The week ending July 13, 2024, was a long time ago. The arrival of GNX, the surprise album–slash–victory lap from the man affectionately known as K-Dot, sends a slew of Kendrick tracks onto the Hot 100, including “Squabble Up,” which enters the flagship songs chart in the top spot, ejecting “A Bar Song.” For those who are just becoming acquainted …
In the closing weeks of 1969, Merle Haggard took “Okie From Muskogee” to No. Which explains how, last week, Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” was momentarily outgunned on the Hot 100 by “Seven” by Jungkook, an erstwhile member of the on-hiatus South Korean juggernaut BTS. Not on the Hot 100—the song “Justice for All,” credited to “Donald Trump …
