SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ Fills No. 1 Spot on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

One week after SZA’s first anniversary at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the singer-songwriter returns to the summit for her second career chart-topper thanks to “Kill Bill.” The track debuts at No. 1 on the list dated Dec. 24 and is one of seven SZA titles in the top 10, all from her new album, SOS.

“Kill Bill” traces its chart-topping start largely to 36.9 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 15, according to Luminate, for a No. 1 opening on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The track also sold 1,000 downloads in the same period and pulled 22,000 in radio audience impressions. The low radio audience is due to the song not being an actively promoted single to radio stations — “Shirt” is the current track at R&B/hip-hop stations, while “Nobody Gets Me” is targeted toward the pop and rhythmic sectors.

Before “Kill Bill,” SZA reigned on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with “I Hate U,” which likewise earned its chart-topping rule by debuting in the top slot. The single arrived in the penthouse on the chart dated Dec. 18, 2021, and led for one week. As both “I Hate U” and “Kill Bill” appear on SOS, the album is the first to yield two Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs leaders since The Weeknd’s After Hours sparked No. 1s in “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights.”

SOS also arrives with chart-topping accolades. The set storms in at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top R&B Albums charts with 318,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, 310,000 units derive from streaming — equal to 404.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the album’s songs, a new one-week record for any R&B album. On the former two charts, SOS grants SZA her first No. 1, while she picks up her second on the lattermost, after Ctrl reigned in 2017 upon its original release and again, earlier this year, following its deluxe edition’s premiere on the set’s fifth anniversary.

“Kill Bill” leads a parade of SZA cuts onto Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, with seven tracks in the top 10 and 20 on the chart overall. Here’s a rundown of all her placements this week:

No. 1, “Kill Bill”
No. 2, “Nobody Gets Me”
No. 3, “Blind”
No. 6, “Low”
No. 7, “Shirt”
No. 8, “Love Language”
No. 9, “Seek & Destroy”
No. 11, “Snooze”
No. 12, “Used,” featuring Don Toliver
No. 13, “SOS”
No. 16, “Special”
No. 17, “Ghost in the Machine,” featuring Phoebe Bridgers
No. 19, “Gone Girl”
No. 20, “Notice Me”
No. 23, “Smoking on My Ex Pack”
No. 24, “Open Arms,” featuring Travis Scott
No. 27, “Conceited”
No. 29, “Far”
No. 30, “Too Late”
No. 35, “Forgiveless,” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard

Plus, in addition to “I Hate U,” another prior SOS single, “Good Days,” reached No. 3 in 2021.

The SZA takeover also extends to the Hot R&B Songs chart, where the hitmaker posts eight tracks in the top 10 and 18 songs on the 25-position list. “Bill” leads the pack and becomes her third No. 1 on the list, after “The Weekend” and “I Hate U” each ruled for one week in, respectively, 2018 and 2021.