JENNIE and Tame Impala have reached a milestone that says something different from a No. 1 streaming debut or a viral social-media spike: their collaboration “Dracula” has climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s all-format Radio Songs chart in the United States.
Billboard reported on September 22 that “Dracula” rose to the top of the chart dated September 26 after drawing an estimated 62.6 million U.S. radio audience impressions during the September 11–17 tracking week, according to Luminate. It is the first Radio Songs No. 1 for both Tame Impala and JENNIE.
For overseas readers, the headline can be confusing. Is this a BLACKPINK record? Is “Dracula” a JENNIE song or a Tame Impala song? Is it the first K-pop No. 1 on U.S. radio? And does “No. 1 on radio” mean the song is also No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
What exactly happened this week?
The verified milestone is straightforward: “Dracula,” credited on Billboard to Tame Impala and JENNIE, became the most widely heard song across the U.S. radio stations measured for Billboard’s Radio Songs chart.
The song’s rise was not limited to one radio format. Billboard’s September 22 chart report says “Dracula” was also in its ninth week at No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay, after previously spending seven weeks atop Pop Airplay and two weeks at No. 1 on Alternative Airplay. It had also reached No. 2 on Adult Alternative Airplay and the top 15 on Adult Contemporary.
That breadth is the key part of the story. A track can be huge within one format—alternative, dance, Top 40, or adult pop—without becoming an all-format radio leader. “Dracula” crossed several of those boundaries.
Is “Dracula” JENNIE’s song or Tame Impala’s song?
It began as a Tame Impala song. Kevin Parker’s project released the original “Dracula” as part of the 2025 album Deadbeat. The version featuring JENNIE arrived on February 6, 2026, adding her vocals and a new section to the track.
Apple Music lists the February release as “Dracula (with JENNIE)” by Tame Impala, while Billboard now credits the charting hit to Tame Impala and JENNIE. Parker and JENNIE are credited as writers alongside Sarah Aarons and Carly Gibert, with Parker producing the track.
That distinction matters because some online arguments turn the chart result into a debate over who “owns” the success. The safest factual description is that the original was Tame Impala’s song, while the JENNIE version became the collaborative release that achieved the current crossover peak. It is not accurate to erase either artist from the version Billboard is now ranking.
Is JENNIE the first K-pop artist to top Billboard’s Radio Songs chart?
No. That is an important correction to some simplified social-media headlines.
“Golden,” from KPop Demon Hunters, reached No. 1 on Radio Songs earlier in 2026. The track is credited to the fictional group HUNTR/X and vocalists EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI. That makes “Dracula” another major K-pop-associated radio milestone, but not the first song connected to the K-pop world to top this specific chart.
JENNIE’s achievement is still significant on its own terms. Before “Dracula,” her previous solo-name appearance on Radio Songs was “One of the Girls” with The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, which peaked at No. 48 in 2024. Billboard’s September report also notes that BLACKPINK as a group has not yet reached the Radio Songs chart.
Why is a Radio Songs No. 1 different from a streaming hit?
Billboard’s Radio Songs chart measures estimated audience impressions across monitored U.S. radio stations. That is different from a chart driven mainly by streams, downloads or purchases from fans.
Radio success generally requires sustained programming across many stations and formats. That is one reason U.S. radio has historically been a difficult crossover point for K-pop acts, even when those same artists generate enormous streaming totals, album sales and social-media engagement.
In “Dracula’s” case, the slow climb is part of the story. The collaboration did not arrive as an instant all-format radio No. 1. It moved through alternative, pop and adult-pop radio over months, while also gaining on the Hot 100. By September, it had built enough total reach to lead Radio Songs with 62.6 million audience impressions for the tracking week cited by Billboard.
For global K-pop watchers, that suggests a form of mainstream U.S. penetration that is harder to explain simply through concentrated fan purchasing. It does not prove that every listener became a JENNIE or Tame Impala fan, but it does show that programmers across multiple formats kept the song in heavy rotation long enough to generate mass audience exposure.
Does No. 1 on Radio Songs mean No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
No. These are separate charts.
The Hot 100 combines multiple forms of U.S. consumption, including streaming, radio airplay and sales. Radio Songs isolates the radio component. Billboard reported that “Dracula” returned to its Hot 100 peak of No. 5 in the same chart cycle, not No. 1.
That No. 5 peak is nevertheless the first Hot 100 top-five hit for both Tame Impala and JENNIE as credited recording artists. Earlier in the year, the collaboration had already become their first Hot 100 top-10 hit.
What about online claims that the radio success was “bought” or manipulated?
Those claims should be treated as allegations unless supported by credible evidence. Fan and anti-fan communities regularly argue over radio promotion, playlisting, remixes and chart strategy, especially when a K-pop artist is involved in a Western crossover hit.
The sources reviewed for this explainer confirm the chart result, the audience estimate and the song’s long run across several radio formats. They do not provide evidence that JENNIE, Tame Impala, their teams or Columbia Records engaged in improper conduct to obtain airplay. It would therefore be misleading to present online accusations as established fact.
It is fair to discuss marketing strategy. It is also fair to note that radio promotion is a normal part of the U.S. music business. But a claim of wrongdoing requires evidence beyond unusually strong airplay numbers or rivalry between fan communities.
Why does this matter for JENNIE’s solo career?
The result adds a different kind of credential to JENNIE’s post-BLACKPINK solo profile. Her global fame was already established, but U.S. radio is a separate gatekeeper from streaming platforms, concert demand or fashion visibility.
“Dracula” is also unusual because it sits between categories. Tame Impala came from psychedelic and alternative music; JENNIE is globally identified with K-pop and pop; the song has charted strongly on dance/electronic, rock/alternative and multiple pop-radio rankings. Its success is therefore less a story about one genre conquering another than about a track becoming difficult for radio programmers to confine to a single format.
For K-pop’s broader international story, that may be the most useful takeaway. The next stage of crossover success is not simply Korean artists appearing on Western charts. It is Korean artists becoming part of records that move naturally across the same format boundaries as other mainstream global hits.
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