Justin Bieber has been aggressively promoting his new single “Yummy,” presumably in hopes of it making a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He teased the single for a while, then he released it, then he shared a video for it, and after a while, some folks thought he was trying to game the streaming numbers in his favor. After all of that, though, “Yummy” only managed to debut at No. 2 on the chart dated January 18.
The song that kept him from the top spot was Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” which hasn’t technically even been released as a single. The song blew up thanks in part to its use in viral TikTok videos. This is Ricch’s first No. 1 song, and the 1,096th No. 1 song in the history of the Hot 100.
The #Hot100 top 10 (chart dated Jan. 18, 2020) pic.twitter.com/D3sJiEGwV2
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 13, 2020
.@RoddyRicch's "The Box" is officially No. 1 on the #Hot100 chart this week for the first time.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 13, 2020
"The Box" is the 1,096th song to hit No. 1 in the #Hot100's 61-year history.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 13, 2020
.@justinbieber's "Yummy" debuts at No. 2 on this week's #Hot100, earning him his 17th career top 10 hit.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 13, 2020
"Yummy" also hits No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart, becoming @justinbieber's second career No. 1 on the chart, after "No Brainer," with @djkhaled, @chancetherapper & @QuavoStuntin.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 13, 2020
It’s not all bad news for Bieber, though. A No. 2 song is certainly nothing to dismiss, and because of that debut, “Yummy” becomes the singer’s 17th top-10 song, and his ninth to peak at at least No. 2. The track did actually go No. 1 this week, but on the Hot R&B Songs chart.
Bieber seems to be happy for Ricch, and even called for his fans to stream “The Box.” Bieber wrote on Twitter, “Thanks everyone. So thankful. #yummy. @RoddyRicch You had to go and make a banger smh! Haha ur the man!! Love the song!! congrats on your first #1!! Everyone go stream #thebox.”
Thanks everyone. So thankful. #yummy. @RoddyRicch You had to go and make a banger smh! Haha ur the man!! Love the song!! congrats on your first #1!! Everyone go stream #thebox https://t.co/sut7ZA5A0d
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 13, 2020
In case you missed it, by the way, this isn’t all the success Ricch has had this week: His album Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial is also No. 1.
Read our review of Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial here.