallen, I’m the Drawback (211,000)
6. Taylor Swift, Lover: Reside From Paris (206,000)
7. Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (180,000)
8. Stray Youngsters, HOP (149,000)
9. ENHYPEN, DESIRE : UNLEASH (145,000)
10. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande & Varied Artists, Depraved: The Soundtrack (134,000)
Supply: Luminate, for the monitoring interval Jan. 3 by means of July 3, 2025.
2025’s Midyear High 10 Promoting Vinyl Albums in U.S.
1. Kendrick Lamar, GNX (226,000)
2. Sabrina Carpenter, Quick n’ Candy (169,000)
3. Taylor Swift, Lover: Reside From Paris (164,000)
4. The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow (144,000)
5. Girl Gaga, MAYHEM (122,000)
6. Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (105,000)
7. Billie Eilish, Hit Me Onerous and Tender (92,000)
8. Tyler, The Creator, IGOR (91,000)
9. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (83,000)
10. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande & Varied Artists, Depraved: The Soundtrack (76,000)
Supply: Luminate, for the monitoring interval Jan. 3 by means of July 3, 2025.
Whole U.S. Audio Album Consumption Will increase 3.9% at Midyear: 12 months-to-date, whole equal audio album items elevated by 3.9% (to 558.9 million) as in comparison with the identical timeframe in 2024 (537.9 million within the span of Dec. 29, 2023, by means of June 27, 2024). (On-demand video streams are excluded from this year-over-year comparability as a consequence of a development break that Luminate notes in its report: “A change in supplier reporting was made in January 2024 that impacts the Non-Tune UGC class. Thus, we’re unable to supply video trending.”
Whole U.S. album gross sales — conventional purchases of bodily and digital obtain albums — declined by 6% to 41 million (down from 43.6 million within the first half of 2024). U.S. bodily album gross sales (vinyl, CD, cassette, and so on.) dipped by 3.2% to 34.2 million (down from 35.3 million) and U.S. digital album purchases (like these from the iTunes Retailer and comparable obtain shops) fell 17.7% to six.8 million (down from 8.3 million).
Notably, Luminate highlights that if one excluded Taylor Swift albums from the year-over-year comparisons, then each whole U.S. album gross sales, and U.S. bodily album gross sales, would have elevated year-over-year. (Swift loomed very massive within the first half of 2024 together with her monster album The Tortured Poets Division, whereas her general album catalog posted huge gross sales figures round her then-ongoing The Eras Tour). If one eliminated Swift’s albums from the mathematics, U.S. album gross sales would have elevated by 1.9% within the first half of 2025 (to 40.2 million), whereas U.S. bodily album gross sales would have rose by 5.5% (to 31.7 million).
Luminate additionally notes a development break in its midyear report concerning impartial retail bodily gross sales: The 2025 Midyear Music Report “consists of U.S. bodily gross sales for impartial retailers utilizing modeled information. Luminate up to date its reporting methodology for impartial retail gross sales in 2024. On this report, modeled information from Luminate’s next-generation CONNECT platform replaces unmodeled information present in Music Join for (the primary half of) 2024.”
U.S. On-Demand Audio Streaming Up 4.6%, ‘Luther’ Most-Streamed Tune: Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” was the most-streamed track by on-demand audio streams within the first half of 2025 within the U.S. (see record, beneath), with 530.4 million streams.
Whole on-demand audio streams at midyear elevated by 4.6% within the U.S. as in comparison with the identical level a yr in the past (696.6 billion versus 665.8 billion).
UGC streams are included in Luminate’s business streaming on-demand quantity numbers (above) and its midyear streaming track charts (beneath). UGC streams aren’t factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.
Basically, all songs within the beneath charts mix the numerous remixes of a track into one general whole.
2025’s Midyear High 10 Most Streamed Songs in U.S. (On-Demand Audio)
1. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “Luther” (530.4 million)
2. Girl Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” (421.4 million)
3. Kendrick Lamar that includes Lefty Gunplay, “TV Off” (370.4 million)
4. Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us” (368.0 million)
5. Drake, “NOKIA” (326.3 million)
6. Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Drawback” (326.3 million)
7. Teddy Swims, “Lose Management” (320.9 million)
8. Shaboozey, “A Bar Tune (Tipsy)” (319.6 million)
9. Alex Warren, “Bizarre” (319.3 million)
10. Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather” (319.1 million)
Supply: Luminate, for the monitoring interval Jan. 3 by means of July 3, 2025. Contains UGC streams.
‘Smile’ Sizzles at Radio: Probably the most-heard track on U.S. radio within the first half of 2024 was Girl Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile,” with a cumulative 1.762 million viewers impressions throughout all codecs monitored. The monitor led Billboard’s weekly Radio Songs airplay chart for eight weeks between February and April.
2024’s Midyear High 10 Radio Songs in U.S. (Based mostly on Viewers Impressions)
1. Girl Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” (1.762 billion)
2. Shaboozey, “A Bar Tune (Tipsy)” (1.655 billion)
3. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “Luther” (1.592 billion)
4. Myles Smith, “Stargazing” (1.391 billion)
5. Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso” (1.372 billion)
6. Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather” (1.273 billion)
7. Teddy Swims, “Lose Management” (1.170 billion)
8. Benson Boone, “Lovely Issues” (1.164 billion)
9. Morgan Wallen, “Love Someone” (1.112 billion)
10. ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, “APT.” (1.110 billion)
Supply: Mediabase; Luminate Metro Radio Streaming, for the monitoring interval Jan. 3 by means of July 3, 2025.