Bad Omens’ ‘Just Pretend’ Crowns Hot Hard Rock Songs Chart

Bad Omens ride TikTok virality to their first No. 1 on a multi-metric Billboard songs chart, jumping to the top of the Hot Hard Rock Songs list dated Nov. 19 with “Just Pretend.”

In the Nov. 4-10 tracking week, the song earned 2.8 million official U.S. streams, up 26%, according to Luminate. It also garnered 538,000 audience impressions on radio and sold 1,000 downloads.

Bad Omens’ first Hot Hard Rock Songs No. 1 follows the band’s “Like a Villain,” which hit No. 17 in March. The other song that the band has placed on the chart, “The Death of Peace of Mind,” re-enters the latest tally at No. 19, a new high (689,000 streams).

“Just Pretend” also appears at Nos. 22, a new best, and 32 on Hot Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, respectively. The TikTok trend for the song largely finds users lip syncing the lyrics, particularly a portion directly before and during the chorus, with some videos also addressing mental health.

The track concurrently rules Hard Rock Digital Song Sales for a third week (after debuting on the Oct. 22 survey) and leaps 24-11 in its second week on Hard Rock Streaming Songs. The song — the band’s current radio single — climbs 22-17 on Mainstream Rock Airplay and it marks Bad Omens’ third top 20 hit, following the aforementioned “Villain” (No. 10, June) and “Limits” (No. 19, 2020).

“Just Pretend” is the second single from the album The Death of Peace of Mind, which zooms 25-13 on Top Hard Rock Albums with 5,000 equivalent album units earned, up 20%. The set premiered at its No. 11 peak in March with 6,000 units and has earned 93,000 units to date.