‘Flowers’ Power: Miley Cyrus Soars In at No. 1 on Both Billboard Global Charts
Written by djfrosty on January 24, 2023
Miley Cyrus boasts the biggest song in the world, as “Flowers” launches at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. The song soars in with the biggest global streaming week for a soloist, and the third-greatest week overall, since the Global 200 began in September 2020.
Plus, Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” blasts to No. 2 on each tally and TAEYANG’s “Vibe,” featuring Jimin, enters Global Excl. U.S. at No. 9, as Jimin becomes the fourth member of BTS to have hit the chart’s top 10 as a soloist.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
‘Flowers’ Logs Biggest Global 200 Streaming Week for a Soloist
“Flowers” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 with 179.1 million streams and 98,000 sold worldwide in its first full tracking week, Jan. 13-19 (after it arrived Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. EST).
Cyrus scores her first leader since the Global 200 began, after she reached the chart’s top 15 with two tracks in late 2020: “Prisoner,” featuring Dua Lipa (No. 12), and “Midnight Sky” (No. 15).
Cyrus first announced during her Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party NBC special that “Flowers” would be released Jan. 13, which fans noticed doubles as her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth’s birthday. That narrative and interaction on TikTok have helped grow the profile of the song, which ushers in Cyrus’ eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, due March 10.
Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” surges 12-2 on the Global 200 with 168.4 million streams and 16,000 sold worldwide Jan. 13-19 (its first full tracking week, following its Jan. 11 release at 7 p.m. EST). The buzzworthy latest edition of the Argentine DJ/producer’s series is his second top 10 on the chart, after “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” with Quevedo, reigned for four weeks beginning last July. Shakira earns her first top 10 since the chart began.
Notably, “Flowers” and “Vol. 53” claim the biggest and second-biggest global streaming weeks, respectively, in nearly five months, since BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” premiered atop the Global 200 dated Sept. 3, 2022, with 212.1 million streams worldwide. Plus, “Flowers” posts the top global streaming week for a soloist since the chart started in September 2020, with its sum of 179.1 million surpassing the 178.4 million that Adele’s “Easy on Me” drew in its first full frame (Oct. 30, 2021). Overall in the chart’s archives, just two songs have logged bigger global streaming weeks than “Flowers”: “Pink Venom,” as noted above, and BTS’ “Butter,” which opened with 289.5 million (June 5, 2021).
SZA’s “Kill Bill” drops to No. 3 on the Global 200 after two weeks on top; Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” dips to No. 4 from its No. 3 high; and Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” rises 6-5, after it debuted at its No. 3 best in December.
Cyrus No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S., TAEYANG & Jimin Debut in Top 10
As on the Global 200, “Flowers” bows at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 129.2 million streams and 37,000 sold outside the U.S. Jan. 13-19.
Cyrus previously hit a No. 10 Global Excl. U.S. top peak with “Prisoner,” featuring Dua Lipa, in 2020.
Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” bounds 8-2 on Global Excl. U.S. with 148.9 million streams and 7,000 sold outside the U.S. Jan. 13-19.
SZA’s “Kill Bill” backtracks to No. 3 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart from its No. 2 best; Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” descends to No. 4 after two weeks at the summit; and David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” slips 3-5, after it reached No. 2 in September.
Elsewhere in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, TAEYANG’s “Vibe,” featuring Jimin, starts at No. 9 on the chart, with 40.2 million streams and 22,000 sold outside the U.S. TAEYANG achieves his first solo entry on the ranking, having appeared as a soloist on Billboard surveys since 2010, while the group in which he broke through, BIGBANG, debuted and peaked at No. 3 last April with “Still Life.”
Jimin, likewise from South Korea, notches his first Global Excl. U.S. top 10 in his second appearance, after “With You,” with HA SUNG WOON, hit No. 14 last May.
Jimin becomes the fourth member of BTS to have hit the Global Excl. U.S. top 10 solo, joining Jin, Jung Kook (two top 10s) and SUGA. Here’s a recap of BTS members’ five combined top 10s as soloists on Global Excl. U.S. (where BTS has collected 10 top 10s):
“That That,” PSY feat. SUGA, No. 2, May 2022
“Left and Right,” Charlie Puth feat. Jung Kook, No. 2, July 2022
“The Astronaut,” Jin, No. 6, November 2022
“Dreamers (Music From the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022),” Jung Kook, No. 4, November 2022
“Vibe,” TAEYANG feat. Jimin, No. 9 (to-date), January 2023
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Jan. 28, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 25). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.