Super Bowl halftime performers don’t get paid — directly — but usually, the exposure gives a boost to their entire catalog. That’s what SZA and Kendrick Lamar are finding out now.
As Billboard notes, Kendrick’s album GNX has returned to #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and SZA’s album SOS has returned to #2. This marks the first time that two performers from the year’s Super Bowl halftime show have taken the #1 and #2 spots on the chart, following their halftime collaborations on “luther” and “All the Stars.”
As per Billboard, the last time a Super Bowl halftime performer was #1 following a performance was back in 2018, when Justin Timberlake‘s album Man of the Woods debuted at #1. It was released two days before he headlined the Super Bowl that year on Feb. 4.
Meanwhile, Kendrick makes history himself: Billboard reports that he’s now the first living male artist to have at least three albums in the top 10 since 1966, when Herb Alpert and his band the Tijuana Brass did it. Prince had three albums in the top 10 in May of 2016, but that came following his death on April 21.
Of course, if you want more SZA and K.Dot, the two will launch their co-headlining Grand National Tour of stadiums on April 19 in Minneapolis.
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