‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Drives Big Gains for Classic Rock Staples From Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd & More

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: Happy Gilmore 2 helps out a bunch of old classic rock staples, a tour-closing Destiny’s Child reunion leads to gains for some DC classics and HBO and pop icons collide in one of the biggest TV soundtrack moments of the year.

‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Synchs: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foreigner & More Hit Long Drives

Along with bringing one of Adam Sandler’s most beloved characters back onto the fairway, Happy Gilmore 2, is brimming with musical co-stars (most prominently Bad Bunny, who makes a comic turn as Gilmore’s caddy) and cameos (including Eminem, Post Malone and Kid Cudi). That’s a whole lot of appearances from modern music stars — yet the actual music featured in Happy Gilmore 2 skews toward classic rock, with multiple songs receiving sizable streaming bumps since the film hit Netflix last Friday (July 25). 

“Tuesday’s Gone,” the Lynyrd Skynyrd slow-down classic also featured in the ’90s original, has been one of the big winners due to its re-appearance in the sequel: the song earned 756,000 official U.S. on-demand streams during Happy Gilmore 2’s first four days of release (July 25-28), which represented a 44% increase compared to the same four-day period during the previous week (525,000 from July 18-21), according to Luminate. Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero” (up 18%) and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “The Waiting” (up 15%) posted smaller percentage gains with bigger totals, but The Replacements’ Tim highlight “Swingin’ Party” more than doubled its streams, from 15,000 from July 18-21 to 38,000 from July 25-28.

And while Bad Bunny does not perform any of his own music in Happy Gilmore 2, he does get an elaborate fantasy sequence involving Travis Kelce and a bear attack — arguably even better than a streaming boost. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Destiny’s Child ‘Cowboy Carter’ Reunion Sends Catalog Surging on Streaming 

On Saturday (July 26), Beyoncé wrapped the highest-grossing country tour in Billboard Boxscore history with the second of two sold-out shows at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Alongside surprise appearances by Jay-Z and Shaboozey, the $407 million-grossing trek also featured a jaw-dropping Destiny’s Child reunion. Rising from underneath the stage to the harmonies of 2000’s “Independent Women, Part I,” the trio — comprised of Bey, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams — treated the stadium to renditions of 2005’s “Lose My Breath,” 2001’s “Bootylicious” and Queen Bey’s own “Energy,” before introducing Blue Ivy Carter’s “Déjà-vu” catwalk solo. 

Though the trio, which disbanded in 2006, has reunited on multiple occasions — including Beyoncé’s 2013 Super Bowl halftime show performance and her 2018 Coachella headlining set — the Vegas return understandably set the Internet ablaze. 

According to Luminate, Destiny’s Child catalog earned over 2.29 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the two-day period immediately following the tour’s conclusion (July 27-28), marking a 13% increase from the Monday-Tuesday period the week prior (July 20-21). In that same timeframe, “Bootylicious” jumped 22% to 114,000 official streams, “Lose My Breath” leapt 43% to nearly 135,000 official streams, and “Independent Women” rose 15% to 119,000 official streams. 

While it’s unlikely that Destiny’s Child officially reunites under the group name for new music, it’s not out of the question for Beyoncé, Michelle and Kelly to once again collaborate as individually credited soloists — maybe on Act III! — KYLE DENIS 

Swifties Mourn the ‘End’ of Carrie & Aidan Following And Just Like That Sync

While the extended reunion of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her fan-favorite Sex and the City paramour Aidan had provided one of the main plots of the last couple seasons of revival series And Just Like That, the relationship now appears to have run its course — again. On last Friday’s (July 25) episode, the couple decided that issues of trust and commitment were going to be too much for them to overcome, and called it quits. As Carrie mourned the relationship, a familiar voice soundtracked the closing montage: Taylor Swift, via The Tortured Poets Department-era cut “How Did It End?”

The appropriately deployed post-breakup ballad — a bonus cut from the Poets deluxe Anthology Edition, which debuted at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of the set’s release — was one of the more memorable synchs the show has deployed in its run, and had fans and Swifties alike in their feelings. Consequently, “How Did It End” surged on streaming and in sales, racking up 391,000 official on-demand from July 25-28 — a 22% gain over the same period the week before, according to Luminate — while also gaining 6,000% in sales to over 500.

Given the increasing closeness Carrie has enjoyed with her British downstairs neighbor this season, perhaps a “London Boy” synch also awaits in this week’s season three finale. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER