Smooth Start: BTS’ ‘Butter’ Blasts In at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
BTS' "Butter" bounds in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the South Korean septet's fourth leader, all in the last nine months. Among groups, BTS has landed its first four No. 1s the fastest…
BTS‘ “Butter” bounds in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
The song marks the superstar South Korean septet’s fourth Hot 100 No. 1, all in the last nine months, marking any act’s quickest accumulation of four initial leaders since Justin Timberlake a decade-and-a-half ago. Among groups, BTS has landed its first four No. 1s the fastest since the Jackson 5 in 1970.
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Plus, Olivia Rodrigo charts three songs in the Hot 100’s top 10, as “Good 4 U,” which a week earlier premiered at the summit, ranks at No. 2; “Deja Vu” hits a new high at No. 3; and “Traitor” begins at No. 9. All three songs are from her debut LP Sour, which soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with the biggest week for an album so far in 2021.
Thanks to her three top 10s this week, Rodrigo makes history as the first artist to chart three songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously all from a debut album.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated June 5) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (June 2, a day later than usual due to the May 31 Memorial Day holiday in the U.S.) For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
“Butter,” released on HYBE/BigHit Entertainment/Columbia Records, is the 1,125th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 62-year history, and the 54th to enter on top. Here’s a deeper look at its launch.
Streams, sales & airplay: Following its May 21 release, “Butter” drew 32.2 million U.S. streams and sold 242,800 downloads in the week ending May 27, according to MRC Data. It also attracted 18.1 million radio airplay audience impressions in the week ending May 30.
The track debuts atop the Digital Song Sales chart, where it’s BTS’ seventh No. 1, extending the act’s record for the most among groups. Meanwhile, the song’s 242,800 sold mark the most in a week since BTS’ own “Dynamite” opened with 300,000 (Sept. 5, 2020).
“Butter” also begins at No. 4 on Streaming Songs and No. 39 on Radio Songs; it’s the act’s second entry and top start on the latter list, after “Dynamite,” which entered at No. 49 last September and hit No. 10 in December.
BTS’ 4th Hot 100 No. 1: “Butter” arrives as BTS’ fourth Hot 100 No. 1. Here’s a recap.
“Dynamite,” three weeks at No. 1, beginning Sept. 5, 2020
“Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat),” with Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo, one week, Oct. 17, 2020
“Life Goes On,” one week, Dec. 5, 2020
“Butter,” one week to-date, June 5, 2021
As “Dynamite,” “Life Goes On” and “Butter” have all debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, BTS is the first group with a trio of No. 1 entrances; no other group has more than one. Ariana Grande leads all acts with five No. 1 starts.
Fastest first 4 No. 1s since …: BTS has achieved its first four Hot 100 No. 1s over a span of exactly nine months, from charts dated Sept. 5, 2020, through June 5, 2021. That’s the quickest accumulation of four initial leaders since Justin Timberlake earned the honor over seven months and two weeks in 2006-07.
Among groups, BTS wraps the fastest run to four initial Hot 100 No. 1s since the Jackson 5 in 1970.
Here’s a look at the elite seven acts to land their first four Hot 100 leaders in under a year (dating to each act’s first week at No. 1):
The Beatles, four months (Feb. 1-May 30, 1964)
The Supremes, seven months and one week (Aug. 22, 1964-March 27, 1965)
Justin Timberlake, seven months and two weeks (Sept. 9, 2006-April 21, 2007)
The Jackson 5, eight months and two weeks (Jan. 31-Oct. 17, 1970)
BTS, nine months (Sept. 5, 2020-June 5, 2021)
Mariah Carey, nine months and three weeks (Aug. 4, 1990-May 25, 1991)
Paula Abdul, one year (Feb. 11, 1989-Feb. 10, 1990)
Among all quartets of Hot 100 No. 1s, not just acts’ first four leaders, BTS has earned its four the fastest since Rihanna also earned four over nine months in 2010-11, after four over eight months all in 2010. (She had already tallied five No. 1s before 2010, in 2006-08.)
‘Butter’ & churn at No. 1: “Butter” is the 10th song to score its first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2021. This year marks the first in which at least 10 songs have hit No. 1 by the first chart dated in June since the Hot 100 began using MRC Data (formerly Nielsen Music) information in November 1991. It follows 2020’s total of 20 new No. 1s, likewise the most in a year since 1991.
“Butter” is also the seventh song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2021. A record 12 titles launched at the summit last year after no more than four did in any previous year.
‘Hotter’ forecast: Sales for “Butter” in its first week reflect availability for its original and instrumental versions, both discounted to 69 cents. Those versions, plus a “hotter” remix released May 28, also priced at 69 cents, will impact the song on next week’s Hot 100, dated June 12 and reflecting sales in the May 28-June 3 tracking week.
(Updated June 2 with confirmed expected shipping date: Two other versions of “Butter” on sale via BTS’ U.S. webstore, a 7-inch vinyl single, for $7.98, and a cassette single, for $6.98, will count for chart tabulation only once they are shipped to consumers, expected to be on June 18.)
Olivia Rodrigo claims three songs in the Hot 100’s top 10, led by “Good 4 U” at No. 2, a week after debuting at No. 1. The track sports gains in all metrics, as it spends a second week atop Streaming Songs (62.7 million, up 45%).
Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” darts 13-3 on the Hot 100, surpassing its prior No. 8 peak registered upon its April 17 debut. Leading its lift, it charges 20-2 on Streaming Songs for a new high, up 79% to 32.8 million streams.
(Chart déjà vu: The lyrics of Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” shout out Billy Joel and his hit “Uptown Girl,” and both songs now boast No. 3 Hot 100 peaks. Joel’s classic reached the rank in November 1983. Rodrigo also sings about Glee in “Deja Vu.” The cast of the 2009-15 Fox TV series logged 207 entries, the second-most all-time after Drake’s 233, and is now mentioned in a hit ranking one spot higher than its best: the Glee Cast reached a No. 4 high, among three top 10s, with its breakthrough cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which hit No. 4 in June 2009.
Plus, Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” becomes the highest-charting Hot 100 hit by that title. Now at No. 3 after previously reaching No. 8, it surpasses Beyoncé’s song of the same name, featuring Jay-Z, a No. 4 hit in 2006, as well as J. Cole’s, which reached No. 7 in 2016.)
Rounding out Rodrigo’s three simultaneous Hot 100 top 10s, “Traitor” debuts at No. 9. Thanks to “Good 4 U,” “Deja Vu” and “Traitor,” all from her debut album Sour, Rodrigo is the first artist in the Hot 100’s history to chart three concurrent songs in the top 10 all from a first LP.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo ups her count to four career Hot 100 top 10s, as “Good 4 U,” “Deja Vu” and “Traitor” follow “Drivers License” (also on Sour), which debuted at No. 1 in January and spent eight weeks on top.
Elsewhere in the Hot 100’s top 10, Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” featuring DaBaby, dips 3-4 after reaching No. 2 and “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic, the duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, descends 4-5 after two nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1. The latter adds a seventh week atop Radio Songs (89 million, down 1%), while ruling Hot R&B Songs for a 10th week and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a fifth frame; both multi-metric charts use the same methodology as the Hot 100.
Justin Bieber’s former one-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Peaches,” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, keeps at No. 6; The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Save Your Tears” rebounds 9-7 after two weeks at No. 1; Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA, rises 10-8 after reaching No. 5; and, below Rodrigo’s “Traitor,” Masked Wolf’s “Astronaut in the Ocean” climbs 11-10 after hitting No. 6, as it leads the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart for a second week.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated June 5), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (June 2).
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