for KING & COUNTRY
Robby Kleinfor King & Country, the duo of siblings Joel and Luke Smallbone, achieves its first No. 1 on Billboard‘s streaming-, airplay- and sales-powered Hot Christian Songs chart, as “Relate” travels to the top of the list dated Feb. 12.
The act’s first No. 1 is among 17 top 10s, dating to its first, “Busted Heart (Hold on to Me),” which reached No. 3 in February 2012. The pair has reached its No. 2 peak three times (all in 2018-20).
The tandem wrote “Relate” with Josh Kerr and Tayla Parx. It’s the first single from for King & Country’s album What Are We Waiting For, due March 11.
“When you start the process of writing a new album and it becomes time to release that first single, to be honest, it’s quite vulnerable,” the duo says in a joint statement to Billboard. “You hope and pray that it connects with people. You hope and pray that it’s impactful. So we’re very humbled to hear how many have been ‘relating’ to ‘Relate’!”
The song surged by 34% to 1.9 million U.S. streams in the week ending Feb. 3, aided by growing prominent placement on multiple playlists. Plus, a remix featuring Dutch DJ/producer R3hab was released Jan. 28. The track flies 21-9 on Christian Streaming Songs, awarding for King & Country its sixth top 10.
Additionally, “Relate” gained by 46% to 800 downloads sold and jumps 21-5 on Christian Digital Song Sales, becoming the duo’s 21st top 10.
On Christian Airplay, the song led for three weeks starting in December, becoming for King & Country’s 10th No. 1. It also marked the act’s record seventh leader in a row (encompassing songs promoted as proper radio singles). On the latest list, it ranks at No. 2 with 9.4 million impressions.
“Relate” also continues its crossover climb, rising 38-37 on Adult Pop Airplay in its second week on the ranking.
NEW ‘NAME’ AT No. 1 Singer-songwriter Katy Nichole, 21, from Mesa, Ariz., lands her first No. 1 on Christian Digital Song Sales as her debut single “In Jesus Name (God of Possible)” jumps to the top from No. 4 following its first full week of tracking.
The song, which Nichole wrote with Ethan Hulse and Jeff Pardo, sold 2,900 downloads in the Jan. 28-Feb. 3 tracking week, following its Jan. 26 release.
On Christian Airplay, the song enters at No. 26 with 1.4 million in audience. It bows on Hot Christian Songs at No. 30, also driven by 620,000 streams.
Nichole has built buzz on social media and platforms including TikTok, where she boasts over 300,000 followers.
NEWS
There is no question that Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out made a serious impact and continues to hold weight. The project showed that hip hop is not limited by age and proved that a long-awaited return can still land in a major way regardless of the time away.
If you need a reminder, the Virginia duo’s fourth studio album debuted comfortably within the top five of the Hot 200. It secured the number four position and moved an impressive 118,000 units in its first week.
On top of that, it picked up a win at this year’s Grammys, earning Best Rap Performance for “Chains & Whips.” The album also received four additional nominations, including Best Music Video, Rap Album, and Album of the Year.
It is hard to believe the project will officially hit its one year mark this summer on July 11. Even so, Pusha T is making it clear that both supporters and critics should not be overlooking it anytime soon.
While performing at Coachella yesterday, King Push told the crowd that LGSEO still sits at the top, regardless of genre.
He said, “‘Let God Sort Em Out’ is still the album of the motherfckin year. Whole new year, still album of the year,” per Kurrco. “Album of the motherfcking year until we drop again. We don't care who dropping. It don't matter.”
That is a strong statement for obvious reasons, especially considering the recent claims surrounding Push himself.
Over the same weekend, hip hop social media lit up after several alleged reference tracks connected to Quentin Miller and Push began circulating. Three tracks surfaced in total, but one that drew the most attention was an alleged record titled “Real Gon’ Come.” It is said to come from the DAYTONA era, around 2017 to 2018.
The situation gained traction because fans remember the past tension between Drake and Pusha T before Drake’s clash with Kendrick Lamar. During that feud, Pusha accused Drake of using ghostwriters on tracks like “Infrared,” which appears on DAYTONA. On that song, he raps, “The bigger question is how the Russians did it /
It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin.”
Reactions have been mixed. Some people argue it is not a major issue since Miller’s alleged contributions were limited to hooks. Others point out that the songs were never officially released, so they see no real problem. Meanwhile, critics view it as clear hypocrisy on Pusha T’s part, a perspective that DJ Akademiks has also supported.
