Music

Playboi Carti and Kendrick Lamar top the charts, but Morgan Wallen looms

Stephen Thompson

Playboi Carti's supersized blockbuster MUSIC holds at No. 1 in its second week of release. Elsewhere, Kendrick Lamar's "Luther (feat. SZA)" holds at No. 1and Morgan Wallen charts a fifth top 10 hit from an album that isn't even out yet.
Why would a musician join OnlyFans? Because making a living is only getting harder

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

In a volatile music industry, some musicians are gravitating towards OnlyFans, a social media platform that has garnered a reputation for hosting sexual content.
Our favorite albums of the week

Stephen Thompson

Alisha Sweeney

Lucy Dacus headlines a stacked week for new releases. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson welcomes Indie 102.3's Alisha Sweeney to share their favorites of the bunch.
National

The woman who killed Tejano music icon Selena in 1995 has been denied parole

The Associated Press

Yolanda Saldívar, the woman convicted of killing Selena Quintanilla-Perez, has been denied parole after spending decades behind bars for fatally shooting the young singer at a Texas motel in 1995.
Why Lucy Dacus had to destroy her old life to create the album 'Forever Is a Feeling'

Michel Martin

Singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus's new album Forever Is a Feeling features music written about "falling in love, falling out of love." She adds, "You have to destroy things in order to create things. And I did destroy a really beautiful life."
Cleo Sol will see you now

Sidney Madden

The New York City debut from the British soul singer counters the prevailing narrative around her. As she guided fans in spiritual healing, she did it as she has her whole career: on her own terms.
Playboi Carti has the biggest streaming week since Taylor Swift — plus, Chappell Roan goes country

Hazel Cills

The rapper Playboi Carti's much-hyped MUSIC leads this week in albums. Plus, the rapper Doechii continues to make gains with her recently released "Anxiety" and Chappell Roan finds minor country chart success with "The Giver."
Ashley Jackson brings spirituals to the harp

Michel Martin

Olivia Hampton

The rising harpist explores spirituals, musical ancestors and the influence of church on her new album, Take Me to the Water.
For Lucy Dacus, the dreamgirl of boygenius, fantasies carry a lesson

Ann Powers

Even as the songs on Forever Is a Feeling chronicle a love that's come to fruition in public, Dacus still creates a particular kind of safe space for the fans who delight in swooning with her.
As BLACKPINK's members try on solo stardom, only one finds a perfect fit

Sheldon Pearce

What does a K-pop idol look like when set free from the system? On their own for the first time, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa and Rosé each arrive at a different answer.