Jordan Adetunji’s viral hit “Kehlani” completes the transition to a full-fledged radio success as the single crowns Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart dated Oct. 4. The track ascends from No. 3 after an 18% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored rhythmic radio stations in the week ending Sept. 26, according to Luminate.
The new champ, released on Indigo Kid/300/3EE, takes over from Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” after the latter’s nonconsecutive 12-week command, including the last three weeks straight. It falls to No. 2 with a 2% decline in plays.
Twenty-five-year-old Jordan Adetunji, who is based in Belfast, Ireland, lands his first No. 1 on a Billboard radio chart. Released in May, “Kehlani,” which references and is named after the American R&B singer, went viral this summer and topped the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart for two weeks in August. The same month, its titular artist hopped on a remix, which came with a new music video. Adding to his breakthrough season, Adetunji was named Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month in July.
Kehlani, notably, has reached a No. 2 career high on Rhythmic Airplay on two separate occasions. They reached a runner-up best as a guest on Cardi B’s “Ring” in 2018 and returned to the peak with “Beautiful Lies,” a collaboration with Yung Bleu, in 2022. While the remix “Kehlani” supports at radio, Adetunji remains the only credited artist on the chart as his solo version drives the majority of the airplay.
Elsewhere, “Kehlani” nears the top slot on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it climbs from No. 3 to the runner-up rank. The advance occurs through an 11% gain in plays at the format in the tracking week compared with the prior one, with the song securing the weekly Greatest Gainer honor for the largest increase in plays among the chart’s 40 titles. Beyond that, “Kehlani” repeats at its No. 3 high on the audience-based R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it registered 14 million in weekly listenership at the format, up 6% from the previous week.
Airplay gains continue across other charts, too. “Kehlani” inches 3-2 on Rap Airplay after a 10% boost in audience, prompting another Greatest Gainer award. The improved performance across multiple formats helps the tune jumps 25-19 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart. There, it captures 26 million in total audience, a 12% hike from the week before.
