Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis' viral sensation "The Fox," which has taken the Internet by storm in recent days, debuts at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, fueled almost exclusively by its online traction. It's the highest-bowing song on the tally this week.
During the Hot 100's tracking week, "The Fox" drew 4.8 million U.S. YouTube streams. To date, it's racked 17.8 million global YouTube views, has been shared over 71,000 times across various social media platforms and continues to show a daily increase in streams (see graph below).
On the Streaming Songs chart, "The Fox" launches at No. 3. Since the survey was revised in March to include U.S. YouTube streaming data, only three other titles have had better debut ranks. Baauer's "Harlem Shake" and PSY's "Gentleman" each debuted at the summit, while One Direction's "Best Song Ever" debuted at No. 2. Drake's "Started From the Bottom" is the only other song to enter at No. 3 in that span.
While its minimal early radio airplay barely factor into its Hot 100 points sum, some U.S. stations have sampled "The Fox." It received 50 plays nationally last week (Sept. 4-10), according to Nielsen BDS, including highs of four each on dance-formatted KNHC Seattle and pop station KSAS Boise, Idaho.
Ylvis is composed of brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. "The Fox" was created to promote the premiere of the duo's show "Tonight With Ylvis" on Tuesday (Sept. 10) with accomplished songwriting/production team Stargate. The duo (Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen) has co-written and -produced 10 Hot 100 No. 1 hits, beginning with Ne-Yo's "So Sick" in 2006 through last year's "Diamonds" by Rihanna. Beyonce, Katy Perry and Wiz Khalifa have also collaborated with Stargate for Hot 100 toppers.
"The Fox" isn't Ylvis' first music video. Check out, for example, the twosome's "Stonehenge," which has yielded 1.3 million YouTube views.
source: billboard
