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\n\tThe Contenders<\/a> is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the <\/em>Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Feb. 15, we look at the biggest threats to capture the No. 1 spot after Travis Scott\u2019s \u201c4\u00d74\u201d debuted atop the listing this week.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMorgan Wallen, \u201cI\u2019m the Problem\u201d (Mercury\/Big Loud\/Republic)<\/strong>: Perhaps the most consistent artist in the upper stretches of the Billboard <\/em>charts the past two years has been Morgan Wallen,<\/a> who has racked up three Hot 100 No. 1s since 2023 (with his own \u201cLast Night\u201d and \u201cLove Somebody\u201d and the Post Malone-led \u201cI Had Some Help\u201d) and another five top 10 hits. On Friday (Jan. 31), he returned with the new single \u201cI\u2019m the Problem,\u201d a bitter song about a toxic relationship that will serve as the lead single and title track for his upcoming fourth album, his first since 2023\u2019s behemoth One Thing at a Time<\/em> (still in the Billboard 200\u2019s top five nearly two years later).\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tUnsurprisingly, \u201cProblem\u201d is off to a strong start on streaming, topping both the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA and the real-time Apple Music chart after its Friday release. The song has started to slide on both listings perhaps a little quicker than expected, with it being replaced by SZA\u2019s Kendrick Lamar-featuring \u201c30 for 30\u201d atop the Apple Music chart and falling all the way out of the top 10 already on the Spotify listing. But it remains in the top 10 on iTunes even after getting passed by a number of Grammy-boosted songs, and it\u2019s off to a hot start at country radio, with over eight million airplay impressions in its first four days of tracking (through Feb. 3), according to Luminate.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cProblem\u201d might not quite have the streaming start to be on the inside track for a No. 1 debut, but it should at least be another top 10 hit for the dominant country superstar. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tLady Gaga & Bruno Mars, \u201cDie With a Smile\u201d (Streamline\/Interscope\/Atlantic\/ICLG): <\/strong>Despite Lady Gaga<\/a> being present and performing at the two most high-profile multi-artist gigs of 2025 so far \u2013 Thursday\u2019s FireAid concert at the Intuit Dome, where she closed out the multi-hour fundraising event, and Sunday\u2019s Grammys, where she actually performed with Bruno Mars<\/a> \u2013 she did not play her and Mars\u2019 four-week No. 1 at either show. (Gaga and Bruno instead covered The Mamas and the Papas\u2019 \u201860s classic \u201cCalifornia Dreamin\u2019\u201d at Music\u2019s Biggest Night.) Nevertheless, the song could get a bump from its win for best pop duo\/group performance, and for Gaga\u2019s headline-capturing acceptance speech standing up for the trans community. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn any event, \u201cDie With a Smile\u201d remains a monster on streaming, sticking in the top 10 on Apple Music and climbing back to No. 1 on Spotify\u2019s Daily Songs Top USA chart. It also continues to threaten the reign of Shaboozey\u2019s \u201cA Bar Song (Tipsy)\u201d on radio, though that 27-week Radio Songs<\/a> No. 1 might not give up that spot so easily. Regardless, its continued strong showing across streaming, sales and radio, it should be a pretty strong contender to return to No. 1 for a fifth frame next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe Weeknd, \u201cCry for Me\u201d & \u201cTimeless\u201d (w\/ Playboi Carti) (XO\/Republic):<\/strong> <\/strong>The Weeknd<\/a> had a pretty enormous weekend, appropriately, as he both released his new album Hurry Up Tomorrow<\/em> on Friday and then made a surprise return to the Grammys stage on Sunday after essentially boycotting the awards for four years after his After Hours <\/em>blockbuster was shockingly ignored by the Recording Academy in 2021. The two songs he performed at the Grammys are also the two leading early performers from Tomorrow: <\/em>\u201cTimeless,\u201d the Playboi Carti teamup that has already reached No. 3 on the Hot 100, and \u201cCry for Me,\u201d a newly released early-album highlight. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBoth songs should be a factor in the top 10 race next week. \u201cCry for Me\u201d has the edge on Apple Music, while \u201cTimeless\u201d leads on Spotify \u2013 and \u201cTimeless\u201d is obviously ahead on radio, having a months-long head start building airplay (though \u201cCry for Me\u201d should debut on Pop Airplay<\/a> and Rhythmic Airplay<\/a> this week). Neither is likely to be No. 1 next week, but The Weeknd always has tricks up his sleeve to give his hits a little extra boot, so they can\u2019t be totally counted out in the weeks to come. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tTravis Scott, \u201c4\u00d74\u201d (Cactus Jack\/Epic)<\/strong>: The current No. 1 song on the Hot 100 is likely to have a considerable drop in week two, as the gargantuan first-week sales number the song posted (167,000) inevitably recedes, and the streaming numbers continue to slide. (The song is already out of the top 50 on both Spotify and Apple Music.) Nonetheless, Travis Scott<\/a>\u2018s \u201c4\u00d74\u201d won\u2019t disappear completely, and has started to make gains on radio, with the song expected to jump on Mainstream R&B\/Hip-Hop Airplay<\/a> in its second week, and possibly even make the top 20 on Rhythmic Airplay<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tDoechii, \u201cDenial Is a River\u201d (Top Dawg\/Capitol\/ICLG)<\/strong>: It won\u2019t be a top 10 contender just yet, but the breakout hit from Doechii<\/a>\u2019s now-Grammy-winning mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal<\/em> (which she performed, along with \u201cCatfish\u201d) should be the biggest beneficiary from her post-Grammy-night bump in streams and sales \u2014 and had already started to make pretty big waves on the charts, climbing to No. 55 on the Hot 100 this week. Radio is starting to kick in for the track as well, with \u201cDenial\u201d also a threat to make the top 20 on Rhythmic Airplay<\/a> while shooting up Mainstream R&B\/Hip-Hop Airplay<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n