Hot 100 First-Timers: Oscar Ortiz Arrives With Edgardo Nunez Team-Up ‘First Love’
Oscar Ortiz reached Billboard’s charts for the first time four weeks ago, and now he’s a Billboard Hot 100-charting hitmaker, too, thanks to his collaboration with Edgardo Nuñez, “First Love.”
The song, released Dec. 11 via Genesis Records/BadSin, debuts at No. 94 on the Hot 100 (dated Feb. 3) with 5.8 million official U.S. streams (up 35%) in the Jan. 19-25 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also jumps 22-13 for a new high on Hot Latin Songs – the single became his first chart entry when it debuted on the Jan. 13-dated list.
“First Love” is also surging worldwide, jumping 140-61 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and 148-72 on the Billboard Global 200, up 40% to 23.4 million streams worldwide.
TikTok has been a significant factor in the song’s recent gains. A portion of it has soundtracked more than 170,000 clips on the platform to date. Ortiz himself is also active on TikTok, boasting over 3 million followers.
Ortiz, from Tijuana, Mexico, released his first song on streaming services, “Anillos” with Oscar Maydon, in April 2023. Since then, he’s released several other tracks, as well as the five-song EP 23/7 in August.
Ortiz’s brother Gerardo has achieved numerous successes on Billboard’s charts, dating to his arrival in 2010: 30 hits on Hot Latin Songs and 33 on Regional Mexican Airplay, including 12 No. 1s on the latter. He has also charted 11 titles on Top Latin Albums, including six No. 1s.
In a 2021 interview with Billboard, Gerardo noted that he often turns to Oscar, who has written some of Gerardo’s songs, as a springboard for new ideas. “I’m more in tune with my brothers who are musicians. I have a piano in my house, and [Oscar] will start playing his own stuff and I start singing some of my new stuff,” Gerardo said. “It’s great because they give me honest feedback. They’re not afraid to tell me how they really feel about something I’ve written.”
Ortiz fellow brother, Kevin, also has a notable history on Billboard’s charts. He has logged four titles on Hot Latin Songs and six on Regional Mexican Airplay. Plus, his set Con La Misma Sangre spent a week at No. 1 on Regional Mexican Albums in 2013.
Xander Zellner
Billboard