When Travis Scott returned to the Coachella stage in 2025, it was far from a routine appearance. After a sustained absence since his show-stopping appearance in 2017, where he brought out Kendrick Lamar and had the audience electrified, La Flame’s return this year didn’t reach its usual highs. Though his name still loomed large, his 2017 magic was nowhere to be found this time around, and the festival organizers, Goldenvoice, paid the price. Scott’s return was no average homecoming. Over the last eight years, the Houston rapper has leveled up from a breakout to an international phenom on a tier with titans like Drake and Kendrick Lamar. But his reputation today is tarnished by a string of controversies and a change in the public mood.

Bridging peak times to the fall of the ASTROWORLD, his has been a career rollercoaster. The performance itself left a lot of people wondering if Scott’s comet-like star power will sustain him through a festival set in 2025. The superstar, who is one of the most well known across the world, was a bit of a damp squib, compared to the energy he usually exudes on stage. Once a mystery figure, Travis Scott has dimmed some of that magic, and this Coachella set was perhaps a reminder of just how many questions linger around him. Yet the new sum associated with him is one for the record books. That’s because Goldenvoice wound up paying an additional $20,000 in total because of Scott’s timing for his performance and the logistics of pulling it off.

Check this one out: Coachella Clip of Justin Bieber Dancing to Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ Raises Eyebrows

This added cost is no small concern for a festival that dies by its punctuality. Time is of the essence when it comes to the world of music festivals and those additional minutes translated into accrued extra charges. Although Scott’s Coachella performance didn’t exactly deliver on the hype, the cost of his set offers proof that, when it comes to failed promises, La Flame still burns as rubber. It’s hard to tell whether it’s a reflection of the culture or a temporary blip on his career radar. Travis Scott delivered one hell of a comeback at Coachella, and it’s fair to say that Goldenvoice paid quite handsomely to make that happen.

Drake’s got that heat for the summer, but this time, it’s not on the mic, it’s in a bottle. The music legend and cultural influencer has debuted his premiere Eau de Parfum, Summer Mink, under his Better World Fragrance House line. The scent, which retails for $148, is currently for sale on the brand’s website and will hit the shelves of Ulta Beauty stores all throughout North America beginning May 12. To mark the launch, Drake steals the spotlight. In the new ad for Summer Mink, the rapper forgoes the recording studio for a perfume lab. Dressed sharply in black, with beakers and vials as accessories, he leads viewers on a sensory adventure of discovery and scents.

“F–k. F—k, that’s good,” he says, his eyes widening and voice exuding satisfaction. “That’s it. That’s it.” It’s a raw creative breakthrough moment, rendered somehow as intimate as his music. On the Better World Fragrance House Instagram side, the comments are a mood. “Bruh actually a good actor you can tell he be having fun doing ts,” one fan wrote, reflecting the ad’s vibe. “Damn what did gambo say to drake,” said another who joked “drake we need the album asap. I got enemies, and fine shyts, waiting on me to pop up.” The juxtaposition of love for his artistry and the thirst for more music says a lot. Drake knows exactly how to keep the culture buzzing.

Check this out: Drake Lights Up Elimination Chamber Thanks to Logan Paul’s Unexpected Shoutout

Behind the smell is Michael Carby, the senior perfumer at Givaudan tasked with the seemingly contradictory nature of the scent. “It was, for me, all about opposites coming together,” he says, calling it his “yin-yang principle of mixing warm, creamy base notes with cold spices and sparkling citruses.” It’s a scent meant to capture the global spirit of a better world, ambitious, but never lost in the details. With this release, Drake shows once again that he’s not just a hitmaker but a tastemaker. Summer Mink is a proclamation. And if the ad’s any indication, he had a hell of a time making it.