Jordan Adetunji Scores No. 1 on TikTok Billboard Top 50 With ‘Kehlani’
Following the release of the music video for a remix featuring its namesake, Jordan Adetunji’s “Kehlani” jumps to No. 1 for the first time on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart dated Aug. 17.
The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity from Aug. 5-11. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Kehlani” becomes the fourth straight new No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50. After a 10-week reign by Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” Blood Orange’s “Champagne Coast” rose to the top of the July 27 list, followed by Clairo’s “Juna” (Aug. 3) and Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult’s “Alibi” (Aug. 10) before “Kehlani.”
“Kehlani” initially debuted on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 in June. It spent two weeks in the top 10 in early summer and began to rebound in August. By ruling in its 10th week on the chart, the song holds the mark for longest wait between debut and hitting No. 1 since the ranking began in September 2023.
Its initial virality was accompanied by a dance trend, one that continues with the release of the remix, which adds Kehlani on vocals (it came out June 20, and its music video followed Aug. 2).
“I broke the simulation,” reads Adetunji’s TikTok upload announcing the video on July 30 while Kehlani lip-synchs to the tune.
“Kehlani” concurrently hits a new peak on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 17, zooming 53-26 with 13 million official U.S. streams, 8.2 million radio audience impressions and 1,000 downloads in the week ending Aug. 8, according to Luminate.
The rest of the top four on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 is made up of previous No. 1s, as “Kehlani” is followed by the aforementioned “Alibi,” “Champagne Coast” and “Million Dollar Baby” at Nos. 2-4, respectively. Charli XCX’s “Apple,” which had reached a new peak of No. 3 on the Aug. 10 survey, falls to No. 5.
Lower in the top 10, one song hits a new peak while another reaches the region for the first time. Alphaville’s “Forever Young” lifts 10-7, while Hanumankind and Kalmi’s “Big Dawgs” jumps 33-10.
“Forever Young” was a No. 65 hit for Alphaville in 1988. It’s mostly been used in videos and trends about nostalgia, from creators remembering when they were younger to edits recalling people who have since passed away.
The song reached the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for the first time in August. It reaches new peaks of No. 74 on the latter and No. 112 on the former as of the Aug. 17 tallies. In the U.S., it enjoyed a boost of 11% in streams to 2.2 million in the week ending Aug. 8.
“Big Dawgs,” meanwhile, hits the top 10 of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the first time as the track continues to explode across many platforms, particularly TikTok and YouTube thanks to its viral music video. Many top-performing TikTok uploads featuring the Indian rapper’s song are reacting to the music video, while others emulate Hanumankind’s dancing in the clip.
It concurrently debuts at No. 24 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart dated Aug. 17 with 12.1 million streams, up 58%. The song also zooms 57-31 on the Hot 100.
One must travel all the way down to No. 34 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 to find the week’s biggest debut. That distinction belongs to The Sundays’ “Life Goes On.” Originally released as part of the CD single for the since-disbanded group’s 1997 single “Cry,” the track was given a digital release for the first time on Aug. 3. While some recent TikTok uploads featuring the song had decried how it wasn’t available on most streaming services previously, others follow a trend that follows the prompt “they hate when [you/we] serve.”
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
Kevin Rutherford
Billboard
