HITS HIGH FIVE: SMOOTH & VELVETY

While you’re deciding whether to crack open a bottle of Grgic Vina Plavac Mali or a La Fleur-Petrus Pomerol during Sunday’s World Cup final, we’ve already settled on a box of Carlo Rossi Cab we’ve been using as a doorstop the last six months. Before we enjoy this “smooth and velvety” treasure—that’s what the box says—we assembled this week’s HITS High 5.

Let’s see what Drake did this week as Scorpion crossed the 1b stream mark on its way to a second week at #1. "In My Feelings" has exploded on all platforms, so Republic is taking the tune to Pop and Rhythm. He helped drive UMG’s record-breaking first half of the year and dominates the streaming songs chart and the song revenue chart. Meanwhile, we find it hard to believe Sir Lucian will let him become a free agent.

Our Grammy Whisperer believes that the expansion of the Big 4 Grammy categories makes it likely that women will do well in this year’s nominations.

In an extensive and informative interview, Kacey Musgraves tells Holly Gleason, “I love country music. I don’t think anyone loves what I call country music more than I do—and there was no reason to lose that. For me, some banjo and steel guitar was a good place to begin; to make that the common ground for the new path I wanted to start down too. I didn’t wanna pander just to make a trippy pop record for the shit of it.”

Remember when Tom Carvel used to tell us “Wednesday is Sunday.” Well, Nielsen is jumbling Thursday and Friday when it comes to streams and sales.

Donald Glover, the Jimmy Iovine-Dr. Dre HBO doc The Defiant Ones and NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar In Concert are among the music-related folks and projects that received Emmy Awards nominations this week.