Sam Smith And Kim Petras Become First Openly Nonbinary And Trans Artists To Reach Billboard’s No. 1

Topline

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ song “Unholy” earned the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on Monday after three weeks in the top ten, making them the first nonbinary and transgender artists, respectively, to rank No. 1 on the singles chart.

Kim Petras and Sam Smith backstage during night one of the iHeartRadio Music Festival held at … [+] T-Mobile Arena on September 23, 2022, in Las Vegas.

Variety via Getty Images

Key Facts

In the week ending October 20, “Unholy” received 25.3 million streams, 21.5 million radio airplay impressions and 19,000 downloads.

The song is the first No. 1 of either Smith’s or Petras’ careers, though Smith has been behind popular hits like “Stay With Me,” “I’m Not The Only One” and “Dancing With A Stranger.”

The song was released September 22 and debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100, before ranking at No. 2 for the last two weeks.

“Unholy” has spent four weeks at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Charts, and four weeks as the top song on Spotify’s weekly global Top Songs chart.

Like many recent chart hits, “Unholy” is popular on TikTok, where over a million videos have been made to it.

Tangent

With the release of the album It’s Only Me, rapper Lil Baby became the third artist in history to chart at least 25 songs on the Hot 100 simultaneously, following Drake, who in 2017 charted 27, and Taylor Swift, who charted 26 last year.

What To Watch For

Swift’s new album Midnights was released Friday and became the most-streamed album on Spotify in a day. The work is largely expected to dominate next week’s chart.

Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Singles

“Unholy,” Sam Smith and Kim Petras
“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
“As It Was,” Harry Styles
“California Breeze,” Lil Baby
“I Like You (A Happier Song),” Post Malone feat. Doja Cat
“I Ain’t Worried,” One Republic
“You Proof,” Morgan Wallen
“Forever,” Lil Baby feat. Fridayy
“Super Freaky Girl,” Nicki Minaj
“Real Spill,” Lil Baby

Billboard 200 Top Five Albums

It’s Only Me, Lil Baby
Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny
Return of the Dream Canteen, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Dangerous: The Double Album, Morgan Wallen
The Highlights, The Weeknd

Key Background

Smith’s debut album, In The Lonely Hour, was released in 2014. They have been nominated for six Grammys and have won four. Last week, Smith announced their fourth studio album Gloria will be released on January 27. Smith came out as nonbinary in 2019. Petras was born in Germany and appeared on talk shows when she was young to talk about her transgender identity. She started releasing music in 2008 and released her debut album, Clarity, in 2019.