ROSÉ Makes History as “APT.” with Bruno Mars Enters Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Top 10
BLACKPINK star becomes the first K-pop act to break into the top 10 of the prestigious year-end chart, marking a major global breakthrough for the genre.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2025-12-10 09:07 GMT
ROSÉ of BLACKPINK has achieved a landmark moment in global music history as her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “APT.”, soared to No. 9 on the 2025 Billboard Year-End Hot 100 chart, marking an unprecedented milestone for K-pop artists. The achievement is more than just a chart success ,it represents the first time ever that a K-pop act has broken into the top 10 of Billboard’s highly competitive year-end list, a ranking determined by an entire year’s worth of streaming, digital sales, radio airplay, and chart performance.
This historic placement reflects the song’s massive worldwide impact throughout 2025, maintaining strong performances across platforms and resonating with diverse audiences in both Western and Asian markets. Reports highlight that ROSÉ has now solidified her status as a global powerhouse, with “APT.” not only becoming the highest-charting year-end Hot 100 song by any K-pop act in history, but also showcasing the genre’s expanding cultural influence and mainstream acceptance. The track’s enduring popularity supported by international streaming strength, a viral social media presence, and Bruno Mars’ signature soulful production made it one of the year's defining hits, symbolizing a major breakthrough for Korean artists on the world stage.
Global reach: The song didn’t just dominate in the U.S. it also ranked highly on global charts: it peaked on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Globally U.S., helping secure its worldwide popularity. Streaming & video milestones: On Spotify, “APT.” surpassed 1 billion streams just 100 days after release making it the fastest song by a K-pop act to reach that mark, and the second fastest overall. On the video side: The music video racked up rapid numbers on YouTube within days/weeks of release it hit hundreds of millions of views, contributing to its global visibility and cultural impact. This is a historic breakthrough “APT. ”Becoming the first K-pop song ever in Year-End Hot 100 top 10 shows that K-pop can not only debut high but sustain a full year’s worth of popularity in the U.S. mainstream market.
For ROSÉ, the success reinforces her status as a global solo star beyond her group career in BLACKPINK. It underlines that a K-pop female soloist, especially one singing partly in English (or collaborating with a global star like Bruno Mars) can compete with global pop heavyweights.For the broader K-pop industry, it’s a signal of increasing acceptance and demand: Western audiences are consuming K-pop not as a novelty, but as part of mainstream pop, thanks to global streaming, collaborations, and cultural crossovers.The achievement also may pave the way for more K-pop acts soloists or groups to aim for long-term chart performance in global markets, not just short-term hype.
This article is authored by Akanksha Sudham an intern from Deccan Chronicle.