CHART PREVIEW: Republic's Taylor Swift will reclaim the #1 spot on our chart with The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, our projections estimate will amass 150k in activity (21k of that in pure sales). The streaming side got a boost from Sunday's VMAs, where the "Patient Zero" video premiered and "The Fate of Ophelia" took the Moon Man for Video of the Year.

John Mayer is going back to Sphere, and this time the marquee carries his name alone. The guitar slinger books six nights at the Vegas orb: April 8, 10-11, 15 and 17-18. Call it a homecoming. His 48-show Dead & Company residency drew nearly a half-million fans and turned the room into something of a second address for Mayer. Each night runs in three configurations. There's a solo set moving between guitar and piano, a trio reunion with Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino, and a full-band stretch built to cover the breadth of the catalog. Artist-presale registration is open now. The general presale hits Oct. 7, SiriusXM subscribers get theirs Oct. 8, and the general on-sale follows Oct. 9. Tickets start at $129, with $1 from each going to his Back to You Fund, while the Full Stop-managed, CAA-booked Mayer auctions additional seats with 100% of proceeds going to his veterans' health outfit, the Heart and Armor Foundation.

Republic's Taylor Swift has seized the spotlight yet again: four new tracks high-kicking on the DSP charts, an armload of VMAs, and The Life of a Showgirl: Encore lined up to take possession of #1 on the next HITS Top 50 with 150k in activity. A big week, in other words, for the sequel.

YOUR WEEKLY CHEAT SHEET OF TRENDING INDUSTRY TOPICS: 1. WMG 2. Riley Green 3. Adéla 4. Taylor Swift 5. VMAs 6. Guy Moot 7. Miley Cyrus 8. Beabadoobee 9. U2 10. Live Special

CHART UPDATE: #1 on today's HITS Top 50 is too close to call. The race is between Riley Green's That's Just Me, Miley's Bass Persuades, and Ella Langley's Dandelion. Less than 500 units currently separates the Top 3. We are holding today's chart until we have more complete info.

A nor’easter has taken a wrecking ball to the East Coast’s weekend in live music: Global Citizen in Central Park, All Things Go NYC at Forest Hills and Ed Sheeran’s Sept. 25-26 stands at Gillette Stadium are all washed out. Global Citizen, with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Lainey Wilson, Shaboozey and TOMORROW X TOGETHER on the bill, marks the first cancellation in the event’s 14-year history. Organizers had reason to be gun-shy: after they soldiered through a severe storm in 2023, repairs to the Great Lawn ran into the millions. Refunds are automatic, and the festival food is headed to local organizations. All Things Go pulled the plug just hours before doors, scratching Brandi Carlile, Carly Rae Jepsen, Zara Larsson, Lola Young and Ethel Cain, with a heartbroken note to fans. Down in Ocean City, C3 Presents’ Oceans Calling scrapped all three days, taking Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots and Mumford & Sons off the boardwalk. Sheeran’s Boston-area dates fell to rain and wind at Robert Kraft’s building, the same Kraft who reportedly pushed to have Macklemore dropped from the Loop tour over his “Free Palestine” messaging.

The Warner Music Group org chart is getting another reshuffle, officially billed as an "evolving" leadership structure. Top billing goes to Val Blavatnik, who's now earned his corporate stripes as managing director, Warner Music North America, U.K., and corporate development—a title that handles operations and investment strategy. And, you know, synergy. Atlantic Music Group boss Elliot Grainge adds indie distro arm ADA to his remit, with AMG's Zach Friedman taking on ADA vice-chairman duties. The pair will run it, the release assures us, "as a standalone business." Meanwhile, with Tom Corson having ascended to corporate, Aaron Bay Schuck now has sole custody of Warner Records Group. Over on the international side, Warner Music Latin's Alejandro Duque is upped to president of Warner Music International.

