After XXXTentacion died from a gunshot wound last Monday, his biggest single “SAD!” set a new global Spotify single-day record with 10,415,088 streams on June 19. The renewed interest in the Florida rapper’s music drove the track to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending June 21. The song surged all the way from No. 52 to No. 1, surpassing its previous high of No. 7. “SAD!” also rose to No. 1 from No. 34 on the Streaming Songs chart thanks to its 48.9 million U.S. streams.
Meanwhile, XXXTentacion’s former No. 1 album ? (Question Mark) returned to the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart with 94,000 equivalent album units (up 397 percent) during the week ending June 21, moving up to No. 3. His debut studio LP 17 also reentered the Top 10 at No. 7 with 55,000 units (up 446 percent). Each album’s sales were powered by streaming numbers. ? (Question Mark) was the most streamed album of the week with 116.3 million on-demand audio streams (up from 26 million a week earlier) while 17 had the fourth-most streams with 72.5 million streams (up from 14.5 million).
Artists have historically become more popular after their deaths. XXXTentacion is the eighth solo artist to top the Hot 100 posthumously, and the first in a lead role in over 20 years. The Notorious B.I.G. earned two No. 1 hits following his March 9, 1997 shooting death: “Mo' Money Mo' Problems” and “Hypnotize.”
Last November, Lil Peep’s debut album Come Over When You’re Sober, Part 1 entered the Billboard 200 for the first time after his death before peaking at No. 38. Peep’s song “Awful Things” also first charted on the Hot 100 following his death.
XXXTentacion totaled 16 Hot 100 hits and three Billboard 200 entries during his lifetime. At the time of his death, he was awaiting trial on multiple felony charges, including battery and aggravated assault of a pregnant victim, battery by strangulation, and false imprisonment as well as more than a dozen witness tampering felonies related to the case.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to XXXTentacion’s “SAD!” on Genius now.
