New Around the World: PinkPantheress & Ice Spice Lead Week’s Global Chart Debuts

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” and Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” unofficially kicked off the year in new music when they soared in at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Jan. 28-dated Billboard global charts. While they have yet to budge from the top two positions on Billboard Global Excl. U.S., and the former maintains its command on the Billboard Global 200, no new song has hit the top 10 of either ranking since. The Feb. 18-dated Global Excl. U.S. chart features just four new entries overall, matching a record low sum of weekly debuts since the survey began in September 2020.

One of the standout new arrivals is PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,” starting at No. 54, as well as at No. 15 on the Global 200. The song premiered late in 2022 as a solo track for the former before being remixed and reissued as a duet with the later on Feb. 3. The remix sparks the song’s launch on the global charts (and the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100, at No. 14), spiking by 328% to 36 million weekly streams worldwide in the week ending Feb. 9, according to Luminate (with all versions rolled up into one chart listing).

Both artists released their first singles in 2021 and, in less than two years, have built themselves up as two of the buzziest online acts. Including the original solo take of “Boy’s a Liar” (but before releasing the song’s instant-hit remix), the U.K.-born PinkPantheress amassed more than 1.2 billion global streams despite never cracking either global chart or the Hot 100. Originally released on Nov. 30, 2022, the solo version debuted to 2.2 million worldwide streams in its first week, before growing to a peak of 9.8 million in the week ending Jan. 26.

Despite Ice Spice’s less robust discography and lower international profile, the song’s explosion on the most recent charts owes much of its success to its new co-headliner, the fast-talking New York-based rapper. It’s reasonable to assume that she did not just help grow the track’s overall global stream count, but helped further increase the song’s presence in the U.S., as its domestic share of streams leaps from 39% to 56%, compared to the week’s overall average of 23%.

While “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” scores the Hot Shot Debut on the Global 200, the highest new entry on Global Excl. U.S. is Léo Santana’s “Zona de Perigo.” The Brazilian artist scores his first title on either global chart, opening No. 48 on the Global 200. The bulk of the song’s start is owed to its official live-performance music video. Of its 29.5 million global streams, 29.3 million came from outside the U.S. and 61% stemmed from video platforms. That’s a higher share of video streams than all but eight songs on the 200-position Global Excl. U.S. chart, and all but three on the Global 200.

As Santana was busy scoring his first global chart hit, Karol G, from Colombia, follows with her 14th, as “X Si Volvemos,” with U.S.-born Romeo Santos (who adds his second), debuts at No. 30 on the Global 200 and No. 32 on Global Excl. U.S., powered by 29.6 million streams worldwide.

Lastly, Mexico’s Fuerza Regida and Natanael Cano enter Global Excl. U.S. and the Global 200 at Nos. 179 and 184, respectively, with “Ch y la Pizza” (13.9 million).

Both tracks show similar streaming splits, with 28% and 25%, respectively, from the U.S., striking a balance between PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s domestic lean and Santana’s strong international favor.