BTS’s ‘Dynamite’ Is Now The Second-Highest-Charting Song By A Korean Act On The Streaming Chart

BTS’s new single “Dynamite” debuts atop the Hot 100 this week, granting the band their first leader on the most competitive ranking of songs in the U.S. The catchy disco-tinged tune opens as high as possible thanks primarily to a healthy sales count (the largest in years, actually), but streams also played a major role in the cut’s instant success, and all those plays have helped the group rise to a new and notable peak position on one important Billboard chart.

“Dynamite” debuts at No. 3 on this week’s Streaming Songs chart, the ranking of the songs that performed best on popular music platforms like Apple Music and Spotify as well as video sites. That’s not just the best placement yet for the South Korean septet, but also one of the most impressive showings among artists from their home country.

Only one musician from South Korea has risen higher on the Streaming Songs chart, and he managed to do so twice. Back in 2013, Psy sent two global smashes to No. 1, with the pair of winners separated by just a few weeks. Both “Gangnam Style” and its follow-up “Gentleman” owned the ranking for a period of time, and they hold as the only pieces of music produced by a South Korean star (or group from the country) to make it to No. 1.

Before “Dynamite” arrived, another popular BTS single stood as the second-highest-charting cut in the history of the Streaming Songs ranking, at least when looking solely at those released by South Korean stars. The band’s “Boy With Luv,” which features American pop singer Halsey, once climbed all the way to No. 5, which was higher than anyone (except for Psy) from the nation had managed before.

“Dynamite” opens at No. 3 on the Streaming Songs chart thanks to just under 34 million plays (according to data provided by Nielsen Music) on the most popular platforms. All those clicks helped send the tune right to No. 1 on the all-genre tally, though sales played the biggest part.

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