HONG KONG: BTS have made history again with their latest single topping Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart this week.
This is the fourth song from the K-pop band to hit No 1 on the US-based music chart. It joins their 2020 hit singles Dynamite and Life Goes On, as well as their 2020 collaboration on the Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat) remix with Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo.
BTS are currently in the midst of their annual “Festa” anniversary celebration, releasing new content that includes a variety of family portraits featuring all seven members. They will celebrate their eighth anniversary on June 13.
The South Korean band are the first group to have three singles debut at No 1 on the chart, and have accumulated the most amount of No 1 hits over a period of nine months since Justin Timberlake did a similar feat in under eight months over 2006-07. For a group, it’s the fastest that any group has achieved four chart-topping hits since the Jackson Five achieved the same in 1970.
According to Billboard on June 2, only a handful of acts – The Beatles, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul, Timberlake and now BTS – have ever done this.
Butter takes over the top spot from Olivia Rodrigo’s Good 4 U. Her debut album Sour tops this week’s Billboard 200 albums chart. The upbeat tune drew 32.2 million US streams and 242,800 downloads in the week ending May 27, and drew in 18.1 million radio airplay audience impressions.
The members of BTS posted on Twitter and the fan-to-artist platform Weverse about the win, including a post from member Jin who woke up to the news as it was announced in South Korea in the night.
Upon the release of Butter on May 21, Suga had expressed their determination that they and their fandom, Army, would get another No 1 on the Billboard chart.
In a press release, BTS said: “We released Butter to bring a fun song that anyone can enjoy. We’re happy and honoured that the song reached No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 again. We wouldn’t have got our fourth chart-topping song without everyone’s love and support. Thank you for enjoying Butter and we will keep working hard to deliver refreshing and passionate music.”
Butter also broke several YouTube and Spotify records, gaining BTS several Guinness records. Following the release of the song, the group released a Hotter Remix of the song on May 28. The band are working on their upcoming album, and will hold their “2021 Muster Sowoozoo” live-stream event on June 13 and 14.
