Billboard Explains: Ice Spice’s Meteoric Charts Debut

Kyle Denis
·2 min read
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With a year packed with jaw-dropping collaborations (Taylor Swift! Nicki Minaj!) and countless viral moments, it’s not a stretch to say Ice Spice owned 2023. Thus, it’s only right that the Bronx emcee be honored with the Hitmaker Award at the upcoming 2024 Billboard Women In Music Awards.

After going viral with her drill-rooted “Munch” back in August 2022, the fast-rising rap star conquered 2023 with a bevy of Billboard Hot 100 smashes and culture-shifting tracks. From “Barbie World” to “Actin a Smoochie,” Ice Spice’s knack for hits garnered her four Grammy nominations, including best new artist, and a slot as an opener on Doja Cat‘s Scarlet Tour.

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Ice Spice has earned eight Hot 100 entries, almost all of them hitting the chart in 2023. Four of those hits reached the chart’s top 10, including “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” (No. 3, with PinkPantheress), “Princess Diana” (No. 4, with Nicki Minaj), “Barbie World” (No. 7, with Nicki Minaj and AQUA) and the remix of Taylor Swift’s “Karma” (No. 2). Most recently, Ice’s latest single — the new jazz-inflected “Think U the Shit (Fart)” — debuted at No. 37 on the Hot 100. The “Gangsta Boo” rapper has also proved to be a force at radio, with “Princess Diana,” “Barbie World” and “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” all reaching No. 1 on Rhythmic Airplay.

Perhaps most impressively, Ice Spice has achieved all of these milestones without an official studio album. As fans await her forthcoming debut LP — titled Y2K — they can continue to spin Like..?, Ice’s debut EP. That project reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and included notable hits such as “Bikini Bottom” and “In Ha Mood.”

After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was able to shoot to No. 1 on the Hot 100.

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