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 July 5, we look at the new albums by Benson Boone and Karol G, two of the likeliest contenders to crash the chart’s top five.
Benson Boone, American Heart (Night Street/Warner): In the past year and a half, Benson Boone has become one of the biggest new names in pop music, as the singer-songwriter has backflipped his way to stardom thanks to an energetic and physically stunning live show and a string of hit singles — starting with early 2024’s “Beautiful Things,” a No. 2-peaking Billboard Hot 100 smash still in the chart’s top 10 over a year later, which led his debut album Fireworks & Rollerblades that April. Now, he’s hoping to capitalize on all his recent positive momentum with his sophomore album, American Heart.
Though the album has not yet produced a top 10 hit on the level of “Beautiful Things” with any of its advance tracks, it has already launched two top 30 hits into the Hot 100, the racing “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” and the fantastical “Mystical Magical” — both of which hit new peaks on the Hot 100 this week (Nos. 28 and 27, respectively). Consumption of both those hits should help boost the first-week numbers for American Heart, as might an in-joke-heavy video for new focus track “Mr. Electric Blue,” which debuted with the album on Friday (June 20), and features Boone poking fun of his reputation for backflip-overreliance and for only having one truly massive hit to his name so far.
Also helping American Heart in its debut week — the album is available for physical purchase in more than five vinyl variants, as well as on standard CD and as part of a CD boxed set (with a T-shirt), and in two cassette editions. Perhaps not helping so much: The set’s early reviews, which have been mostly fairly nasty in their dismissals of the set. But every pop generation needs a couple young stars whose appeal absolutely flummoxes the critics, and Benson Boone appears well on his way to being one of those standard-bearers for Gen Z.
Karol G, Tropicoqueta (Bichota/Interscope): After dominating 2023 with her Mañana Será Bonito set and its Bichota Season follow-up, Latin pop and reggaetón superstar Karol G is back with her new full-length set Tropicoqueta. The 20-track set features both big names of today (Feid, Greicy) and greats from an earlier generation (Manu Chao, Marco Antonio Solis) as Karol blends the contemporary with the classic on the set, in the vein of the recent retro-goes-modern stylings of Bad Bunny’s 2025 blockbuster Debí Tirar Mas Fotos.
The set should stream well, and tracks from the album dotted the daily charts on both Spotify and Apple Music following the album’s Friday release — though none of them appear to be catching on as immediate breakout hits, and of the advance singles from the set, the only one to make a really lasting streaming impression was the now year-old “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” What’s more, Tropicoqueta’s debut will likely be hurt by its current lack of physical availability, with the set not due to be released for physical purchase until September.
Regardless, it would have been unlikely to follow Mañana to another No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, as Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem remains largely unmovable in the top spot after five weeks on top, as the streaming behemoth continues to pull in weekly units well into the six figures. Karol and Benson will be fighting for the No. 2 spot this week, with the final winner likely coming down to whether Karol’s more streaming-friendly set (American Hearts runs just 10 tracks to Tropicoqueta’s 20) can make up for the gap in sales from Benson’s myriad physical editions.
HAIM, I Quit (Columbia): While the HAIM sisters have not had the Hot 100 presence of Benson Boone or Karol G in their now decade-plus careers, they’ve had consistent success on the Billboard 200, with each of their first three albums making the chart’s top 15. They’re likely to go four for four next week with the new breakup-themed set I Quit, which is also available in five vinyl variants and both standard and signed CD, and is drawing easily the strongest reviews of the week’s major new releases.