BTS’s new single “Butter” hasn’t been out long enough to appear on most Billboard charts, but next week the track will likely debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Digital Song Sales list and perhaps others. The chart company tracks radio data on a different timetable than sales and streams, so the group does reach two radio-focused rankings this frame with the tune after just a few days of activity.
“Butter” arrives at No. 40 on Billboard’s Adult Pop Airplay chart, which ranks the tunes that reached the largest audience at stations deemed “adult pop.” The track comes in at No. 40, in last place, but that’s still an impressive showing for a cut that only had a handful of days in which to rack up plays. Simply by reaching the tally at all, the new launch has become a historic win for the seven-member vocal band behind it.
The poppy earworm that is “Butter” is, amazingly, just the second release by a South Korean musical act of any kind to place on the Adult Pop Airplay chart. Before last year, no musicians from that part of the world had managed to snag a hit on the tally, but that all changed when the group’s disco-pop tune “Dynamite” crept onto the list after a few weeks of solid radio promotion.
“Dynamite” ended up climbing all the way to No. 10 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, and it held on for months. Next week, after “Butter” has enjoyed a full seven days of activity, it’s likely it will bound up the ranking, though just how far it will climb isn’t yet clear.
Over on the Pop Airplay list, which focuses on top 40/pop stations (as opposed to those pop stations that stick to older audiences), “Butter” earns the loftiest debut of the week, beating new releases from Olivia Rodrigo, DJ Khaled, Megan Thee Stallion and the Jonas Brothers. The cut opens at No. 26, which now marks the group’s highest start on the tally, and it will likely also gain a significant amount of ground on that list when Billboard refreshes it once again in a few days.