Hot 100 First-Timers: Philadelphia Rapper, Singer Lay Bankz Debuts With ‘Tell Ur Girlfriend’

Rapper and singer Lay Bankz, 19, charts her first song on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated April 27) as her breakthrough single, “Tell Ur Girlfriend,” debuts at No. 58.

Released Feb. 7 on Artist Partner Group, the track enters the Hot 100 almost entirely from its streaming sum: 8.8 million official U.S. clicks in the April 12-18 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also jumps 45-24 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, after becoming Lay Bankz’s first overall Billboard chart entry a week earlier, and debuts at No. 21 on Hot Rap Songs.

Lay Bankz’s profile has been gaining in recent months thanks to activity on TikTok, where she boasts more than 3 million followers. “Tell Ur Girlfriend” has soundtracked over a million videos on the platform: one version of the song has been used in over 800,000 clips, while another has contributed to more than 300,000. Its official audio has been used in over 30,000 videos. That virality sparked the song’s No. 11 arrival on the April 20-dated TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart.

Before “Tell Ur Girlfriend,” Lay Bankz made inroads with her song “Ick,” which has soundtracked more than 200,000 TikToks and reached No. 8 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 in October. Both “Ick” and “Tell Ur Girlfriend” have been aided by viral dance trends. (Activity on the platform is not included in Billboard’s charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.)

Lay Bankz hails from Philadelphia and has released more than a dozen songs dating to “Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick),” her first release on Artist Partner Group, in 2022. She released her debut seven-track EP Now You See Me in August 2023.