Seoul: “Permission To Dance” from global sensation BTS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 rankings announced on July 19.
BTS replaced themselves at the top spot on the Hot 100, knocking off their previous single “Butter,” which dropped to No. 7 after seven weeks at No. 1.
“Permission To Dance” marks the group’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1 since September 2020, following “Butter,” “Life Goes On,” “Savage Love (Laxed — Siren Beat),” and “Dynamite,” the latter of which was nominated for a Grammy. To give you a reference for just how popular the group is as well as a sense of their meteoric success in the U.S. alone, Billboard reports that the last artist to record five No. 1s in this short timeframe was Michael Jackson with songs from his album Bad.
.@BTS_twt has achieved its five #Hot100 No. 1s over a span of 10 months and two weeks.
That's the quickest accumulation of five leaders since @michaeljackson tallied five over nine months and two weeks in 1987-88.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) July 19, 2021
All five of @BTS_twt's No. 1 hits on the #Hot100:
Dynamite
Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat) w/ @Jawsh_685 & @jasonderulo
Life Goes On
Butter
Permission To Dance— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) July 19, 2021
Part of their CD single Butter, “Permission To Dance” is a funky, upbeat pop track that encourages listeners to put all of their worries aside and make time to just dance and be joyful. Its uplifting lyrics have become a source of comfort for fans around the world. The lyrics include the line, “When it all seems like it’s wrong, just sing along to Elton John,” which the “Tiny Dancer” singer tweeted to show his support. The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran, who not only helped write the track but also hilariously spoiled its title and release details in multiple interviews before BTS even announced the song, much to BTS’s amusement.
“Permission To Dance” marks the group’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1 since September 2020, following “Butter,” “Life Goes On,” “Savage Love (Laxed — Siren Beat),” and “Dynamite,” the latter of which was nominated for a Grammy. To give you a reference for just how popular the group is as well as a sense of their meteoric success in the U.S. alone, Billboard reports that the last artist to record five No. 1s in this short timeframe was Michael Jackson with songs from his album Bad.
“Permission To Dance” recorded more than 15.9 million streams in the U.S. and sold more than 140,100 downloads in the week ending on July 15. “Permission To Dance” also debuted at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart and became the group’s eighth chart-topper there.
