LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 12: Suga, a member of the South Korean band BTS, attends the Los Angeles … [+]
The latest releases from some of the biggest names in the rap industry, which were all competing for domination of one of Billboard’s rap charts, faced an unexpected challenger this week.
The top spot on Billboard’s Rap Digital Song Sales chart was taken by a pair of South Korean artists, Suga and IU, who are not usually associated with the rap genre, but who succeeded this time around nonetheless.
The duo’s single “People Pt. 2” debuts at No. 1 on the Rap Digital Song Sales chart this time around, which ranks the top-selling tunes classified as rap in the United States. The track sold an impressive 17,700 copies in its first week, according to Luminate, marking an outstanding achievement for the pair. That sum is enough to make it the bestselling tune in America–and not just when looking at rap.
The success of “People Pt. 2” is even more noteworthy because of the tough competition it beat to get to the top. Drake’s “Search & Rescue” and YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Nicki Minaj’s “WTF” made their debuts on the chart, securing second and third places, respectively. They sold only 3,500 and 3,250 copies, respectively, which is far behind the sales of “People Pt. 2.” In other words, Suga and IU’s track outsold the runner-up five times over, which is no easy feat when it comes to Drake.
Impressively, this is Suga’s third time hitting No. 1 on the Rap Digital Song Sales chart, while IU reaches the summit for the first time in her career.
“People Pt. 2” was released under the moniker Agust D, which is the name Suga uses for his work outside of BTS. The K-pop group is currently on hiatus, which has given Suga the freedom to pursue his solo efforts. “People Pt. 2” serves as the lead single from Suga’s upcoming debut solo album, D-Day, which is set to release soon.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2023/04/18/suga-beats-drake-and-nicki-minaj-to-hit-no-1-on-billboards-rap-chart/