With the recent achievements of BTS’s Butter, especially on the Billboard charts, Billboard staffers shared their views and answered some questions related to what makes BTS’s tracks so successful in the music charts.
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| Credit: Courtesy of BTS | Twitter |
Aside from BTS debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 last
week with “Butter,” also they maintain their position in the song’s second week
against tough competition. What does it say about the song and/or BTS
themselves that they’re able to maintain such positioning?
According to Rania Aniftos, it solidifies BTS as a
serious player in the U.S. market that’s here to stay, proving that the success
of “Dynamite” wasn’t a one-time stroke of luck. While BTS is talented and the
song itself is catchy and easy to like, we also have to acknowledge the force
that is the ARMY. I’ve never seen a more dedicated fan base, so it’s no surprise
that they’re a major factor in ensuring BTS’ continued success.
Katie Atkinson said that to debut at no. 1 is a big
deal, proving there’s massive curiosity around a brand-new song, but to stay
there a second week is even bigger. The release of the “Hotter” remix helped, but
it seems like the biggest indicator of the track’s growing interest is the 24%
bump in radio airplay. This isn’t just a superfan-driven success; it’s a
mainstream hit.
Anna Chan shared that speaking from experience, this
is a song that melts your heart (see what I did there?) with repeated listens,
so I’m not surprised that “Butter” has held on to the top spot. But you can’t
deny that the guys of BTS are proving themselves to be some of the hardest-working
in the business, doing everything to promote this song, from performing at the
Billboard Music Awards to late-night shows to morning shows and the three –
three!!! – remixes in just two weeks. And it seems the harder they work to give
to ARMY, the more ARMY repays them in the form of unquestioning support,
resulting in yet another week atop the Hot 100.
With their huge social following, deafening live shows
and collection of No.1 albums, BTS was already the biggest pop group in the world
at this point last year. Yet what they demonstrated over the past 12 months –
first “Dynamite” becoming the first K-Pop single to reach the top of the Hot
100, then two more BTS songs (as well as a BTS remix of “Savage Love”)
streaking to the top of the chart – is that their sprawling fan base can yield
chart-topping songs as well. At this point, every new BTS single must be
considered in contention to top the Hot 100 – thanks to the might of the ARMY,
which has been unflagging in its support of BTS and has only grown over the
past few years, said Jason Lipshutz.
Meanwhile, Andrew Unterberger said that the song’s
streaming and radio presence in just two short weeks is undeniably impressive, but
it remains the ARMY’s willingness to continue shelling out for downloads of “Butter”
– as well as its various remixes – that really makes the difference. The song
sold 140,000 copies last week – the song’s second week, lest we forget – which is
still over 100,000 more than any other non-BTS song to lead the Digital Song
Sales chart this year has in any one week. It gives BTS a formidable advantage
in any chart race, one that would take a rival having a truly blockbuster
performance at streaming and/or radio to overcome.