Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’ Launches at No. 1 on Billboard Global Charts

Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ “Unholy” bounds in at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.

The buzzy song soars in as the respective British and German artists’ first leader on each list following its first full week of tracking, after its Sept. 22 release.

Plus, OneRepublic‘s “I Ain’t Worried” hits the Global 200’s top five, marking more new heights for music from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack.

The two charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

‘Unholy’ Blasts In Atop Global 200

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” charges in at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 with 76.7 million streams and 20,000 downloads sold worldwide in the Sept. 23-29 tracking week, following its Sept. 22 release.

Smith and Petras began teasing the single in August, with it being used in over 450,000 clips on the platform to date. (Its official video premiered Friday, Sept. 30, with any resulting gains contributing to next week’s, Oct. 15-dated charts.)

Smith notches their first Global 200 No. 1, after previously reaching a No. 32 best with “Diamonds” just after the list launched in October 2020. Petras reigns in her first visit to the survey.

Notably, the last four No. 1 duets on the Global 200 have been by non-U.S. acts. Before Smith (UK) and Petras (Germany), Bizarrap (Argentina) and Quevedo (Spain) led for four weeks with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52” beginning in July; Coldplay (UK) and BTS (South Korea) topped the tally with “My Universe” for a week in October 2021; and The Kid LAROI (Australia) and Justin Bieber (Canada) reigned with “Stay” for 11 weeks starting in August 2021. (That run followed Canada’s The Weeknd and U.S.-born Ariana Grande’s one-week rule with “Save Your Tears” in May 2021.)

Plus, songs by acts all from outside the U.S. have topped the Global 200 for 32 consecutive weeks, spanning seven titles (and five countries), both record streaks since the chart began. Here’s a recap:

“Heat Waves,” Glass Animals (UK), six weeks at No. 1, beginning March 5
“As It Was,” Harry Styles (UK), 15, April 16
“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Kate Bush (UK), three, June 18
“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” Bizarrap (Argentina) & Quevedo (Spain), four, July 30
“Pink Venom,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), two, Sept. 3
“Shut Down,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), one, Oct. 1
“Unholy,” Sam Smith (UK) & Kim Petras (Germany), one to-date, Oct. 8

Elsewhere in the Global 200’s top five, David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” rebounds to its No. 2 high from No. 3; Harry Styles’ “As It Was” falls to No. 4 after a record 15 weeks on top; and BLACKPINK’s “Shut Down” falls to No. 4 a week after it debuted at No. 1. (Thanks to “Unholy” and “Shut Down,” the chart boasts back-to-back No. 1 entrances for the first time since “What’s Next” by Drake and “On the Ground” by Rosé – of BLACKPINK – started atop the March 20 and 27, 2021-dated surveys, respectively.)

Rounding out the Global 200’s top five, OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” becomes the band’s first top five hit on the chart, rising 6-5, led by a 2% gain to 41.3 million streams worldwide.

The song, which in August marked the Ryan Tedder-fronted group’s first Global 200 top 10 since the chart originated, is one of three to have reached the ranking from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack, after Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” rose to No. 37 and Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” hit No. 130, both in June. (The latter, previously released on the original Top Gun soundtrack, became a No. 2 hit on the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100 in 1986.)

Smith, Petras Also Premiere at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” concurrently debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 53.6 million streams and 8,000 downloads sold worldwide in territories outside the U.S. in the Sept. 23-29 tracking week.

As on the Global 200, Smith and Petras each rule Global Excl. U.S. for the first time each; Smith previously hit a No. 39 high with “Diamonds” in 2020, while Petras makes her maiden appearance on the chart.

Also similar to the Global 200, songs by acts from outside the U.S. have dominated the Global Excl. U.S. chart for 30 weeks in a row, covering nine titles (and six countries), likewise record streaks:

“Heat Waves,” Glass Animals (UK), three weeks at No. 1, beginning March 19
“Envolver,” Anitta (Brazil), one, April 9
“As It Was,” Harry Styles (UK), 13, April 16
“Yet To Come,” BTS (South Korea), one, June 25
“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Kate Bush (UK), one, July 16
“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” Bizarrap (Argentina) & Quevedo (Spain), six, July 30
“Pink Venom,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), three, Sept. 3
“Shut Down,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), one, Oct. 1
“Unholy,” Sam Smith (UK) & Kim Petras (Germany), one to-date, Oct. 8

David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” returns to its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. best from No. 3 and BLACKPINK’s “Shut Down” dips to No. 3 a week after it opened at No. 1. (Before “Unholy” and “Shut Down,” the chart last welcomed No. 1 debuts in consecutive weeks when Ariana Grande’s “Positions” and Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “Dakiti” entered atop the Nov. 7 and 14, 2020, tallies, respectively.)

Capping the Global Excl. U.S. chart’s top five, Bizarrap and Quevedo’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52” holds at No. 4 and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” repeats at No. 5.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Oct. 8, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 4). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.