BTS’s Suga Is The First K-Pop Artist To Hit No. 1 On Billboard’s R&B And Hip-Hop Sales Chart

Suga from the band BTS is enjoying a massive week on the Billboard charts thanks to his latest collaboration. The singer and rapper is featured on late musician Juice WRLD’s latest posthumous album Fighting Demons, which opens at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The South Korean musician joined WRLD on the promotional single “Girl of My Dreams,” which quickly becomes a real hit thanks to immediate adoption from fans of both acts. Many of the tunes that are present on the tracklist debut on various lists, with Suga’s inclusion helping him make history in several ways.

The BTS member is now the first K-pop musician to score a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart, as “Girl of My Dreams” opens in first place on the roster, which organizes the tunes that can be classified as R&B, hip-hop or rap that actually sold the most copies in America every week. The list differs from the more-closely-watched Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs tally, as the latter is compiled using streaming, airplay and sales data instead of focusing solely on purchases.

“Girl of My Dreams” arrives at No. 1 thanks to more than 40,000 pure purchases (according to MRC Data) in the tune’s first full frame of availability. That’s not just enough to make it the bestselling cut that’s labeled as one of the genres included in this tally, but when looking at all styles. The WRLD/Suga collaboration also debuts atop the all-encompassing Digital Song Sales chart. By doing so, both musicians collect their first leader on the competitive purchase-focused ranking.

In addition to being the first South Korean and K-pop musician to rise to the peak position on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart, Suga is one of a very small number of acts from his chosen genre to appear anywhere on the ranking. He joins fellow superstars like Blackpink’s Lisa, Jay B and even BTS, who coincidentally (or perhaps not so) also landed a win on the list alongside WLRD several years ago.

Before this week, Blackpink’s Lisa claimed the highest-charting hit of all time by a K-pop artist. Her single “Money” topped out at No. 2 earlier this year. Now, Suga has landed the most impressive placement yet among those musicians who largely traffic in K-pop, and hopefully “Girl of My Dreams” won’t be the only leader that fits these descriptors.

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