BTS' "Butter" and TWICE's "Alcohol-Free" are included in Billboard's "Best Songs of 2021" (staff picks), and those are only the K-pop songs on the list.
On Dec. 7 local time, Billboard released their year-end list of best songs in 2021. A total of 100 tracks of different genres and by numerous singers across the globe were listed, two of which are from K-pop releases.
BTS' 'Butter' Chosen as One of the 'Best Songs of 2021' by Billboard Staff
On the list, BTS' smash hit single "Butter" ranked No. 40 out of the 100 selected songs. Billboard described the track as an "irresistible combo of K-pop, bubblegum and hip-hop, with an infectious refrain and an exhilarating strut," suggesting that the song is addicting and exciting.
Billboard also mentioned how BTS' "Butter" "did even better than the first, the Hot 100-topping 'Dynamite'" by ranking first on Hot 100 for 10 weeks, the longest period for any other song released in 2021.
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Billboard also noted that "Butter" earned BTS their second nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards.
BTS' "Butter" made big this year by obtaining numerous records in terms of sales and Billboard entries. In particular, the CD version of the track recorded the highest sales of any 2021 album on the Hanteo Chart with its first-week sales alone.
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According to Hanteo, "Butter" CD sold a whopping 1,975,364 copies in its first week of release (July 9 to 15). Not only is this the highest sales amount in 2021 but it is also the fourth-highest first-week sales on Hanteo of all time.
Notably, BTS's "Butter" CD is the first single album in history to sell more than one million copies in the first week.
TWICE's 'Alcohol-Free' Selected as One of the 'Best Songs of 2021' by Billboard Staff
While BTS entered the Top 50 of Billboard's "Best Songs of 2021," TWICE's "Alcohol-Free" made it to the Top 90 by securing No. 89.
Billboard staff defined "Alcohol-Free" as an "irresistible bossa nova-inflected gem, with sweetly plucked guitar, grinningly mischievous piano, and a horn-speckled chorus about being as bone-dry."
"Alcohol-Free," as well as the album "Taste of Love" where it is included, set and broke several records for TWICE. One of these is the music video for the song is now the JYP girl group's fastest MV to hit 100 million views on YouTube.
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TWICE's "Alcohol-Free" exceeded 100 million YouTube views on June 20 around 7:40 p.m. KST. It took only 11 days, one hour and 40 minutes to achieve the milestone since it was dropped on June 9 at 6 p.m. KST.
Another impressive feat for TWICE is that "Taste of Love" is the first mini-album by a female K-pop artist to enter the Top 10 of Billboard 200 by debuting at No. 6. It is also the first mini-album by any K-pop girl group in history to spend three weeks in the top 100 of the said chart.
Moreover, TWICE's "Taste of Love" is the first mini-album ever by a girl group (not just in K-pop) to rank first on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart.
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Written by Mhaliya Scott
