Jung Kook Makes BTS Proud With Second Hot 100 No. 1, Jason Aldean’s ‘Small Town’ Holds Strong at No. 2

Jung Kook’s debut solo single, “Seven” made it to the top position on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart, a remarkable achievement also accomplished by fellow BTS member Jimin “Like Crazy” just three months earlier. The track achieved an impressive 21.9 million streams, and 6.4 million airplay impressions, and sold 153,000 singles. Also featuring rapper Latto as a guest appearance, making it an instant hit.

@PopBase posted a tweet on Jimin’s congratulatory message to Jungkook for topping the Billboard Hot 100 goes viral with 16.3K Likes.

Jimin congratulates Jungkook on hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

They are the only Korean soloists in history to top the chart. pic.twitter.com/0O2lxubIcD

— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 25, 2023

Unlike BTS, country star Jason Aldean doesn’t have a huge fan base like the Army, but his controversial track “Try That in a Small Town” made it to No.2 on the chart with the help of media attention, even though it had previously struggled to make an impact for two months.

@BobSwif41308343’s tweet highlights Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ surging to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, gaining momentum after a controversial music video. The track closely follows BTS Jung Kook’s solo single ‘Seven’ at the top spot.

Jason Aldean ‘s “Try That in a Small Town” is experiencing exponential growth following controversy over its music video.
“Try That in a Small Town,” which was released in May, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week just behind BTS’s Jung Kook solo single “Seven” pic.twitter.com/TzNjBgIVQX

— Bob Swift (@BobSwif41308343) July 25, 2023

The second week of Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” has no competition on the Billboard 200 album chart. Despite being a re-recording of a 12-year-old release, the album proves to be a massive hit with enduring success, becoming her first Big Machine-era remake to secure the top position for two weeks, instead of just one.

In the past week, music headlines have been dominated by Aldean‘s divisive song, which had previously remained under the spotlight until an attention-grabbing and controversial music video created a firestorm. Despite facing criticism in certain circles, Aldean’s fans supported the song, leading to a significant increase in streams and downloads. While its impact on the country radio airplay chart remained limited, the passionate support from a significant portion of the cultural right has turned “Small Town” into a certified on-demand hit, at least for the time being.

Despite gaining significant attention in the second half of the charting week, “Try That in a Small Town” showed immense potential to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. With a remarkable 547% increase in streams, reaching 11.6 million, and an astonishing 27,625% increase in downloads, selling 228,000 copies. By purchasing the song on iTunes, Aldean‘s controversial song attracted a vocal fanbase expressing their support.

It wasn’t even that difficult for the Aldean tune to reach a milestone not witnessed in a decade because the paid track download market has slowed to a trickle when politics aren’t involved. The last time a country single sold more copies in a week was 10 years ago this month becoming the highest-selling country since Florida Georgia Line and Nelly’s “Cruise” sold 244,000, as reported by Billboard.

Due to the weighting of streams and downloads, “Small Town” also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Songs chart where it had not been making an impact. However, on the Country Airplay chart, it slipped slightly to No. 26, despite a 17% increase to 6.5 million in audience impressions, as country radio tends to respond more slowly to viral trends. The song’s controversial content has caused discussions and debates about violence and lynching, leaving programmers uncertain about potentially alienating some of their listeners with increased airplay.

The collaboration of Jung Kook and Jason Aldean successfully surpassed Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” from its 14-week reign at No. 1. With Aldean and Wallen tracks, alongside Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” securing No. 4 country songs now hold a remarkable achievement, occupying three out of four top positions on the hot 100.

Taylor Swift’s album “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” retained the No. 1 position for the second week, despite an 83% drop from its debut week, amassing 121,000 album-equivalent units, according to Luminate. Swift’s record-breaking premiere week was so powerful that even with a significant decline, her album’s performance remains impressive. Furthermore, Swift continues to dominate the charts, with four albums in the top 10, becoming the first female artist to achieve such a feat.

As per the Billboard reports, this is the first time in the last six months that there were no new albums in the top 10 of the album chart. Taylor Swift’s closest competitor for the top spot on Billboard 200 was Wallen’s formerly chart-dominating “One Thing at a Time,” still going strong with 105,000 album units.