French Montana took the main stage at Hot 97’s Summer Jam 2026 on Friday, July 25, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Diamond-certified and three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist headlined the annual festival with a high-energy set that covered his full catalog of hits. Moreover, he performed chart-topping records including Unforgettable, Shot Caller, Blow Me a Dub, Stay Scheming, and the anthemic Ever Since U Left Me alongside Max B. Furthermore, the appearance of Max B sparked one of the loudest crowd reactions of the evening as the two performed their No. 1 Billboard Rhythmic Airplay and Rap Digital Song together live. Consequently, French Montana’s French Montana Hot 97 Summer Jam 2026 headlining moment landed as one of the defining performances of the festival.
Surprise guests elevated the set beyond a standard headlining performance. Remy Ma, Fenix Flexin, and Masicka all joined French Montana on stage during the night. Moreover, their appearances gave the set an unpredictable and celebratory energy that kept the audience fully engaged from start to finish. Furthermore, the broader Summer Jam lineup included Ice Spice, Mariah the Scientist, Yung Miami, DaBaby, Rick Ross, Fetty Wap, G Herbo, Cash Cobain, and more performing alongside Montana. Consequently, the 2026 edition of Hot 97’s flagship summer event delivered one of its strongest performer lineups in recent memory.
Ever Since U Left Me dominates the summer with massive streaming numbers
Ever Since U Left Me has emerged as one of the biggest records of French Montana’s career in 2026. The track has generated more than 50 million global streams across all versions since its release. Moreover, it has accumulated more than 23 million YouTube views and an extraordinary 272 million TikTok views that reflect the song’s viral penetration across social media platforms. Furthermore, the track has surpassed 570,000 Shazams, a metric that captures casual listener discovery and signals strong commercial momentum beyond the core fanbase. Consequently, the song’s performance across every major platform confirms that it has crossed into genuine mainstream cultural saturation.
The Billboard achievement adds institutional weight to those streaming numbers. Ever Since U Left Me reached No. 1 on the Billboard Rhythmic Airplay chart and the Rap Digital Song chart simultaneously. Moreover, those are two of the most competitive and closely watched charts in hip-hop radio and streaming. Additionally, the track’s success alongside Max B represents a reunion that fans had been anticipating for years given the two artists’ deep creative history. Consequently, the song’s commercial performance validated the reunion in the most concrete way possible.
French Montana’s summer momentum across ESPYs, BET Awards, and the World Cup
The Summer Jam headlining performance arrived at the peak of one of French Montana’s most active stretches in years. He attended the ESPYs just weeks before Summer Jam where he presented the Best College Athlete Men’s Sports award to Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza is the Indiana Hoosiers standout quarterback who has since become a Las Vegas Raiders rookie. Moreover, the ESPY appearance put French Montana on one of sports media’s biggest stages alongside athletes and celebrities from across the entertainment world. Consequently, the ESPYs moment extended his visibility well beyond the hip-hop audience into a broader mainstream sports and entertainment crossover space.
His BET Awards performance with Max B delivered another landmark summer moment. The two performed Ever Since U Left Me and Minx in Miami alongside Rick Ross at the ceremony. Moreover, Minx in Miami recently reached No. 1 on the charts, adding a second top-ranked record to the collaboration between French Montana and Max B in the same summer. Additionally, the BET Awards stage gave the duo a nationally televised platform to present their partnership to one of the largest Black entertainment audiences of the year. Consequently, French Montana arrived at Summer Jam riding the momentum of two No. 1 records, a major awards show performance, and growing recognition as one of the summer’s most active major artists.
French Montana on the FIFA World Cup 2026 official album
French Montana extended his summer presence into one of the year’s biggest global events with his inclusion on the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 album. His contribution, Three Nations, features 21 Savage and Mexican pop star Natanael Cano in a collaboration that celebrates the cultural unity and international spirit of the tournament. Moreover, the selection reflects his appeal across multiple markets and demographics, bridging hip-hop and Latin music audiences around a shared celebration. Furthermore, the FIFA World Cup 2026 album carries enormous commercial and cultural reach given the tournament’s status as the most watched sporting event on the planet. Consequently, Three Nations positions French Montana within a global soundtrack that will outlast the tournament itself as a cultural artifact of the 2026 event.
The combination of Summer Jam, the BET Awards, the ESPYs, and the FIFA World Cup album demonstrates the scale of French Montana’s summer footprint in 2026. Few artists across any genre matched his visibility across live, televised, and streaming formats during the same period. Moreover, the Ever Since U Left Me streaming numbers show that the activity translated into real audience growth rather than simply publicity without commercial impact. Additionally, the Max B collaboration has clearly rekindled genuine creative momentum rather than functioning as a nostalgia exercise. Consequently, French Montana enters the back half of 2026 with more momentum and wider reach than at any point in recent years.
Source: FYI Brand Group press release
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