BTS’s Jung Kook Makes Billboard History With His First Top 10 Hit On One Radio Chart

This week, Sia rises to No. 1 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, Billboard’s weekly look at which tunes are reaching the largest audience on radio stations deemed “adult pop,” which means they’re aimed at an older audience. The tune, which was originally released as a promotional single in 2016, has enjoyed a surprise surge in popularity, and it’s not the only story worth mentioning inside the highest tier on the tally.

New to the top 10 on this week’s Adult Pop Airplay chart is “Left and Right,” the catchy collaboration between Charlie Puth and Jung Kook. This time around, the cut lifts from No. 11 to No. 9, entering the loftiest arena on the list for the first time. With both artists being credited on the tune, one makes history with the ever-climbing win.

Jung Kook now appears to be the first South Korean solo musician to score a top 10 hit on the Adult Pop Airplay chart. While K-pop, and the artists behind the genre, have been making huge inroads in major music markets like the U.S. throughout the past several years, the success has largely been owned by groups. Only very, very recently have soloists started to rack up not just bestselling albums, but also true hit singles.

MORE FROM FORBESBTS’s Jung Kook Continues To Prove He’s A Pop Hitmaker On The Billboard ChartsBy Hugh McIntyre

Part of what makes the placement of “Left and Right” so notable is what chart it’s present on. South Korean solo musicians who have developed a large following sometimes have an easier time landing on sales-focused tallies, such as the Digital Song Sales or World Digital Song Sales charts. To make it to those rankings, a tune must rack up a sizable number of purchases in one frame, which some of the biggest names in the K-pop space have been able to do. Succeeding at radio–especially in America–is notoriously difficult, and thus it has taken a while for foreign talents who usually perform in a language other than English to do so.

While “Left and Right” appears to be the first top 10 with a South Korean solo star credited, it’s not the first cut from any K-pop act to break into the region. Last year, BTS joined Coldplay on the single “My Universe,” which eventually climbed to No. 8 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart. BTS’s own smash “Dynamite” once lifted to No. 10, at the time becoming the first track by a well-known name in K-pop to enter the competitive space on this specific roster.

Now, “Left and Right” stands as the second-highest-charting song on the Adult Pop Airplay chart that credits any South Korean musical act, and the tune isn’t done yet. After lifting two spaces in the past week, the track could continue its ascent in the coming frames, especially now that Puth’s new album Charlie, which features the single, is out and being heavily promoted. In just another week or two, “Left and Right” could overtake “My Universe” and make history once more.

MORE FROM FORBESBTS’s J-Hope Ties For The Most No. 1s Among Korean Soloists On One Billboard ChartBy Hugh McIntyre