Gera MX & Christian Nodal Chart First Regional Mexican Hit Ever on Hot 100: ‘Just Two ‘Compas’ Having Fun’
Gera MX & Christian Nodal Chart First Regional Mexican Hit Ever on Hot 100
The partnership between Christian Nodal and newcomer Gera MX yields profits as “Botella Tras Botella” debuts at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated May 8). It’s the first regional Mexican title to enter the list in its almost 63-year history.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. Gera MX and Nodal’s first collaboration arrives on the list owed largely to streaming activity: it generated 9.9 million U.S. streams in its first tracking week ending in April 29, according to MRC Data. “Botella” was released April 23 alongside its music video.
“Since we heard the collaboration for the first time, we felt it would have a huge effect on the audiences of both artists,” Victor González, president Virgin Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula, tells Billboard. “The phenomenal response occurred very quickly, and our expectations were exceeded beginning on launch day.”
“Botella” also received an online boost as Nodal teased a piece of the song on his Twitch channel while playing video games before the song dropped in full. A fan later shared it on TikTok, and since then, it has generated over 126,000 videos on the platform. As a result of its streaming gain across services such as YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music, sparked by its popularity on TikTok, “Botella” debuts at No. 40 on the overall Streaming Songs chart and a No. 2 on Latin Streaming Songs. (TikTok itself does not contribute to Billboard‘s charts.)
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“Botella” concurrently starts at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, which, like the Hot 100, blends streaming, airplay and digital sales data. It grants Gera MX his first appearance on the tally, while Nodal picks up his third top 10 and highest-charting song yet, besting his two previous top 10s: “Dime Como Quieres,” with Angela Aguilar (No. 8 high, Dec. 15, 2020), and “Adiós Amor” (No. 4, 2017).
“It was an organic collab. We didn’t really expect to have this reception,” Gera MX tells Billboard. “We were friends before we became musicians. We eat together in weekends, we cook carne asada. There are many good memories of us together. Nodal closed my concert in Guadalajara’s Teatro Diana with the song ‘Sigo Siendo El Rey’ and mariachi. We really never coordinated this. Our friendship just flew smoothly in a recording studio and the song came to be. We’ve recorded other material, always playing around as musician friends in the studio.”
“The idea of us recording together wasn’t planned. We weren’t thinking of releasing anything,” Nodal tells Billboard. “It was just two ‘compas’ having fun.”
“Botella” concurrently earns a No. 1 launch on Latin Digital Song Sales with 2,000 downloads sold.
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First Regional Mexican Title to Debut on Billboard Hot 100 Ever: As previously mentioned, “Botella” bows at No. 60 on the Hot 100, where it earns Nodal and Gera MX their first entry each. Making history, it’s the first regional Mexican song to arrive on the all-genre list. Only three other regional Mexican acts have visited the chart since its inception in 1958, all through pop songs: Kumbia Kings and A.B. Quintanilla earned their only entry each with their collaborative tune “U Don’t Love Me” (2000) and Marco Antonio Solis followed through his featured role on Enrique Iglesias’ “El Perdedor” (2014).
The “Botella” production team comprises Edgar Barrera, Luis Barrera and JayRick. “I arrived in the studio, set my guitar with JayRick and recorded the riffs and the idea for the chorus, which I already had,” Nodal adds. “I gave Gera a hand with some melodies and he placed his lyrics over and then I asked Luis and Edgar Barrera to assist with the production. My initial guitar chords were left in the background, Edgar added some country guitar riffs and Luis handled the mix.”
“We are excited to see that the outstanding performances of Gera MX and Christian Nodal are reaching new audiences around the globe,” González adds.
First Mexican Top 10 Visit Billboard Global Charts: “Botella” likewise debuts in the top 10 on both Billboard Global charts: No. 4 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 9 on Billboard Global 200. It garnered 79.5 million streams and sold 3,600 downloads worldwide in its first week. It becomes the first song by any Mexican acts to reach the top 50 of either global chart, let alone the top 10 of both.
About the recording session, Gera MX adds: “We recorded it at La Rich House, a home studio in Guadalajara we put together with good equipment. Nodal came out with the loop on guitar. I played around with the notes and wrote my lyrics. We put it together amid a few beers, food and good chat.”
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