King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Enters the Billboard Hot 100 Through a Grand Theft Auto VI Track
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard has its first song on the Billboard Hot 100, the main US singles chart. The Melbourne band, formed in 2010, earned the entry as a guest on "Flower in a Hurricane," a track by the duo Justice. It debuts at No. 62 on the chart dated Oct. 31.
The song also features Tame Impala and SZA. For Justice, it is the second Hot 100 entry. For Tame Impala, the fourth. For SZA, the 62nd. For King Gizzard, the band has released 28 studio albums and charted six of them on the Billboard 200, the chart that ranks albums, before this week.
The track has a video game link. Rockstar Games describes it as a new standalone single by Justice featuring the three artists. It was released on Oct. 15 through Take-Two Interactive Software, Atlantic, Because and Virgin. Rockstar says it made its debut in the launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI, and that the trailer is soundtracked from start to finish by the song. Justice also composed the game's original score.
The song is the ninth release so far from Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, a 34-song soundtrack due Nov. 19. It is the third song from that soundtrack to reach the Hot 100. Morgan Wallen's "Last Thing You Need" peaked at No. 9, and Travis Scott's "Rhyno" peaked at No. 84.
Chart data for the tracking week of Oct. 16 to 22 came from Luminate, the company that counts US music consumption for Billboard. It recorded 4.6 million US official streams for "Flower in a Hurricane," meaning plays on services that count toward the charts. Radio airplay added 1 million audience impressions, an estimate of how many listeners heard the song on the air. Sales were 1,000 copies, mostly downloads.
The song also charted on three genre lists. It debuted at No. 2 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, No. 13 on Hot Alternative Songs and No. 21 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Hot 100 rankings combine streams, sales and radio airplay, so a song can rise or fall from week to week as those numbers move. The next chart updates will show whether the track holds its place.
