INTERSCOPE AIMS TO HEAT UP SUMMER

Following a first quarter that saw a hesitant release schedule across the biz, John Janick’s Interscope is catching fire ahead of a blockbuster summer.

April included two #1s debuts, from Alamo/Geffen’s Rod Wave and CMG/N-less' Moneybagg Yo, and May appears to be filled with more chart-topping albums, with Bagg’s A Gangsta’s Pain likely logging a second week at #1 this week as Dreamville/Roc Nation superstar J. Cole waits on deck with The Off-Season (5/14), which is almost certainly headed for a monster first week (2018’s KOD opened with just under 400k).

Then there's Geffen sensation Olivia Rodrigo, who will release her debut album, SOUR, on 5/21 following performances on the BRITs and SNL, while season 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series hits Disney+ today (5/14). The next-gen pop star has the year’s biggest song in “driver’s license.” Second single “déjà vu” proved "license" was no fluke.

And in late July, Gen Z icon Billie Eilish will release her sophomore full-length, Happier Than Ever (Darkroom/Interscope). Since her last album, the phenom has swept the 2020 Grammys, taken 2021 SOTY, dropped a critically acclaimed documentary and broken the Internet multiple times.

Beyond their all-but-assured #1 debuts, all of these albums have the potential to stick around at least until school is back in session.