Blackpink's Jennie. [SNS]
Blackpink's Jennie. [SNS]

Blackpink's Jennie continues to make her presence felt on the US Billboard Hot 100, even as country music mounts a sweeping takeover of the chart.

According to a Billboard chart preview published Tuesday, "Dracula," Jennie's collaboration with Tame Impala, landed at No. 6 on the Hot 100 this week. The track had held its personal best of No. 5 for two consecutive weeks before slipping one spot under pressure from the country genre. The song also extended its cross-genre dominance — 30 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

The achievement stands out all the more given that the Hot 100 saw, for the first time in its history, the top five positions swept entirely by country acts — a stark display of the genre's grip on the American mainstream. Ella Langley set a record with 16 consecutive weeks at No. 1, and Morgan Wallen's mega-hit has led a relentless country charge up the chart. Amid what some are calling a "country cartel" lockdown on the upper ranks, "Dracula" has been the lone non-country title holding its ground.

The song also topped Billboard's Adult Pop Airplay chart last week. While streaming and downloads can be driven up quickly through the collective purchasing power of a core fandom, radio airplay — tallied by conservative local broadcasters — is considered the hardest indicator to crack, reflecting the true breadth of American popular taste.

It is highly unusual for a K-pop-based artist to clear that bar. With the radio chart-topper, Jennie translated the buzz of a devoted global fandom into mainstream consumption across the broader American public.

The song's sustained chart run has been fueled by a combination of short-form content and live performances. Jennie recently appeared as a surprise guest at a Tame Impala concert in Boston, delivering the first live joint performance of "Dracula," and capped a headlining set at Lollapalooza — underscoring her staying power as a solo artist.


shee@heraldcorp.com