“Billboard” Names Kendrick Lamar No. 4 Greatest Pop Star Of 2025

BY Caroline Fisher
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"Billboard" Kendrick Lamar Greatest Pop Star
Feb 2, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Kendrick Lamar, Winner of Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, and Song of the Year for ‘Not Like Us’ at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. Dan MacMedan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Kendrick Lamar has earned a spot on yet another "Billboard" year-end list thanks to his Super Bowl Halftime show, tour, and more.

2025 was yet another huge year for Kendrick Lamar. In addition to topping the charts, the Compton rapper toured the world with SZA, won five Grammy awards, and more. He even took the stage at the Super Bowl Halftime show back in February. He performed a medley of his biggest hits.

Of course, this included "Not Like Us," the diss track that prompted Drake to sue Universal Music Group. Now, Kendrick is being acknowledged for his contributions on Billboard's list of the 10 Greatest Pop Stars of 2025. He came in at No. 4. This puts him just ahead of Sabrina Carpenter, the cast of KPop Demon Hunters, and Tate McRae, among others.

He came in No. 1 on the list last year, proving that his winning streak shows no signs of stopping.

Kendrick Lamar iHeartRadio Music Awards

Kendrick Lamar
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Recording artist Kendrick Lamar performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at Ceasars Superdome. Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

News of Kendrick's latest feat comes just a couple of weeks after it was revealed that he's in the running for several iHeartRadio Music Awards this year. He's nominated for five awards, to be exact, including Artist of the Year and Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.

He and SZA's GNX track "luther" is also nominated for Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, and Hip-Hop Song of the Year. He's competing with heavy hitters like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, and more.

The news also comes shortly after it was revealed that Kendrick's album GNX was the most-streamed rap album of 2025 on Spotify. It topped Playboi Carti's MUSIC, Tyler The Creator's CHROMAKOPIA, Kanye West's Graduation, Doechii's Alligator Bites Never Heal, Travis Scott's UTOPIA, and more. Reportedly, it managed to rack up an impressive 2.98 billion streams total.

About The Author
Caroline Fisher is a News Writer at HotNewHipHop from Chicago, Illinois. She started at HNHH this year, and has since spent her time writing about all that is newsworthy in the world of hip-hop. With a drive for hunting down the hottest stories, she enjoys documenting new developments in culture and entertainment. She also has an appreciation for hip-hop and seeks to cover the most important trends and shifts. She has a Bachelor of Arts which she received at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having graduated in 2022, she majored in English with a concentration in Media, Rhetoric and Cultural Studies. Specializing all things music, pop culture and entertainment, some of her favorite musical artists include Snoop Dogg, OutKast, and Nicki Minaj. When she’s not writing about music she’s also a fan of attending shows, watching the latest movies, staying up-to-date with current events, photography, and poetry.

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