#music

"Dracula," Tame Impala's song with a viral remix featuring JENNIE, had its biggest day yet on Halloween: 2.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams on Oct. 31, according to Luminate, a new single-day high by a nearly 40% margin, Billboard reports. Rolling Stone says the original and the remix together drew 16 million global on-demand streams from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.

It still trailed the perennial favorites on Oct. 31: Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (10 million), "Monster Mash" (7 million) and Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" (6.6 million). But Billboard says it led 21st-century spooky songs comfortably, ahead of Rihanna's "Disturbia" (2 million) and Lady Gaga's "Bloody Mary" (1.4 million). The song, in its 58th week on the Hot 100, has topped Billboard's Radio Songs chart for seven weeks.

Layla Clark, a senior mallet percussionist in the Thomas Jefferson High School Marching Band near Pittsburgh, went viral playing AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" in the band's arrangement, Allegheny County Spotlight reports. The West Jefferson Hills School District shared the clip, credited Clark and the band, and later said it had passed 3.1 million views.

Reactions came from several platforms, the Spotlight reports: one Threads user suggested she tackle the song's famous guitar riff next, another made sure the viral "Xylophone Girl" was credited by name, and film producer Franklin Leonard weighed in on X. (Some outlets, including CBS Pittsburgh, describe the instrument as a marimba.)

Madonna posted a TikTok of herself in a gold dress set to Adéla's "Nicole Kidman," Billboard reports, joining Kesha, Tove Lo, Pedro Pascal, Dua Lipa and Kristen Wiig in the trend; Kidman herself has embraced the song.

Adéla, a Slovak singer, released her debut album PRIMA in September; it debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and "Nicole Kidman" recently reached No. 9 on the Hot 100, her first top 10 there. Billboard describes the song as a playful celebration of confidence and manifestation.

The Karol G “Bby Wow” dance trend climbed to No. 2 in TikTok trending searches on September 25.

Why it rippled

This looks like a second-wave music signal: a track can already be commercially successful, then receive another burst when a specific piece of choreography gives users something easy to imitate.

Musician Rick Wakeman performed on a grand piano for more than 150 rescued moon bears at an Animals Asia sanctuary in Vietnam.

Why this is wild

The audience consisted largely of bears rescued from bile farms. The event was staged as both an unusual concert and a way to draw attention to Vietnam’s remaining captive bile bears.

The bigger thing hiding underneath

Vietnam has made substantial progress toward ending bear-bile farming, but Animals Asia says roughly 120 bears remain in private captivity.

Dua Lipa’s “✩ your girl 4ever ✩” TikTok was tracked at roughly 21.7M views.

Why it rippled

The post fits a broader shift away from elaborate dances toward personality-first artist content—short clips that feel informal enough to be native to the feed while still carrying celebrity reach.