Hot 100 First-Timers: BTS’ RM & Youjeen Land Solo Entries With Collab Single ‘Wild Flower’
South Korean rapper and BTS member RM and rock singer Youjeen each score their first solo entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Dec. 17), thanks to their new collaboration, “Wild Flower.”
The song debuts at No. 83 with 4.1 million official streams and 29,000 downloads sold in the U.S. in its first tracking week (Dec. 2-8), according to Luminate. It opens as the top-selling song of the week, at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart.
More from Billboard
BTS' Jin Shares Photo of Buzzed Haircut Ahead of Military Enlistment
Caroline Polachek Announces 2023 North American & European Tour
BTS has logged 26 entries on the Hot 100 with RM (real name Kim Nam-joon) as a member, including six No. 1s among 10 top 10s.
“Wild Flower” is from RM’s debut solo studio album Indigo, which launches at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 with 31,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week. Prior to Indigo, RM released two mixtapes: RM in 2015 and Mono in 2018; the latter reached No. 2 on the World Albums chart and No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
Before this week, RM charted 13 solo tracks on World Digital Song Sales, including three No. 1s: “Winter Flower” (by Younha featuring RM, in 2020), “Don’t” (Eaeon featuring RM; 2021) and “Sexy Nukim” (Balming Tiger, Omega Sapien, BJ WNJN and Mudd the Student featuring RM; 2022). This week, he ups his career total to 21 entries, as eight songs from Indigo blanket the entire top eight positions on the chart.
RM Songs on the Dec. 17-dated World Digital Song Sales chart:
No. 1, “Wild Flower,” feat. Youjeen
No. 2, “Still Life,” with Anderson .Paak
No. 3, “Yun,” with Erykah Badu
No. 4, “Lonely”
No. 5, “All Day,” with TABLO
No. 6, “Hectic,” with Colde
No. 7, “No.2,” with Park Ji Yoon
No. 8, “Forg_tful,” with Kim Sawol
No. 13, “Bicycle” (down from its No. 3 peak)
The only other acts to command the entire top eight positions of the World Digital Song Sales chart are BTS (on five occasions) and members J-Hope (this July 30) and Agust D, aka, Suga (June 6, 2020).
BTS made its first Billboard chart appearance in 2013, when “No More Dreams” debuted at No. 14 on World Digital Song Sales (before climbing to No. 2 seven years later). Since then, the group has broken numerous records, including the most Hot 100 No. 1 debuts among groups (five) and the most top 10 debuts among groups (nine). BTS notched its six Hot 100 leaders to-date over just a year and a month in 2020-21, the quickest accumulation of six since The Beatles earned six over a year and two weeks in 1964-66.
Meanwhile, RM is the sixth member of BTS to score a solo entry on the Hot 100. J-Hope first earned the honor in October 2019 with “Chicken Noodle Soup,” featuring Becky G (No. 81 peak). Suga followed with “Daechwita” (billed as Agust D; No. 76 peak, June 2020) and “Girl of My Dreams,” with Juice WRLD (No. 29, December 2021). V was next with “Christmas Tree” (No. 79, this January). Jung Kook followed with “Stay Alive” (No. 95, February) and as featured on Charlie Puth’s “Left and Right” (No. 22, July). Jin then debuted with “The Astronaut” in November (No. 51 peak).
As for Youjeen, “Wild Flower” is her first song to appear on a Billboard chart. Similar to RM, much of her career has been as a member of a group: She’s served as the lead singer of South Korean alternative rock band Cherry Filter since its formation in 1997, save for a brief departure in 2001 to begin her solo career.
Youjeen has released two solo albums outside of Cherry Filter: 2001’s The Doll and 2002’s Bewitch.
