The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts.

"Gimme a hug, Gimme a hug!," pleads Drake on one track from his new album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. After the month and year he's had, perhaps it's no surprise. As rap battle humiliations go, the rapper's ...