beabadoobee has done it again across the pond: Pylon (Dirty Hit) powers to #1 on the Official Albums Chart, her second chart-topper after 2024's This Is How Tomorrow Moves. With Fake It Flowers and Beatopia also landing in the Top 10, she's now a clean four-for-four. Meanwhile, Queen's Roger Taylor lands at #6 with Violence Insane in a Beautiful World, his first solo Top 10 since 2021's Outsider. Beck notches his eighth Top 20 at #15, Echo & The Bunnymen return at #19 with their first studio set in 12 years, and Bowie's 1965 Shel Talmy sessions at #17 make for his 72nd Top 40 album—the man keeps charting from beyond. On Singles, SIENNA SPIRO holds the summit for a third straight week with "Great Expectation" (Capitol/Method) and has three songs in the Top 40, as "Die on This Hill" sits at #11 and "Pure" climbs to a new peak of #28. Capitol's other hot hand, Slovak pop act ADÉLA, vaults 11 places to #4 with "Nicole Kidman" for a career high. Jamie Miller posts the week's biggest climb, with "Babydoll" (Republic) rocketing 16 spots to #8 for the Cardiff-born, L.A.-based singer's biggest U.K. moment yet. And SOMBR keeps stacking hits—"My Body Isn't Ready" rises to #10, his fifth Top 10 single.

Noah Kahan volunteers as tribute. The troubadour's "Draw You Out" lands Oct. 2 as the lead single from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (The Album) —first draw on MCA's soundtrack, due Nov. 13, a week ahead of the Lionsgate flick's Nov. 20 theatrical bow. Written for the film, the track was co-written and co-produced by Aaron Dessner, Kahan's partner in crime on this year's smash The Great Divide. Proven chemistry, in other words. Kahan's cut anchors a sprawling 29-artist, genre-hopping set exec-produced by Dave Cobb—country-Americana luminary and, not incidentally, MCA's chief creative officer. Keeping it in the family.

UPDATE: Riley Green still has the edge on this week’s HITS Top 50 at 60k, but his lead from Tuesday has nearly vanished. Three other releases are now within striking distance of the top spot: Miley’s Bass Persuades, benefiting from several new deluxe variants; Ella Langley's Dandelion, boasting the monster (and new Hot 100 champ) “Choosin’ Texas;” and Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem, boosted by Atlantic’s soundtrack to GTA VI.

Some stars can open a movie. Capitol's ADÉLA can open a chart—the pink-coiffed Slovak newcomer has summited Spotify's U.S. rundown with "Nicole Kidman," a steamy pop confection off her debut album, PRIMA. The follow-through is just as loud: "Ain't in LA" simmers in the U.S. Top 10, while globally "Nicole" sits at #2 and "LA" at #3. "Nicole" has also sashayed to #6 on Apple Music—a stunning state of affairs for a new artist. PRIMA, a Top 5 debut that never left the Top 15, is now trending Top 10 on the strength of those two monsters, and her CAA-booked tour is sold out. The Good World-repped ADÉLA co-wrote "Nicole" with co-producers Blake Slatkin and Dylan Brady plus Julia Michaels, Billy Walsh and Uffie; Slatkin and Brady did double duty on "LA" too.

Taylor Swift is handing The Life of a Showgirl an encore. Tuesday's tease of "Patient Zero" came with no context, and now we know why: it's one of four new tracks on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, arriving Friday via Republic. The origin story, per Tay's Instagram, is gratitude. About a year ago, she reminds the faithful, Showgirl posted the biggest first week for an album in history—a number she calls "truly unfathomable." That prompted a trip to Sweden to celebrate with the album’s collaborators Max Martin and Shellback. “Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs,” she said.

Taylor Swift will have new music in the marketplace by the time she collects MTV's inaugural Artist Director prize this Sunday at the 2026 VMAs — because "Patient Zero" (Republic) checks in two days ahead of the ceremony, on Sept. 25, per an Instagram announcement. In a suitably punning post, Swift copped to being "impatiently waiting to tell you" about the track. Credits are still under wraps. It's her second one-off of the year, following her Toy Story 5 contribution "I Knew It, I Knew You," which is being pushed hard for Song of the Year. Three limited-edition CD variants — the original, an acoustic take and a piano rendition — will be available for exactly 24 hours, and only on her own website. They ship Oct. 13.