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Afroman’s Catalog Rises Over 500% Following Legal Victory

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Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.

This week: Afroman turns a headline-capturing legal victory into newfound streaming popularity, while Nothing But Thieves gets a huge look from an Amazon Prime superhero show and 3OH!3 benefits from an animated dance challenge.

Afroman Turns Legal Victory into Streaming Triumphs, Led by “Lemon Pound Cake”

“Because I Got High” rapper Afroman found himself back in the zeitgeist after winning a jury verdict last week (Mar. 18). The jurors sided with the Cali rapper in a lawsuit filed by seven Ohio cops, who claimed the MC defamed them by releasing music videos mocking them after a failed, guns-drawn raid on his home in 2022. Naturally, the quirky lawsuit caught the public’s attention, as did Afroman’s testimony that the music videos fell with his First Amendment rights — a hot-button topic across the States right now. As a result, the rapper’s catalog exploded over 500% in streaming activity in the week following the jury’s decision, according to Luminate.

During the week of his the four-day period leading up to his trial (Mar. 13-16), Afroman’s discography earned 1.12 million official on-demand U.S. streams and just over 100 U.S. digital downloads. In the four-day period following the verdict (Mar. 20-23), those figures jumped 511% to 6.8 million official streams, and 2,113% to over 2,500 paid digital downloads. The buzziest track is “Lemon Pound Cake,” in which Afroman jeers at one deputy for apparently eyeing a cake on his counter. That song jumped 9,353% to 2.12 million official on-demand U.S. streams following the verdict (Mar. 20-23), and leapt a whopping 126,300% to over 1,200 U.S. digital downloads.

The streaming love isn’t exclusive to Afroman’s raid-related joints. His signature hit, the Grammy-nominated “High,” earned over 600,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the Friday following the verdict (Mar. 20), up 133%.

Lemon Pound Cake, the album that compiles Afroman’s police disses, has already hit No. 8 on Billboard‘s Comedy Albums chart (dated Mar. 28), and bigger gains could very well be in store. — KYLE DENIS


‘Invincible’ Season Premiere Revives Decade-Old Nothing But Thieves Single

English alt-rock band Nothing But Thieves has never totally crossed over on the Billboard charts, but it’s been a fixture on various rock charts for a decade now, since the release of its 2015 self-titled debut album. That set generated multiple hits on the Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and also led to a Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2024 when country superstar Morgan Wallen put his spin on the Nothing But Thieves deep cut “Graveyard Whistling.” But now, it’s one of the less-known singles on the debut that’s getting its moment in the spotlight: “If I Die Tonight.”

The power ballad, which never reached a Billboard airplay, sales or streaming chart during its initial mid-2010s release, got its biggest look yet this month with its inclusion in the latest season of Amazon Prime’s hit animated superhero series Invincible. In the season four premiere, “If I Die Tonight” plays over an opening montage showing the fallout from the previous season’s finale — and plays for over three minutes, giving viewers plenty of opportunity to make it one of the most Shazamed songs in the country the past week.

Plenty of those viewers went on to check out the song on DSPs, as well. After totaling under 17,000 streams during the first four days of the previous tracking week (Mar. 13-16), that number was up to 345,000 for the same period this week (Mar. 20-23) — a gain of 1,942%, according to early data provided by Luminate. It could lead to a big moment for Nothing But Thieves, and to even bigger musical moments on Invincible, now that it’s been confirmed as one of the more valuable shows for synch placements in 2026. – AU


Animation-Inspired Dance Trend Revives 3OH!3’s “Richman”

On Feb. 4, user @/hymnuslop shared an original animation featuring two My Little Pony-inspired characters dancing to Denver electro-pop duo 3OH!3’s “Richman,” setting into motion a streaming resurgence for the 18-year-old deep cut. The clip finds one character lip-syncing in the foreground while the other dances in the background — and the trend has now transferred to real people. 

User @/janabananathings was the human to kick the trend into high gear with her March 2 post, which has since garnered nearly four million views and over 540,000 likes. The accompanying sound, which originates from user @/hymnuslop’s clip, boasts over 52,000 TikTok posts. The official 3OH!3 TikTok account got in on the fun, sharing several clips of the EDM duo performing the song throughout the years. 

