THE DEATH OF PRINT JOURNALISM, WIDENING-SCOPE EDITION

Bad Boy/Interscope breakout Machine Gun Kelly earned a chart-topping debut with Tickets to My Downfall, a bracing set of nervy guitar-driven rock tunes that looks set to remain strong for some time to come, aided by cuts featuring blackbear and Halsey. That said, appearing on the cover of this rag may make him want to unplug.

John Janick and Team Interscope are having a positively stellar year. The label is the marketshare leader, they just launched another #1 album—with legs—by Machine Gun Kelly and superstar Billie Eilish has announced a splashy livestream show. His roster is driven by real artists who perform by every conceivable metric. The only fly in Janick’s ramen? This HITS contents shout-out.