The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated July 19, we look at some songs scaling the Hot 100 and an era-kickstarting song from one of music’s biggest names, all of which may threaten the top 10 next week.  

Drake, “What Did I Miss?” (OVO Sound/Republic): In case you missed it while watching fireworks or entering a hot-dog-and-hamburger-induced coma this 4th of July weekend, Drake is embarking upon a new album cycle. The rap hitmaker launched a July 4 livestream where he drove around Toronto, talked about betrayal, teased an unreleased song and then ended his broadcast with the announcement “Iceman coming soon.” He also debuted an entirely new song, assumed to be the lead single from the project: the fiery, multi-part “What Did I Miss?”  

Five years ago, a kickoff song to a new Drake era would almost be guaranteed a clear path to a No. 1 debut on the Hot 100. In 2025, following Drake’s reputation taking a hit in his 2024 beef with Kendrick Lamar, it might not be so simple, particularly with the song being debuted late on Friday and thus missing nearly an entire day of the tracking week. Still, the song has gotten off to a predictably strong start on streaming, topping both the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart and Apple Music’s real-time rankings, and still reigning on the latter four days later.  

Even if “What Did I Miss?” doesn’t unseat Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” at No. 1, it should have a strong chance at a top 10 debut — and with Drake performing a much-anticipated three-night headlining set at the U.K. Wireless Festival over the weekend, it could be the start of a big summer for the once-infallible 6 God.  

Ravyn Lenae, “Love Me Not” (Atlantic): It’s been the little song that could on the Hot 100 for the past few months, reaching the chart nearly a full year after its May 2024 release and now climbing to a new peak (14-12) just outside the top 10 in its 14th week on the listing. Ravyn Lenae’s sweet soul-pop throwback went viral on TikTok in late 2024, eventually started growing on DSPs, and now has started getting the full radio embrace, bounding 32-18 on this week’s Radio Songs chart and surging to the top five on Pop Airplay.  

Airplay should be the key to getting Lenae reaching the top 10 with her first-ever Hot 100 entry — “Love Me Not” is up 12% so far in building-week airplay, according to Luminate. If its streaming remains steady (the song climbs 13-11 on this week’s Streaming Songs), it should have a good shot at becoming the first non-debut to crack the top 10 this summer. 

HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna & Rei Ami, “Golden” / Saja Boys, Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo & samUIL Lee, “Your Idol” (Republic): Also challenging to crack the top 10 soon are two brand-new pop groups, neither of whom technically exist. No, we’re not at risk of our first AI-generated pop stars just yet — HUNTR/X and Saja Boys are merely fictional K-pop sensations from Netflix’s June 20 original animated film KPop Demon Hunters, which is quickly on its way to being one of the breakout pop culture sensations of the summer. 

Seven songs from the movie’s soundtrack appear on the Hot 100 this week — four from protagonist girl group HUNTR/X (composed of the singing voices of EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami), two from antagonist boy band Saja Boys (Andrew Choi, Neckwav, Danny Chung, Kevin Woo and samUIL Lee) and one duet from EJAE and Choi. The highest-charting of those seven so far have been HUNTR/X’s “Golden” (No. 23) and Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” (No. 31).  

Now in their third tracking week of release, the songs have continued to climb on streaming — “Your Idol” and “Golden” have reigned for multiple days as the top two songs on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA — and most, if not all, should gain on next week’s Hot 100. “Golden,” in particular, might be due to crash the top 15, if not the top 10 — the song has been tabbed as the set’s focus track in terms of radio promotion (and has gotten some early support from SiriusXM’s Hits 1 and major-market iHeartMedia stations), so if that continues to grow, the top tier might be in reach within a week or two.