Year in Review: MusicTimes' Top 10 Articles of 2025

Every year, the traffic tells a story. Not just about what happened in music, but about how readers want it framed.

In 2025, MusicTimes' strongest-performing articles weren't built on exclusives or original reporting alone. Most of them came from timely, well-edited coverage of moments already rippling through culture, paired with context that made those moments make sense.

Here are the 10 MusicTimes stories readers returned to most in 2025, spanning legal drama, fandom discourse, awards season and the internet's endless ability to turn anything into a headline.

1. Diddy Makes Controversial Defense: Paying Men for Sex Isn't Prostitution

The most closely followed piece of the year tracked one of hip-hop's most serious legal sagas. Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal case intensified and even after the trial, in September, A controversial defense argument surfaced that paying men for sex did not qualify as prostitution under the Mann Act. Interest spiked during the trial's most active phase, well before Combs' conviction.

2. Taylor Swift New Album 2025: All the 'TS12' Hints Everything to Know So Far

Taylor Swift coverage once again proved unavoidable. In April, months ahead of any official announcement, we compiled and tracked speculation around her next album, informally labeled "TS12." The piece didn't break news. It organized fan theories, online clues and public hints that were already circulating across social platforms.

3. Taylor Swift Addresses Criticism of New Album, Says Fans May Connect Later

As conversation around The Life of a Showgirl intensified late in the year, online narratives around the album took on a life of their own.

4. Chappell Roan Admits Pre-Show Jitters Before Rock-Leaning Mexico City Festival

Coverage of Chappell Roan in November followed a similar approach. The controversial singer's admitted of pre-show nerves at a rock-leaning event.

5. The 67th Grammy Awards: Best and Worst Moments

Awards season coverage anchored early-year traffic. Beyoncé's long-awaited Album of the Year win for Cowboy Carter, Kendrick Lamar's historic night, Chappell Roan's pointed health care remarks and tributes tied to Los Angeles wildfires all appeared elsewhere first.

6. Taylor Swift's 'Life of Showgirl' Album Targeted by Manipulated Online Narrative

Swift appeared again in December after online narratives around The Life of a Showgirl hardened into something more coordinated and, at times, hostile.

7. The Weeknd Makes History As 'Blinding Lights' Tops 5 Billion Spotify Streams

Data-driven milestones still mattered. When The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" became the first song to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify in August. It showed what the scale, longevity, and dominance looked like in a post-radio landscape.

8. Rihanna Goes Viral After Shutting Down Audience Scrooge at Mariah Carey's Las Vegas Concert

One of the year's most widely shared stories came from an unscripted concert moment. When Rihanna was told to sit down while cheering at Mariah Carey's Las Vegas holiday show, her startled, apologetic reaction went viral.

9. The Evolution of Taylor Swift's Artistry Across Her Eras

Among the few largely evergreen pieces on the list was a year-end retrospective tracing the evolution of Taylor Swift's artistry across her eras. Rather than ranking eras, the piece traced shifting creative priorities and industry contexts. It read less like fandom and more like cultural criticism, which is why it's likely to keep circulating well past 2025.

10. Jonas Brothers React After Fan Reviews Job Résumé at Concert, Sparking Viral Search for 'Scott Kelly'

Rounding out the list was a viral concert moment that blended humor and anxiety. When a Jonas Brothers fan held up a résumé during a show, it sparked curiosity about the name "Scott Kelly." It wasn't just funny. It reflected how fans bring real-life pressures into spaces meant for escape.

Taken together, these articles show what audiences wanted in 2025. Explanations over outrage. Context over speed. Moments that felt real, whether they involved courtroom arguments, billion-stream songs or a résumé held up in a crowd.

Music culture kept expanding beyond music itself, and the stories that lasted were the ones willing to follow it there.