Jennie's 'Dracula' tops US radio chart, breaking K-pop's long-standing barrier

Blackpink member Jennie has reached No. 1 on a US radio chart, fully overcoming what English-language charts have long identified as K-pop's core weakness — its reliance on fandom-driven numbers — and breaking through one of the most conservative media formats in the industry. It marks only the second time a K-pop-related song has topped the chart, following "Golden" from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

According to Forbes and other media outlets Monday (local time), "Dracula," a collaboration between Jennie and Australian singer-songwriter Tame Impala, reached No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Pop Airplay weekly chart.

Established in 1996, the Adult Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by broadcast frequency across more than 40 US radio stations targeting adult listeners. K-pop artists have repeatedly placed high on Billboard's main singles chart, the Hot 100, and its main albums chart, the Billboard 200, but they have consistently struggled on radio charts in particular.

Digital sales, album sales and streaming figures can be driven up quickly through the concentrated power of a core fandom. Radio airplay, however, is largely determined by local DJs and listeners, making it difficult to break through without genuine local popularity and broad mainstream appeal.

Until now, the only K-pop-related song to top the Adult Pop Airplay chart was "Golden," the theme from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, performed by Korean American musicians EJAE, Leigh Ami and Audrey Nuna. Riding the film's success, "Golden" reached No. 1 in January, and "Dracula" has now become the second K-pop-related song to claim the top spot.

The achievement is especially notable because "Dracula" got there through a comeback surge. The song was originally released in October last year as a solo Tame Impala track, but a remix featuring Jennie dropped in February this year and went viral, driven largely by short-form platforms.

The song is now simultaneously topping seven Billboard sub-charts, including Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.