Looking at LE SSERAFIM’s ‘HOT’ Streak: U.S. Chart Analysis

LE SSERAFIM’s HOT bows on multiple charts this week in the U.S. with the well-oiled HYBE/Geffen Records/Virgin Music machine ready to launch the album globally on release day.

HOT debuts at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and earns the girl group their fourth consecutive Top 10 record in America as well as their career best week for album sales.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of the past nearly 2.5 years since LSF began charting once their albums were available in the U.S., but ultimately I’d say the numbers surrounding HOT are solid if not very good. You can check out their chart peaks, total units, album sales and streaming-equivalent album (or SEA) units in the table I’ve compiled below.

On one hand, it’s good to see that the numbers have stayed relatively stable once they hit the Top 10. HOT having their best-ever sales week for an album (even if it seems to by < 500 units from their previous peak) singals a stable fanbase here and should prove vital when their world tour comes to North America in September. HOT is No. 1 on this week’s Top Album Sales (which counts all physical album sales in the U.S.) and, thus, Current Top Album Sales (which counts all U.S. sales of physical albums released in the last 18 months) .

The title track single “HOT” is also No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart (which ranks the digital download sales of songs deemed as “world” genres which typically feature non-English songs with the chart usually featuring artists who operate in K-pop, J-pop, African/Afrobeat, and Celtic music). “HOT” is LE SSERAFIM’s second chart-topper and makes them just the seventh female K-pop group to earn multiple No. 1s. And while digital downloads are not very impactful overall on the charts or in artists’ careers (“HOT” is not even in the Top 25 of the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart), the fact that enough fans downloaded the song above all other artist releases is another sign of a stable U.S. fanbase.

LSF’s very Weeknd-esque album cut “Ash” — which I think is the best song on the album — also entered WDSS at No. 8 this week, again showing a fanbase actively downloading and interacting with the material even outside of the single.

The last point to note with LE SSERAFIM’s comeback is “HOT” entering the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at No. 9 this week. A major PR point for LSF’s last year was that both the title tracks from their 2024 albums entered the general Billboard Hot 100 with “EASY” at No. 99 and “CRAZY” managing to hit No. 76. And just their previous singles, LSF unleashed a series of remixes and versions to boost up streams An English version, Sped Up version, Slowed + Reverb version and instrumental all dropped on March 17. A day later, an EP titled HOT (LE SSERAFIM Package) dropped, and each member recorded a new remixed version of the song. Missing the Hot 100 is a bit of a disappointment, but also noting that Playboi Carti has an absolutely massive 31 entries onto the Hot 100 this week with the release of his 30-song new album MUSIC to push out many competitors is important for context.

All of this activity shoots LE SSERAFIM back onto the Artist 100 chart (which looks at album sales, song sales, radio airplay, and streaming activity in the U.S.) re-entering at No. 8 making them one of the most popular artists in the U.S. this week behind Carti, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and SZA. Not bad company.

I have heard LE SSERAFIM had been discussing collaborating with one western star with their management looking into the group. Maybe she’ll end up being on a remix of “HOT” — or the b-side track “Come Over” that the group has been performing on Korean television — to give the songs additional chart life.

LE SSERAFIM also have a new PR team that set up looks in Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, Consequence of Sound, NME, and MTV UK.

A version of this story originally appeared in The Crossover’s March 26 Newsletter. Subscribe now to get the latest updates in your inbox.