(February 11, 2025). It goes without saying that performers don’t need the NFL to pay them for doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the artists’ benefits from the exposure are compensation enough.
But what Kendrick is on the verge of doing on next week’s Billboard charts could represent the biggest benefit yet any artist has experienced in the wake of owning what is arguably the biggest world stage for any musical performance.
First, it’s important to point out that Kendrick’s show on Sunday (Feb. 9) is now officially the most-watched halftime performance in the institution’s history, outdoing Michael Jackson’s landmark 1993 performance with a rating of 133.5 million for Kendrick to 133.4 million for the King of Pop. For recent comparisons, Kendrick’s show outperformed last year’s show featuring Usher – itself a record-holder for recent performances – by roughly ten million viewers.
For a halftime show featuring the first-time solo-billing ever for a rapper in a contest that was pretty much already a blowout by the break to have record-breaking viewership speaks volumes for the pull Kendrick apparently has. That the show has created a buzz unlike any other since Janet Jackson’s Nipplegate scandal 21 years ago is also epic. Unlike Janet Jackson’s case, where controversy derailed her career, Kendrick’s moment has fueled unprecedented success.
Aside from the bragging rights that come with record-breaking ratings, here’s what’s potentially in store for K.Dot on next week’s Billboard charts.
His latest album, GNX, featuring three of the tracks he performed Sunday – “squabble up,” “luther” (with SZA) and “tv off” (with Lefty Gunplay) – is on pace to return to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with a point total more than doubling the next contender at No. 2. GNX first entered at No. 1 on the chart back in early December upon its release in November.
Two more of his albums – DAMN and good kid, m.A.A.d city – are slated to return to the top ten on the chart for the first time in years. That would give him three albums in the Billboard 200’s top ten simultaneously, something no other rapper has accomplished. And only Taylor Swift has done that this decade.
All six of Kendrick’s studio (non-soundtrack) albums currently rank in the top 25 of US iTunes, with five of them – the above three plus To Pimp a Butterfly and Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers in the top ten.
But that’s only half the story.
On the singles front, Kendrick owns six of the top ten and seven of the twelve top tracks on iTunes, with “Not Like Us” – his Drake diss and cultural anthem – leading the way at No. 1. “Squabble up,” “luther,” “tv off,” “HUMBLE.,” “All the Stars” (also with SZA), and “peekaboo” (feat. AzChike) make up the remainder of the field. (It’s also worth noting that Lady Gaga, who gave stirring performances at both the Grammys and the Super Bowl pregame show – has three of the remaining four songs in the iTunes top ten.)
But it’s what Lamar is in line for on the Billboard Hot 100 that could make the biggest history. Currently, “Not Like Us” is on track to move back up to No. 1 on the industry’s premier singles list. That would make its third trip to the top and its first since last July when it returned after he released the song’s Grammy-winning video to streaming platforms. If it succeeds, it will mark the longest gap between No. 1 postings for a song in its original release cycle. The 31-week distance between its most recent frame at No. 1 in July and next week is more than three times the previous record held by Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” which experienced a ten-week void between its two No. 1 stints during the same chart run in 2013. Incidentally, Kendrick previously held second place in this category with nine weeks having separated the first and second No. 1 placements of “Not Like Us” last year.
To put all these timeframes in perspective, the first song ever to move in and out of No. 1 three times – Chic’s “Le Freak” – did so with just one and two weeks separating its No. 1 stints in 1978-79 and only one song (first Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond’s “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and then the Bee Gees’ “Too Much Heaven”) separating each return. In the 31 weeks since July 20th when “Not Like Us” last reigned, there have been six different No. 1 songs on the Hot 100.
Of course, this feat excludes songs that have returned to No. 1 in completely separate chart runs, like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which has had eleven-month gaps between its annual returns to the top after completely exiting the chart following the holidays; or the nearly two years that separated Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” which first hit No. 1 in 1960 and then again in 1962 during a separate run after adults famously caught on to what the kids had been digging the first time around (and you thought Kendrick was part of a huge generational divide!).
This milestone also excuses the fact that Kendrick’s contiguous chart run for “Not Like Us” was interrupted by a one-week departure during Christmas when an onslaught of old holiday tunes pushed dozens of songs in original release off the Hot 100. “Not Like Us” immediately returned to the chart in January at No. 20 and dipped as low as No. 33 before its recent turnaround following its record-breaking Grammy sweep and now the historic Super Bowl performance.
Kendrick’s biggest competition on next week’s Hot 100 appears to be Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ current topper, “Die With a Smile,” which is gunning for a sixth week at No. 1, and his own “luther” with SZA, the ballad that samples the Luther Vandross/Cheryl Lynn classic, “If This World Were Mine,” which is running neck-and-neck with “Not Like Us” for the top spot.
Of course, none of this has occurred yet, and there are still two more days remaining in Billboard’s tracking week where anything can happen. But with the buzz surrounding Kendrick’s performance not subsiding, there seems to be nothing stopping the Compton rapper from making history yet again!
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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