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 200 dated April 27), Future and Metro Boomin look to go two for two at No. 1 with their We Still Don’t Trust You album, following March’s chart-topping We Don’t Trust You team-up.
Future & Metro Boomin, We Still Don’t Trust You (Freebandz/Boominati/Epic/Republic): Part of the reason that We Don’t Trust You generated the immediate excitement that it did – including a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 with a then-2024-best 251,000 first-week units – was because fans knew it was just part one of two for Future and Metro Boomin. The superstar hip-hop duo also promised a follow-up just a few weeks later, and as of last Friday, it is here: We Still Don’t Trust You, the big-budget sequel to their March blockbuster, featuring the same rapper-producer chemistry and the same stacked (though uncredited, at least initially) guest list as its predecessor.
Still actually runs well longer than its earlier series installment, with an 18-song official tracklist and then a seven-track bonus set – like a deluxe edition that Future and Metro didn’t even wait to drop on fans. And the supporting cast is perhaps even stronger this time around, with the 25 total tracks boasting cameos from The Weeknd, Lil Baby, Chris Brown, A$AP Rocky, Ty Dolla $ign, and of course, J. Cole – whose appearance is particularly headline-making news, given his (brief) involvement with the ever-expanding hip-hop civil war kicked off by Kendrick Lamar’s pot-stirring verse on the prior Future/Metro set’s Billboard Hot 100-topping “Like That.”
Despite the expanded tracklist and guest list, it seems unlikely that Still will debut with the same sort of robust first-week number as the original Trust. On DSPs, the set’s songs are not streaming quite as resoundingly – in fact, on the daily charts for both Spotify and Apple Music, the top two Future and Metro songs are currently “Like That” and “Type Shit,” both from their March release. Nonetheless, songs from Still are still scattered across both listings – led by the set’s pulsing neon title track, its leadoff cut – and with the whopping 25 tracks to rack up streams, it’s still in prime position to compete for the No. 1 spot on next week’s Billboard 200. (And with three different CD versions set for release this Friday – vinyl will follow in July – it may remain in the mix for the following week as well.)
Linkin Park, Papercuts (Warner/Machine Shop): It’s been a big year already for Linkin Park, with their new-old single “Friendly Fire” topping the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, and an upcoming biography on the band announced for October, written by Billboard’s own Jason Lipshutz. On Friday, they also released their first-ever hits compilation Papercuts, a 20-track set spanning the band’s 20-plus-year career — which still seems as relevant and vital as ever in 2024, even six years after the death of lead singer Chester Bennington.
In addition to signature smashes like “In the End,” “Numb” and “What I’ve Done,” Papercuts includes “Friendly Fire” (originally recorded for 2017’s One More Light), as well as last year’s rock radio-dominating “Lost” (originally recorded for 2003’s Meteora), and the limitedly available “QWERTY” (previously released on 2006’s fan club-only LP Underground 6.0 EP). While racking up the usual streams for these metal and alternative classics, the set is also expected to post strong sales, thanks to the availability of eight different-colored vinyl variants, including exclusives for Target, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and the band’s official store, as well as CD and cassette options.
Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget Me (Debay Sounds/Capitol): Five years after her debut album Heard It in a Past Life turned heads with its No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 – eventually leading to a best new artist Grammy nomination for the Maryland singer-songwriter – Maggie Rogers appears to be bigger than ever. Her recently announced Don’t Forget Me tour for the spring and summer will feature her first-ever arena shows in its second leg, including dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles’ Kia Forum.
Those shows will, of course, come in support of her third album of the same name: Don’t Forget Me was released last Friday, and has been met with some of her best reviews yet. The set is not expected to stream in blockbuster numbers, but should sell well, with five different vinyl variants – including exclusives for Spotify and indie retailers, and a signed edition sold through her webstore, as well as a CD (also available in a signed webstore edition) and a cassette option.
IN THE MIX
Chris Brown, 11:11 (RCA/CBE): Brown’s late 2023 set 11:11 was already packed to the gills, with its title referencing the number of tracks on each of the album’s two streaming-divided halves, including minor Hot 100 hits like “Sensational” and “Summer Too Hot.” But the set’s new deluxe edition adds a new third stretch with 13 new cuts, taking the total from 22 to 35, including new collabs from recognizable names like Bryson Tiller, Lil Wayne and (again) Davido. (Neither the original nor deluxe edition is yet available for what would surely be an unwieldy physical release.)
Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Polydor/Interscope): Seems like Lana Del Rey will never run out of vinyl reissues of her acclaimed 2023 set, and in this case the timing makes particular sense: She offered a new “festival orange” pressing of Ocean Blvd to go with her Friday night headlining slot at weekend one of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival over the weekend. The reissue should sell nicely, and the album will also be helped by the general boost in streaming her buzzy set has given her catalog for the days since – assisted by an appearance from fellow alt-pop superstar (and longtime LDR acolyte) Billie Eilish.
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