Ain’t nothing that can stop how they move — right to the top of the charts. BTS debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Permission to Dance†on July 19, accomplishing the rare feat of replacing their own previous No. 1 hit, “Butter.†The new single, the K-pop group’s third fully in English, marks their fifth total No. 1 hit and fourth No. 1 debut. BTS previously debuted at No. 1 with “Butter,†“Life Goes On†(the first Korean-language No. 1 debut), and “Dynamite,†and also hit No. 1 for their feature on Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love†remix. “Permission to Dance†ties the BTS boys with Drake and Justin Bieber for second-most No. 1 debuts, behind Ariana Grande’s five; it also gives them the fastest run of No. 1 hits (ten months and two weeks) since Michael Jackson’s record Bad run from 1987 to 1988 (which took nine months and two weeks). BTS is the first group to replace itself at No. 1 since Drake’s “Nice for What†replaced “God’s Plan†in July 2018.
As for “Butter,†which spent its first seven weeks at No. 1 and became a clear front-runner for 2021’s song of the summer, it falls to No. 7 on this week’s chart. Interestingly, “Permission to Dance†also gives Ed Sheeran his fourth No. 1 hit as a songwriter, alongside “Shape of You,†“Thinking Out Loud,†and Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself†— even as his own new single, “Bad Habits,†stalls at No. 6 this week. Elsewhere, the Kid Laroi charts his highest position yet, with his Bieber collaboration “Stay†debuting at No. 3. Now the question is whether Laroi can break past BTS to get permission to hit No. 1 next week.