Jung Kook Achieves First Solo No. 1 for a BTS Member on Billboard Global Charts With ‘Seven’
Written by djfrosty on July 24, 2023
Jung Kook’s “Seven,” featuring Latto, launches at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated July 29). The song marks the first leader on the lists for a member of BTS as a soloist, as well as Latto’s first No. 1.
Plus, Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” debuts at No. 2 on the Global 200. The song, released in May, enters after CMT pulled its video, which premiered July 14, from rotation after three days, resulting in a surge of attention.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which started in September 2020, 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 United States.
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.
‘Seven’ = 1 on Global 200, With Record Streams for a Soloist
Jung Kook’s “Seven,” featuring Latto, blasts in atop the Billboard Global 200, with 217.1 million streams and 269,000 downloads sold worldwide from its release July 14 through July 20. (The song’s original and instrumental versions were released July 14 and its “Summer” and “Band” mixes arrived July 17; all were available for download for 69 cents.)
The song’s streaming sum narrowly bests Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (Feb. 4) for the biggest week for a song by a soloist since the Global 200 began. (“Flowers” also drew 217.1 million in its best week, but slightly less than the debut week of “Seven” after rounding off totals.) Overall, only one song has scored a bigger streaming week in that span – with Jung Kook also contributing to it: BTS’ “Butter” (289.2 million; June 5, 2021).
Plus, Jung Kook achieves the first Global 200 No. 1 for a BTS member as a soloist. Here’s a recap of BTS members’ top 10s on the ranking apart from the group (with BTS having logged 11 top 10s, including seven No. 1s, on the chart):
- “Seven,” Jung Kook feat. Latto, No. 1 (one week to-date), July 2023
- “Like Crazy,” Jimin, No. 2, April 2023
- “Left and Right,” Charlie Puth feat. Jung Kook, No. 5, July 2022
- “That That,” PSY feat. SUGA, No. 5, May 2022
- “Set Me Free, Pt. 2,” Jimin, No. 8, April 2023
- “Dreamers (Music From the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022),” Jung Kook, No. 9, December 2022
- “The Astronaut,” Jin, No. 10, November 2022
Latto also achieves her first Global 200 No. 1. “Seven” far surpasses her prior best peak, set when “Big Energy” hit No. 32 in April 2022.
Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” debuts at No. 2 on the Global 200, with 11.1 million streams (up 920%) and 233,000 sold (up 27,412%) July 14-20. The song was released in May; on July 18, Billboard confirmed that CMT had pulled its official video after three days in rotation, following the clip’s July 14 premiere. In the wake of CMT’s decision, Aldean posted a message to his Instagram Stories addressing the contrasting reactions that the song and video have faced.
Aldean, a veteran of Billboard’s country charts since 2005, lands his first Global 200 top 10 (or even top 40 appearance).
Myke Towers’ “LaLa” holds at its No. 3 Global 200 high; Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” falls to No. 4 after spending its first two weeks on the chart at the summit; and NewJeans’ “Super Shy” slips to No. 5 a week after it began at No. 2.
Jung Kook, Latto Also Top Global Excl. U.S.
Jung Kook’s “Seven” concurrently debuts atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 195.8 million streams and 131,000 downloads sold outside the U.S. July 14-20.
As on the Global 200, Jung Kook claims the first Global Excl. U.S. No. 1 for a BTS member solo. Here’s a recap of BTS members’ top 10s on the chart outside the group (with BTS having tallied 11 top 10s, including seven No. 1s, on the survey):
- “Seven,” Jung Kook feat. Latto, No. 1 (one week to-date), July 2023
- “Like Crazy,” Jimin, No. 2, April 2023
- “Left and Right,” Charlie Puth feat. Jung Kook, No. 2, July 2022
- “That That,” PSY feat. SUGA, No. 2, May 2022
- “Dreamers (Music From the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022),” Jung Kook, No. 4, December 2022
- “The Astronaut,” Jin, No. 6, November 2022
- “Set Me Free, Pt. 2,” Jimin, No. 8, April 2023
- “Stay Alive,” Jung Kook, No. 8, February 2022
- “Vibe,” TAEYANG feat. Jimin, No. 9, January 2023
“Seven” featured artist Latto likewise leads Global Excl. U.S. for the first time. Her lone prior charted title, “Big Energy,” reached No. 117 in May 2022.
Myke Towers’ “LaLa” recedes to No. 2 after a week atop Global Excl. U.S.; NewJeans’ “Super Shy” slides to No. 3, a week after it debuted at No. 2; YOASOBI’s “Idol” keeps at No. 4, following three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in June; and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” backtracks 3-5, two weeks after it debuted at the summit.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated July 29, 2023) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (July 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.