one billion

Nicki Minaj Breaks Spotify Record And Breaks Down Her Writing For Fans

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The commercial accolades keep coming for Nicki Minaj’s new album Pink Friday 2. The rapper released her first new studio album in 5 years last month and it’s been a hit with fans. The feature-packed effort sports appearances from Drake, J. Cole, Future, Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. Songs like “FTCU,” “Needle,” and “Everybody” have already taken off on the Hot 100. In combination with hit singles like “Super Freaky Girl” and “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” the album racked up hundreds of millions of streams quickly.

In fact, Pink Friday 2 just broke a record for how quickly it’s generating streams. Minaj’s newest effort just surpassed 1 billion streams which is an incredibly impressive milestone on its own. But it gets even more impressive when you learn that she also broke the record for the fastest album to hit 1 billion streams by a female rapper in the history of the platform. Additionally, she became the first female rapper with five different albums that each crossed 1 billion streams.

Read More: What Is Nicki Minaj’s Best-Selling Album?

Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday 2” Achievements

Earlier this week, Nicki Minaj peeled back the curtain on her creative process during an Instagram Live. She broke down the songwriting process of one of the new album’s biggest hits, “FTCU.” It’s the same song that she revealed J. Cole took a particular interest in when she first played it for him prior to the release of the album.

It’s the same track that Nicki has been teasing an upcoming remix for. While she didn’t say who would be joining her on the song she did say it was a male rapper. That’s why after learning of his pre-release intrigue with the song many suspected that Cole was the artist joining her for a remix. Nicki hasn’t shared an official release date for the remix yet. What do you think of the fast commercial success of Pink Friday 2? Did you find her breaking down her songwriting and lyrical content impressive or helpful? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: What Was Nicki Minaj’s Debut Single?

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Travis Scott’s “UTOPIA” Now Has Over 1 Billion Streams On Spotify Alone

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Is anyone really surprised that Travis Scott’s long-awaited UTOPIA is among the most successful albums of the year so far? The project keeps amassing a lot of commercial milestones, the most recent one being that it surpassed a billion streams on Spotify alone. Moreover, this isn’t taking into account the avalanche of other platforms’ streams, physical sales, and bundles that propelled it into platinum-eligible status. Even vinyl sales records for hip-hop albums shattered with the Houston MC’s latest full-length. As such, it’s poised to be not just one of the most money-making moments of the year, but one of the most culturally impactful, in the sense that its hype and conversation has been incessant.

If you’re curious, the most streamed song from UTOPIA on Spotify (excluding the single “K-POP,” which has 123 million as of writing this article) is a no-brainer. Travis Scott and Drake’s reunion on “MELTDOWN” has over 101 million streams, and next up is the Playboi Carti collab “FE!N.” Other often-streamed tracks off it are “I KNOW ?,” “TELEKINESIS,” and “MY EYES.” The least streamed is, unsurprisingly, the interlude-like “PARASAIL” with 24 million streams, followed by the Westside Gunn and James Blake-assisted “LOST FOREVER” with 28 million (which is absolutely criminal).

Read More: Travis Scott Breaks His Own Record For Vinyl Sales

Travis Scott Keeps Amassing Wild Numbers For UTOPIA

With these numbers in mind, it’s no surprise that UTOPIA will likely go number one on the Billboard charts for a fourth consecutive week. However, there are still some standards to live up to when it comes to Travis Scott’s commercial success. For example, each of his past three studio albums amassed over 2 billion streams on the platform. It probably won’t be long until this new project reaches that mark as well, but only time will tell how the album continues to age.

As much money as it’s netting La Flame, UTOPIA has undoubtedly been his most divisive release so far. Amid fans’ own criticisms of the project, there’s his Astroworld controversy to account for, which many fans thought he didn’t do a compelling job of taking responsibility for on the album. Regardless, maybe a couple of more years will change this perception for better or worse. Stay posted on HNHH for the latest news and updates on Travis Scott.

Read More: Travis Scott “Utopia” Review

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Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” Makes Billion-Dollar Herstory

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Since the live-action Barbie movie was first announced, the inner child of adults all across the globe has been buzzing with excitement. Amy Schumer was first cast in the prestigious role. After she stepped down, it went to Australian starlet Margot Robbie, who was undoubtedly the perfect choice for the part. Of course, many other women also play the part of Barbie, including Issa Rae and Dua Lipa. As for the male lead, Canadian actor Ryan Gosling covered that flawlessly, even with the internet expressing concern that he was too old.

Greta Gerwig was the mastermind in Barbie‘s director chair, following her work on projects like Little Women and Lady Bird. It was an ambitious project, but thanks to her efforts, the 40-year-old is now the first female filmmaker to join the billion-dollar box office club with their solo work. As TMZ notes, Jennifer Lee and Anna Boden are both already in the category (for Frozen and Captain Marvel respectively), but their co-director status makes Gerwig’s standalone effort marks a noteworthy accolade for her resume.

Read More: “Barbie” Soundtrack Could Sell 110k In Its First Week

Barbie is One of a Kind

As for solo female directors who come behind Greta in line, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman brought in a considerably lower $412M during its time in theatres. Following that is Betty Thomas’ Alvin and the Chipmunks ($219M), Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight ($192M), and Elizabeth Banks’ Pitch Perfect 2 ($184M). There are no clear plans for a Barbie sequel at this time, though Mattel has expressed interest in creating a full cinematic universe with other toys, including Barney, Polly Pocket, and Magic 8 Ball.

Seeing as Barbie brought in over $155M in its opening weekend alone, we’re not surprised to see the pink-filled film continuing to do numbers. What did catch viewers off guard, however, was the lack of physical intimacy between Barbie and Ken on-screen. Read what Margot Robbie had to say about that at the link below, and check back later for more music/pop culture news updates.

Read More: “Barbie” Earns $155M In Opening Weekend, Margot Robbie Speaks On Not Kissing Ryan Gosling

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