Blackpink Become The First Korean Girl Group To Reach The Pop Airplay Chart

As their new single “Ice Cream” debuts at No. 13 on the Hot 100, giving the band their best placement yet on the all-encompassing tally of the most-consumed tracks in the U.S. every week, Blackpink’s latest also arrives on a radio-focused Billboard chart. In simply appearing on the list, the group has made history, and they’ve shown that there’s an incredible appetite for more of their music in America.

Blackpink’s “Ice Cream” debuts at No. 32 on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart, a ranking of the most-played singles on pop radio across the country. That’s a lofty placement, especially for an act reaching the roster for the first time. 

By launching “Ice Cream” anywhere on the Pop Songs chart, Blackpink becomes the first South Korean girl group to find their way to the genre-specific radio-only list. While all-female vocal acts are immensely popular in their home country, they are just now making waves in the States, and Blackpink is leading the way and managing feats none before them have come close to.

So far, only a handful of South Korean musical acts have placed on the Pop Songs chart, and with their first win on the ranking, Blackpink join other stars from their nation such as Psy and BTS. Other girl groups from their home country have placed on different Billboard rankings throughout the past several years, but none have managed to land a real radio smash.

“Ice Cream” earns the loftiest debut on this week’s Pop Songs chart, standing as the highest-ranking of three new entrants this time around. Just a few spots below Blackpink come Calvin Harris and The Weeknd, who start their first collaboration “Over Now” at No. 34. Down at No. 40 (in last place), Zoe Wees starts “Control” as low as a cut can appear.

Blackpink now stand as perhaps the most successful girl group of any kind in America (at least of those acts that are still churning out new music), and it was only a matter of time before they finally landed a real radio hit. It makes sense that “Ice Cream” would mark their first appearance on the tally, as it comes after several recent wins on the Hot 100 and it features pop superstar Selena Gomez. Her presence on the cut likely swayed some radio programmers, and she may have been a big help in sending the tune to the Pop Songs chart this week.

MORE FROM FORBESBlackpink Beat Their Own Record For Highest-Charting Hit By A Korean Girl Group In U.S. HistoryBy Hugh McIntyre