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Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts.
only K-pop soloists to reach Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, as “Apt.” with Bruno Mars debuts. PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 26: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY – For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Rosé of South Korean girl group BLACKPINK attends the Saint Laurent Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 26, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/WireImage)
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Rosé’s breakout solo single “Apt.” makes history this week on the Billboard charts in America. As the single shoots to No. 1 on one ranking, the Bruno Mars collaboration also debuts on another tally, helping the woman who powers the tune manage another feat on the weekly lists.
“Apt.” debuts on the Adult Contemporary chart this time around. The tune opens at No. 30, in last place, on Billboard’s ranking of the tracks that reach the largest audience at radio stations that play the more subdued, mature-leaning style of pop, known as Adult Contemporary.
As “Apt.” arrives, Rosé becomes only the second solo K-pop musician to hit the tally. Rosé is originally from New Zealand, and her single isn’t categorized as K-pop, but she is commonly associated with the style. The singer got her start in the South Korean music business as one-fourth of Blackpink, a girl group she still belongs to, and one of the top names in the genre.
Before her, only Jung Kook had managed to appear on the radio roster, which is tough for newcomers to reach. The BTS star made history in 2022 when he joined Charlie Puth on the tune “Left and Right,” as he became the first soloist from the K-pop field to hit the Adult Contemporary list. That song climbed to No. 24 and spent nine weeks on the chart.
Looking at all K-pop musical figures, the number of names that have landed somewhere on the Adult Contemporary radio ranking doubles. Fifty Fifty became the first female act to score a hit in 2023, when “Cupid” debuted, and it stood out as a big pop radio smash for months.
BTS leads all South Korean artists—and those usually associated with that country’s music industry—both in terms of the number of hits and the loftiest position reached on the tally. The septet has collected a trio of wins on the Adult Contemporary chart—as many as all other K-pop stars combined.
The boy band claims the two biggest hits on the Adult Contemporary chart among K-pop acts. BTS’ “Dynamite” and “My Universe” with Coldplay both peaked at No. 16. The group’s own “Butter” rose to No. 25 in 2021.
Rosé’s “Apt.” has now reached all three of Billboard’s pop radio rankings, which is extremely rare for any musician from her part of the world. The single shoots to No. 1 on this week’s Pop Airplay tally, making her the first K-pop star to lead that list. That cut also soars to a new peak on the Adult Pop Airplay list, pushing to No. 13.
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