BTS's delectable new single has earned the biggest first-week Spotify total ever, according to the platform's streaming counter.
In other words: Even if streaming services are excessively filtering “Butter”—which I cannot confirm, nor do I expect to confirm in the future, as streaming services are notoriously tight-lipped about the particulars of their calculations—it’s still outperforming its chart-topping predecessors by nearly every metric. Factor in the inevitably robust first-week downloads , and “Butter” is going to have a mammoth debut.
Whether BTS’s new song dethrones Olivia Rodrigo’s streaming juggernaut “Good 4 U” on the Hot 100 remains to be seen—and eagle-eyed fans should expect an excruciating wait for the charts to refresh this week, given the holiday weekend and the potentially tight race for No. 1. But no matter how the Hot 100 shakes out next week, BTS have earned themselves another win. Butter Summer has arrived.
This article has been updated with information about Spotify’s streaming calculation formulas from both Spotify and Music Business Worldwide. I am a music and entertainment reporter who specializes in pop, hip-hop and heavy metal. I cover numerous festivals, interview local and national touring musicians, andI am a music and entertainment reporter who specializes in pop, hip-hop and heavy metal. I cover numerous festivals, interview local and national touring musicians, and examine how artists' personal brands and social media antics affect their art and their earnings.