The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated Oct. 11, we look at new sets by several major artists, all getting in before the biggest pop star in the world sounds perhaps the final buzzer for 2025 next week.

Doja Cat, Vie (Kemosabe/RCA): Doja Cat has become one of the defining pop stars of the 2020s without a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200: Her career-best to date is still the No. 2 peak of 2021’s Planet Her, blocked from the top spot by Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me if You Get Lost. Still, she’s scored two No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100, and nine top 10 hits — including a pair from her previous album, 2023’s more hip-hop-focused Scarlet: the c

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