Given our complaints within this format regarding the overall stagnation that the charts can recently fall victim to, we shouldn’t be complaining about new material vaulting up the rankings. And in many ways, we’re not. However, it’s hard not to note the parallels between where we stand in 2025 and where we stood a decade later. Indeed, this July feels more like 2010 than any month before it, as Justin Bieber and Drake stand as two of the biggest risers on Music Daily’s Tracks.
Canada’s Finest Shine With Justin Bieber Album And Upcoming Drake LP
For those who pay attention to pop culture headlines, it’s likely you didn’t realize that it’d been nearly four years since we recieved a Justin Bieber full-length before his SWAG. Indeed, his name never seemed to exit the newswire on account of seemingly constant outside-of-the-studio updates. Perhaps knowingly winking at said issues on his record was the correct course of action, as much of the material included on the surprise drop regains the top billing that was once expected of him. Indeed, “Daises” only needs to rise one more Billboard position to join his cadre of totemic tracks like “Peaches,” “Stay,” or “Sorry.” Further down, it’s far from a one-off though — you’ll feel his presence throughout our chart: “THINGS YOU DO,” “YUKON,” “ALL I CAN TAKE,” “BUTTERFLIES,” “WAY IT IS,” “WALKING AWAY,” “GO BABY,” and “DEVOTION” add further top 100 fare.
Drake, in contrast to Justin’s out-of-nowhere release cadence, has taken a far more traditional approach as he careens towards Iceman. The multi-time platinum seller has started a highly stylized livestream series to debut the new tracks from said upcoming record, beginning with “What Did I Miss.” That initial single clocks in at #4 in our chart, never having dipped outside of the top 5 since its introduction. Given his well-established track record, the “second episode” is likely headed for a similar fate, as “Which One” alongside Central Cee plays into the club fare that brought “Nokia” such heights earlier this year. On this short-term view, we’ve got it debuting at #35, likely its floor for the months ahead.
A Requiem For The Crown Prince
Of course, we’d be remiss not to include some sort of mention of the late Ozzy Osbourne, one of the more seismic losses the music industry has suffered in some time. Given the uncanny timing of the news, coming in the heat of a farewell tour that’d see the Black Sabbath alumni put his touring days behind him, legacy retrospectives were already well underway within the critic base and general audiences. However, we can see the tangible effects on how Ozzy has shaped listening habits in recent weeks. in and of themselves, the tracks getting the most spin demonstrate his era-agnostic influence; his metal group origins (“Paranoid” at #72), his solo career (“Crazy Train” at #54), and his second prime life as a legacy act embraced by younger generations (Post Malone’s “Take What You Want” at #170).
As always, you can catch all the music mentioned throughout this piece wherever you stream your music.
