All US Number 1s From 2021 Ranked Worst To Best
15. Permission To Dance - BTS
Say what you will about BTS and their overeager fanbase, they know how to play the chart game. They pull every trick in the book and explore all of Billboard's loopholes to ensure that the K-pop sensation can secure as many number one hits as possible. What that leads to, of course, is a series of frivolous achievements, which can be a disservice to the validity of the charts, the perceived hit status of a song, and even to BTS themselves.
Case in point, Permission To Dance. When this promotional song was released, the group's previous single, Butter, was still topping the charts, kept afloat by mass buying and streaming. When the BTS Army redirected their concentrated efforts onto Permission To Dance, they managed to get the song to debut at number one. But the focus switched back to Butter, and the end result was a short run for Permission To Dance, a song that requires you to be a BTS fan or a chart watcher to even be aware of. Ten years from now, when people look up the biggest hits of 2021, this one will have them scratching their heads.
Which is a shame, because Permission To Dance is a fun romp, energetic and infectious to a fault. It could have gone a long way in lifting up people's spirits during an otherwise depressing year.