Many of our weekly check-ins this year decry the sometimes static nature of the charts, replete with hold-overs from earlier months or even years. From that perspective, it’s refreshing that we’ve got a full slate of new releases that’ve elicited the most excitement on the charts. Fresh material from Cardi B with “Outside,” Kehlani with “Folded,” and Megan Moroney with “6 Months Later” are the biggest headlines this week, a couple of those names already signaling that they’ll continue to heat up the summer in the coming months.
While the announcement of the single preceded any LP news, “Outside” and knowledge of the next Cardi B album functionally came alongside one another. Strategically, it was a shrewd play on the “Bodak Yellow” rapper’s part to parlay the long wait time between her debut and sophomore album into tangible commercial effects. Yet we can squarely say that anyone able to keep their name in the consciousness for half a decade without a full-length would’ve commanded serious attention no matter how you slice it. Cardi B is just that undeniable on “Outside,” playing heavily off the season in its lyrics and built on heavy, bassy production in the same way that “Up” an anthem earlier in this “era.”
Megan Moroney And Kehlani Join “Outside” By Cardi B As Big Winners
Kehlani provides the next entry, familiar in this arena in a sort of indirect fashion via Jordan Atetunji’s song named after her. This time, an operatic open and classic R&B hallmarks set the pace for Kehlani on “Folded,” getting a late extra boost with the full music video treatment. We make the claim often in this format, but Kehlani has never had much trouble putting together a smash in the past, but it’s encouraging that “Folded” leaves her vocals talents and ear for throwback production to speak for themselves, and they’ve delivered her biggest moment of the year.
Not entirely absent from our rankings already, Megan Moroney is back in the mix for the first time after “Am I Okay?” a late summer country hit from 2024 that came from the album of the same name. Moroney has wasted no time in gearing up anew for a follow-up (currently untitled), and if “6 Months Later” is any indication, it’ll continue her hitmaking ways. Landing the country phenom her highest placement on our charts so far this year, the song arrives in a sun-soaked package, with the requisite dose of twang and twangy guitars. Delivered as a mix of uplifting and downtrodden, with a catchy crux at the center (“what doesn’t call you calls you six months later”), it’s not just our charts that reflect it — Megan Moroney might have her catchiest song yet on her hands.
As always, you can catch the music featured throughout this piece wherever you stream your music, or more handily, by checking out our Trending Tracks playlist embedded below.
