Yung Gravy notches his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 23), as “Betty (Get Money),” which samples and interpolates Rick Astley’s 1988 No. 1 classic “Never Gonna Give You Up,” debuts at No. 68.
The song, released on Republic Records, opens with 7.5 million U.S. streams (up 61%), 518,000 in radio airplay audience (up 168%) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 109%) in the July 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate.
“Never Gonna Give You Up” earned Astley his first entry on the Hot 100 in December 1987 and spent two weeks at No. 1 beginning in March 1988. The song’s music video is the foundation of the “Rickrolling” Internet meme, which helped give the song a new life in 2008. (“It’s all good,” Astley told Billboard in 2016 of the revival of his first of two No. 1s. “I am still grateful every day for that song and the life it has given me. I never take it for granted. Looking back, I can see that it’s part talent, part work, but also a lot of luck to have a hit as big as that.”)
Yung Gravy (real name: Matthew Hauri) has been recording music since 2016 but is a relative newcomer to Billboard‘s surveys, having first appeared on a chart in June 2019 when his debut full-length Sensational debuted and peaked at No. 30 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 52 on the Billboard 200.
In 2020, Yung Gravy landed two projects on the Billboard 200: his sophomore set Baby Gravy II, with bbno$, hit No. 188 that February and his third LP Gasanova reached No. 52 in October. The latter release also hit No. 23 on Top Rap Albums and No. 27 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Prior to “Betty (Get Money),” Yung Gravy sent one song onto Billboard‘s charts, the viral TikTok-boosted hit “Oops!,” which rose to No. 37 on Rock & Alternative Airplay, No. 38 on Pop Airplay and No. 40 on Alternative Airplay.
“Oops!” samples Peaches’ 2000 song “F— the Pain Away.” As with “Betty,” many of Yung Gravy’s tracks sample songs from the ’50s through the ’80s. His 2016 song “Mr. Clean” samples The Chordettes’ 1954 classic “Mr. Sandman”; “Cheryl” samples Player’s 1978 Hot 100 No. 1 “Baby Come Back”; “Gravy Train” samples Maxine Nightingale’s 1976 No. 2-peaking disco anthem “Right Back Where We Started From”; “1 Thot 2 Thot Red Thot Blue Thot” samples Dennis Edwards’ 1984 R&B hit “Don’t Look Any Further,” featuring Siedah Garrett; and “Flex Season” samples Wham!’s 1985 Hot 100 leader “Careless Whisper.”
“Betty” is slated to appear on Yung Gravy’s upcoming fourth LP. Beginning in November, he’s set to hit the road on a 28-city run for his Baby Gravy Tour, alongside bbno$.
