Kendrick Lamar's 2025 has been one for the books. He cleaned house at the Grammys with "Not Like Us," performed on the Super Bowl stage, and also surpassed 50 billion streams on Spotify. He's also been dominant on the Billboard charts, particularly with his GNX smash "luther" featuring SZA.
The pop rap and R&B crossover resonated pretty instantly with listeners, but it really began its reign this year. It broke a longstanding record for hip-hop songs after spending 13 consecutive weeks on top of the Hot 100.
Additionally, they became the first duet comprised of a solo male and female artist to last 11 or more weeks on top of the chart. Due to all of that success, Kendrick Lamar and SZA are enjoying some additional shout-outs from the publication.
Since 1958, Billboard has constructed a list of the top 10 summer songs. This year, pop and country have dominated, although it's been a relatively slow year for sun-soaked jams in 2025. Nonetheless, Kendrick Lamar and SZA were able to squeeze in and actually place quite high.
Their effort reached number five, placing behind Alex Warren's TikTok hit "Ordinary," "What I Want" by Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae, as well as "Just In Case" and "I'm The Problem" by Wallen, too.
Kendrick Lamar Grand National Tour
Rounding out the list after "luther" are all pop tracks. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' "Die With A Smile is at six. "Golden" by HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI from the animated Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters slots in at seven.
Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" is at eight, Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" is the ninth best, and "Love Me Not" from Ravyn Lenae concludes the top 10.
For those curious as to how this list is formulated, Billboard breaks it down. "[It's] based on cumulative performance on the weekly streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot 100 from Memorial Day through Labor Day each year."
Overall, it's another feather in Lamar's and SZA's caps to what's been one of their strongest years commercially.
Elsewhere, Lamar will be kicking off the South American and Mexican leg of his Grand National tour this month. Mexico City is up first on September 23. After that he will head to Australia on December 3.
