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Just two weeks after Jimin debuted his new single on a handful of Billboard charts, he sends his latest offering to yet another ranking. By debuting on this specific tally, he joins a very small club of some of the most successful South Korean solo artists in the U.S. who have become popular enough to reach the masses on the radio.
Jimin’s single “Angel Pt. 1” arrives on the Pop Airplay chart this week, which ranks the tunes that reach the largest audience at pop radio in the U.S. The tune, which is a collaborative affair with rappers Kodak Black, NLE Choppa, and singers Muni Long and Jake, opens at No. 38. That’s fairly low on the 40-spot tally, but simply by appearing at all, Jimin has shown his immense popularity.
So far, only four solo male South Korean musicians have managed to hit the Pop Airplay chart, and many of them are Jimin’s BTS bandmates. The first musician hailing from the Asian nation to reach the ranking was actually a solo male. Psy broke barriers more than a decade ago with his single “Gangnam Style,” which eventually climbed to No. 10. It would be many years before another K-pop act reached the highest tier, and it remains a lofty goal few have managed.
For many years, only bands and vocal groups from South Korea landed on the Pop Airplay chart, and it was nine years before Suga joined Psy in this space. The BTS singer, songwriter, and producer joined fellow pop artist Max on “Blueberry Eyes,” a track that only climbed to No. 39, but it was still a historic moment for him.
Fellow BTS member Jungkook is the only other solo male star from South Korea to place on the Pop Airplay chart, and impressively, he’s one of the only artists known for producing K-pop to break onto the tally more than once. He and pop star Charlie Puth nearly snagged a top 10 with “Left and Right,” which peaked at No. 11 in 2022. Then, just before that year was up, Jungkook returned on his own with “Dreamers.”
“Angel Pt. 1” was an instant sales success and it brought Jimin and his cohorts to the highest reaches of several Billboard charts, especially the rap and hip-hop genre ones. Now, the Fast X soundtrack single is being promoted to radio, and clearly DJs are happy to put the tune into rotation as it hasn’t been out very long and it’s already present on the competitive pop airwaves.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2023/06/14/bts-star-jimin-joins-suga-jungkook-and-psy-with-his-first-solo-radio-hit/