Tekashi 6ix9ine called out Billboard for seemingly manipulating the charts in favour Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber going No. 1 instead him.
Tekashi 6ix9ine was in disbelief after Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber‘s “Stuck With U” jumped ahead his song, “Gooba,” in a forecast next week’s Hot 100 chart, so he decided to send a public message to Billboard. “Imma make this real quick, ‘cause I’ll be real disappointed if Billboard gets paid for No. 1s and] somehow manipulate the charts,” he declared in an Instagram video. “I want the whole world to see this, because what I’m about to show you is a forecast what every label in the world gets: Atlantic, Interscope, Republic, Columbia, Sony, Universal Music, every label gets this.”
View this post on Instagram@billboard explain this to the millions artist who never got #1 because you guys play favorites.
He proceeds to show said forecast that his label received on Thursday (May 15th), which shows Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj remaining at No. 1 with “Say So (Remix),” while “GOOBA” sits at No. 2. Below them are The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (No. 3), Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage (Remix)” (No. 4), and Ari and Justin at No. 5. However, he indicates that “Stuck With U” submitted 60,000 units “out nowhere” at the “last second” on Thursday night, which he claims is “completely illegal.” Now, a new forecast reads that “Stuck With U” has reached No. 1, “GOOBA” remains at No. 2, and “Say So (Remix)” is now at No. 3.
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“They went from being fifth place to first place out nowhere,” he says about Ari and Justin. The kicker for him, though, is that Billboard was promoting a signed CD bundle for Ari and Justin, which he believes helped to “manipulate the charts” and get “Stuck With U” to No. 1.
He points out that, considering “GOOBA” has garnered “200 million streams,” which he claims is “double the streams” than any other song on the charts right now, he should be dominating by “a landslide.” He also claims that Doja Cat’s label sent an audit to Billboard because they, too, are suspicious about the sudden chart position her song after it dropped to No. 3.
“Literally, you’re manipulating the charts now,” he concludes. “How can an artist that works hard get No. 1?” Prior to this rant, 6ix9ine previously sent out a similar warning to Billboard not to mess with the numbers. “The world is watching very closely,” he wrote on a since-deleted Instagram post. “I will hate to believe that people pay for their spins on the radio and making manipulating bundles to manipulate the chart.”