For the first weekend of May, Donald Glover blessed us all with a slew of treats in the form of a fantastic episode of Saturday Night Live, which he hosted and performed on, and his latest song as Childish Gambino, "This Is America." The remarkable Hiro Murai-directed video for the song has amassed over 100 million views on YouTube, and now the song has taken over the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, per ChartData.
"This Is America" dethrones Drake from the top spot in the process. Drizzy has sat at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks, with "God's Plan" occupying the slot for 11 weeks, while "Nice for What" claimed the top of charts for four weeks. This means it's Glover's highest charting song as Gambino, beating out the four-times platinum "Redbone," which peaked at No. 12.
The track is also at the top of the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts. For the week ending May 10, per Nielsen, "This Is America" bagged more than 65 million domestic streams. Roughy 68 percent of that total comes solely from the much-discussed music video. On the download side of things, "This Is America" wrapped up the week with 78,000 in sales.
"This Is America" has dominated the conversation online since it came out, so it's not all that shocking that it's hit No. 1. Still, with countless think pieces and videos dissecting the incredible visual component of the song, Glover has maintained it's not his place to tell people how to interpret the message behind it.
"Some friends have sent, like, a couple, but to be real, I haven't been on the internet since Thursday night before the Saturday Night Live," he told Jimmy Kimmel. "Just because I was like I don't wanna be in all the... It's bad for me. I'm really sensitive, so I'm just, like, I'll just let it be." Thankfully for him, the reception has been nothing but positive.
With the finale of Atlanta, his new movie Solo: A Star Wars Story, and "This Is America" all taking place in May, it's safe to say Glover is on fire right now.
