Sam Smith finally has a number-one song in America. “Unholy,” which features first-time chart topper Kim Petras, has been crowned the new leader of the Billboard Hot 100 music chart.
The sexy single amassed 25.3 million new streams and 19,000 additional downloads over the past week. The latter number was buoyed by Apple Music, who sold the song for 69 cents.
“Unholy” entered the Hot 100 in third place on October 8 and quickly ascended the chart.
It is Sam’s 20th offering to make it onto the Hot 100. This song is their first song to hit number one, besting their previous highest-charting hit “Stay With Me,” which peaked in second.
This also marks the first time on the Hot 100 that a non-binary singer, Sam, and a transgender artist, Petras, claimed the top spot.
Petras spoke about how much it would mean to her to see “Unholy” hit number one, telling Billboard, “I just really don’t want to be the last… There’s always been incredible and talented trans artists. I’m just happy that Sam gave me the chance to shine here. It feels like people are finally ready for us to succeed, and that fills me with a lot of joy.”
Sam also reacted to the warm reception to their latest single and told the outlet, “People understanding us… is just the best feeling in the world. Because there’s nothing bad happening here, it’s all love. No one’s taking anything from anyone. People are just trying to live in their own skin on this earth.”
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