Kali Uchis scores her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as “Telepatia” advances from the runner-up spot to lead the list dated Aug. 14. The single’s rise makes it the most-played song on monitored rhythmic U.S. radio stations, according to MRC Data.
“Telepatia” rises to No. 1 as it essentially held steady in plays in the week ending Aug. 8, as measured by MRC Data. The previous champ, Roddy Ricch’s “Late at Night,” vacated the top spot after it declined 2% in plays. The new leader’s also wraps a slow-but-steady journey on the list: “Telepatia” reaches the summit in its 17th week on the chart, second only to the 18-week wait for Yung Bleu’s “You’re Mines Still,” featuring Drake, among 2021 No. 1s.
The 27-year-old Uchis, who hails from Alexandria, Va., achieves her first Rhythmic Airplay No. 1 on her second chart appearance. Her lone prior visit came through a featured role on Tyler, The Creator’s “See You Again” in 2017, which cracked the chart in the anchor position — No. 40 — and lasted two weeks.
In line with its Rhythmic coronation, “Telepatia” has secured new benchmarks for Uchis’ career in multiple areas since its November 2020 release. After the tune gained traction on TikTok in early 2021, a rush of streams powered it to No. 10 on the Streaming Songs chart in March. That activity sparked the track’s Billboard Hot 100 entrance that month and its official promotion as a single. Radio airplay, then, kicked up and helped “Telepatia” achieve a No. 25 best on the Hot 100 in July.
In addition to conquering rhythmic radio, “Telepatia” ruled the Latin Airplay chart for one week in July and earned a No. 11 high on Pop Airplay. Simultaneous success at the three formats pushes the song into the top 10 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, where it steps 11-10 through a 3% gain in audience to 40.7 million in listenership in the week ending Aug. 6, according to MRC Data.
While “Telepatia” represents Kali Uchis’ solo breakthrough, the singer-songwriter made her first Billboard chart splashes in featured roles on songs across multiple genres, among them, the Gorillaz’s “She’s My Collar,” a No. 36 hit on Hot Rock Songs, Juanes’ “El Ratico,” a No. 10 success on Latin Pop Airplay and the Adult R&B Airplay chart-topper “Get You” in tandem with Daniel Caesar. The lattermost title led for one week and earned Uchis her first Grammy nomination, for best R&B performance.
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