The week user @/janabananathings shared her video (Feb. 27-Mar. 5), “Richman” logged 429,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, up 193% from the week prior. The following week (Mar. 6-12), which accounts for a full week of the trend truly taking off, that figure leapt a further 133% to a little over one million official on-demand U.S. streams. Continuing its ascent, “Richman” jumped another 44% to 1.44 million official streams the next week (March 13-19). 

Over the past four weeks, “Richman” has exploded over 1,800% in streaming activity, bringing 3OH!3 back into the center of the pop conversation — with a song that was never even an official single. — K.D.


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With the Success of ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,’ Nintendo Is Launching the Switch 2 ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ Bundle

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Fresh off the success of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Nintendo just dropped a limited-time bundle celebrating all things Mario.

From April 12 to May 9, a Super Mario Galaxy bundle will be available at specific retailers, including Super Mario Galaxy and the sequel, along with a Switch 2 console. If you purchase a Nintendo Switch 2 at the same time as the physical or digital version of these galactic adventures and you can save $20 at participating retailers, like Amazon. This bundle is $499.99 (reg. $519.98) and gives gamers the hit console and allows you to experience the intergalactic joy of the Mario franchise all in one place.

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If you aren’t familiar with the Nintendo game or haven’t seen the new movie yet, here’s the scoop. The first game follows our mustachioed friend Mario as he travels through space to rescue Princess Peach and her castle, which were so rudely abducted by Bowser. Princess Peach is once again kidnapped in the second game by a gigantic version of Bowser. Mario is tasked with saving the princess alongside his little Luma companion tucked beneath his hat.

Where to buy Nintendo's 'Super Mario Galaxy' Switch 2 bundle online.

Nintendo Switch 2 and 'Super Mario Galaxy' + 'Super Mario Galaxy 2' Bundle

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This is a limited-time bundle from Nintendo. the bundle includes Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 and a Nintendo Switch 2.


The Super Mario Galaxy Movie pulls direct inspo from Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy game down to the title and character. The film features beloved plumber Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, and his mustachioed brother Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day, along with the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy.

New characters only seen in the game are also featured in the new iteration, including Princess Rosalina, played by Brie Larson and Bowser Jr. by Benny Safdie. The film had major wins in the box office with “$182.4M overseas, while U.S. and Canada rang up $190M over the Easter weekend stretch,” according to Deadline.

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Super Mario Galaxy was released in 2007, while the sequel was dropped in 2010. The first game is hallowed for its atmosphere, story and charm, while the second game is favored for its gameplay and unique level design. Both games are extremely addictive in their own right.

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Live Nation Verdict: Jury Says Concert Giant Is An Illegal Monopoly in Total Defeat

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A jury found Wednesday (April 15) that Live Nation and Ticketmaster violated federal and state antitrust laws by dominating the live music industry, capping off a blockbuster trial with a verdict that could ultimately see the two concert giants broken up.

After a five-week trial in Manhattan federal court, jurors sided with a coalition of state attorneys general who sued Live Nation. The states argued during closing statements that the concert giant was a “monopolistic bully” that had harmed competition and driven up ticket prices for fans.

In its verdict, the jury handed Live Nation a total defeat — finding that the company illegally monopolized the market for ticketing services, concert ticketing and the use of amphitheaters, and that it illegally tied the use of its venues to its concert promotion services. The jury said fans overpaid by $1.72 per ticket.

Following the verdict, all eyes will turn to Judge Arun Subramanian, who must now decide whether to order Live Nation to sell off Ticketmaster — something critics have long demanded and the states have said is the goal of their case. Such orders are drastic and rare, though, and the judge could instead merely ban certain anti-competitive conduct.

Live Nation is certain to challenge the outcome, first to Subramanian and then to a federal appeals court.

New York Attorney General Letitia James celebrated the verdict as a “landmark victory” in a statement Wednesday.

“For far too long, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have taken advantage of fans and artists by raising prices for tickets and stifling any competition that threatened their power,” said James. “A jury found what we have long known to be true: Live Nation and Ticketmaster are breaking the law and costing consumers millions of dollars in the process. I am proud to have led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in bringing this case and look forward to continuing our work to hold Live Nation and Ticketmaster accountable.”

