BTS’ ‘Butter’ tops Billboard Hot 100 for third week

K-pop sensation BTS’s new single “Butter” has held the No.1 spot on Billboard’s main singles chart for three consecutive weeks. This is the first time that the boy band’s song topped the chart for the third straight week.

BTS’ “Dynamite,” the group’s first song performed entirely in English, dipped to the second on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for two weeks after spending second straight week at No.1. The song topped the chart again at a fifth week, topping the chart for three weeks in total. BTS has topped the main singles chart for the eighth time with their songs, including “Life Goes On.”

“BTS’ ‘Butter’ is on top of the chart for three weeks in a row, Thanks ARMY,” BTS thanked their fans in a Twitter post. Suga expressed his gratitude for fans on WeVerse, the official fan community of BTS, saying it would not have been possible without ARMY.

“Butter” outclassed other songs in downloads. According to Billboard, “Butter” had 138,400 downloads and 15.4 million streams from June 4 to June 10. The sales of three remix versions of “Butter” have been reflected in the count. The remix versions were sold at a discount price at 69 cents.

Pop’s brightest new star Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u,” which held onto No. 2 for the third consecutive week on the chart, drew 42.1 million streams, outpacing that of “Butter,” but had one twelfth of “Butter’s downloads at 11,100.

BTS’ sweeping success on the Billboard chart coincided with their eighth debut anniversary. Bit Hit Entertainment said on Tuesday that BTS’ virtual fan meeting, “BTS 2021 MUSTER Microcosm” was watched by 1.33 million fans in 195 countries.

BTS will release the CD version of “Butter” on July 9, marking the day BTS’ fandom got their official name, ARMY.


imi@donga.com