Hot 100 First-Timers: Jordan Adetunji Debuts Viral Hit 'Kehlani'

Jordan Adetunji debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his breakthrough viral hit, “Kehlani.”

Released May 19 on Indigo Kid/300 Entertainment, the song enters the Hot 100 (dated July 6) at No. 70 with 8.1 million US streams (up 46%) and 510,000 all-format radio plays on the 21 -June 27, according to Luminate. It also opens at No. 17 on Hot Rap Songs and climbs 33-20 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

“Kehlani” is of course an ode to the R&B/pop singer-songwriter of the same name. Ahead of the song's official release, Adetunji posted a snippet of the song on his official TikTok account, writing, “Bro wrote a whole song about Kehlani but why is it kinda hard.” On May 18, Kehlani showed her stamp of approval by posting a unique flame emoji under his post. On May 23, she posted a pair of TikToks showing off her vibe and lips on the track. The latest video of the two has since gained more than 5 million views and surpassed 1 million likes on the platform, directing listeners to Adetunji's track.

TikTok continued to help raise the profile of the song. The official “Kehlani” TikTok sound has been used in more than 287,000 clips on the platform. Another version was released on the soundtrack 315,000 videos. The song debuted at No. 35 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart dated June 15 and peaked at No. 7 on the chart on June 29.

The recent streaming gains for “Kehlani” can perhaps also be attributed to new music from Kehlani herself. She released her fourth studio album, Conflict, June 21 via Atlantic Records. Five songs from the set appear on the latest Hot R&B Songs chart, led by the single “After Hours” at No. 5. The song concurrently climbs to No. 72 — two spots below its hit of the same name — on the Hot 100, where is her 16th career.

“Kehlani” is Adetunji's first charting song Advertising signof ranking. His debut album was released, Rock 'n' Ravein October.