Reps for Live Nation did not immediately return a request for comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice and dozens of states sued in 2024, 14 years after Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged with the blessing of federal antitrust regulators. The feds claimed the company had since grown into a monopoly that illegally dominated the live music industry: “It is time to break it up,” said then-attorney general Merrick Garland.

But a week after the trial started last month, DOJ agreed to a surprise settlement with Live Nation — a move that reportedly came after President Donald Trump personally pushed for it. The deal required key changes in business practices but, crucially, would not require the company to divest Ticketmaster. Following that, dozens of states said that settlement was insufficient, and instead pushed ahead with the trial.

Over five weeks of testimony, jurors heard from venue bosses like former Barclays Center CEO John Abbamondi, who claimed Live Nation threatened to divert concerts if he switched to rival ticketer SeatGeek. Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino later took the stand, where he denied such threats and said his company had simply outperformed its rivals to achieve its success: “I’m very proud.”

Jurors also heard from AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano; current Barclays Center boss Laurie Jacoby; several other sports execs, promoters and venue operators; multiple Live Nation and Ticketmaster execs, like president of touring Omar Al-joulani; Drake’s manager Adel Nur, also known as Future The Prince; and numerous economists and other expert witnesses.

Live Nation, repped at trial by a team from the law firm Latham & Watkins, tried to persuade the jury that the company had secured its massive market share over the past 15 years not through anti-competitive behavior, but by simply being better than its rivals. During his closing statements, Live Nation attorney David Marriott called his client a “fierce competitor.”

But the states, led by veteran antitrust litigator Jeffrey Kessler, told the jury a very different story: that Live Nation and Ticketmaster had abused their position to enrich themselves at the expense of fans. They cited much-publicized Slack messages in which two Live Nation execs joked about “taking advantage” of “stupid” fans with prices and fees: “Robbing them blind baby. That’s how we do.”

“Who talks like this? What type of company uses this language?” Kessler asked the jury in closing statements on Thursday (April 9). “The answer, I think you will find, is a monopolist who views itself to be above the law.”

With Wednesday’s verdict, the jury showed that argument worked. It took them four days to deliberate, sifting through weeks of testimony and mountains of evidence submitted by both sides. As is typical with verdicts, there was no stated explanation for why the jurors sided with the states.


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Bunbury to Bad Bunny Fans Who Bought Tickets to His Show by Mistake: ‘Welcome to the Concert’

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Spanish rocker Bunbury has reacted to a mix-up that recently went viral on social media. “Not long ago, it came out somewhere that some girls got confused and, instead of buying tickets for Bad Bunny, they bought tickets for Bunbury,” the artist said on Tuesday (April 14) during an appearance on the show La Revuelta on TVE.

The anecdote traces back to a TikTok video published on Feb. 9 in which the young women laugh as they recount how they mistakenly purchased tickets for Bunbury’s Dec. 4 show at the Movistar Arena in Madrid, instead of tickets for one of Bad Bunny’s residency shows scheduled from May 30 to June 15 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in the city.

According to Bunbury, the confusion might have stemmed from the similarity between their names. “I guess they saw the B and the Y …,” he noted.

Rather than treating the situation as a problem, Bunbury responded with humor when the host asked him for a message for the fans: “Well, welcome to the concert.” As for the possibility of refunding the tickets, he added, “I’m not planning on giving them back.”

Despite the lighthearted tone, the artist defended the experience of his live performances, saying, “I think if they come, they’re going to enjoy it.”

Billboard Español reached out to Bunbury’s representatives for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

The moment also sparked a brief reflection on his relationship with social media. Bunbury admitted that he avoids exposing himself to digital opinions, especially negative ones. “You read 100 good comments, and then there’s one that says ‘terrible’ and that one weighs on you more than the others,” he explained.

During the same conversation, the artist recalled that he recently crossed paths with Bad Bunny at the Latin Grammys, where they were seated near each other, though he didn’t get a chance to say hello.

Bunbury will hit the road this year with his Nuevas Mutaciones Tour. Check out the dates below:

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