“BOOMBAYAH” singers BLACKPINK attends the 2016 Melon Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome on November 19, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)
ImaZins via Getty Images
The explosive song that started it all for BLACKPINK just got an unexpected second life thanks to a spot in Netflix’s super-successful supernatural series Wednesday.
The girl group’s 2016 single “BOOMBAYAH” soared to the No. 1 spot on Shazam’s Global Viral chart after being used in a standout scene in Wednesday Season 2, which released its final four episodes on September 3, 2025. The chart notes the fastest-growing songs of the week as discovered on screens and socials.
With songs by Lady Gaga, Dean Martin and Foreigner all appearing throughout the latest episodes, the BLACKPINK banger is not the only mainstream cut to appear in the series but the contrast of the sparkly, synth-heavy K-pop track stands out for its contrast to the gothic aesthetic of Wednesday — especially when it’s titular character played by Jenna Ortega is dancing, smiling and, gasp, wearing colorful clothes. Or so it seems… (no spoilers)
Wednesday music supervisors Jen Malone and Nicole Weisberg shared that “BOOMBAYAH” was specifically written into the script.
“The producers had their eye on this song and props to them for knowing the significance of BLACKPINK and what that would mean to the viewers,” Weisberg shared with Tudum. “They’re one of the biggest touring acts, one of the biggest girl pop groups.”
The inclusion created viral moments around social media with BLACKPINK’s global fanbase excited to see the song’s inclusion and the Shazam charts showing clear curiosity from viewers to find out more about the music.
Beyond the Shazam’s global viral chart, “BOOMBAYAH” is No. 3 on Shazam’s U.S. Viral Songs chart and No. 5 on the overall Top 200 Global Songs chart. The song is also seeing “BOOMBAYAH” break through beyond Shazam IDs, soaring back into the Top 15 of the U.S. iTunes’ Top K-Pop Songs chart.
“BOOMBAYAH” History Before ‘Wednesday’
BLACKPINK made their seismic debut into the K-pop scene with not one but two singles: the bombastic “BOOMBAYAH” and the more subtle, catchy pop track “Whistle” as the highly anticipated new girl group from K-pop’s influential heavyweight label YG Entertainment.
Both songs became massive hits globally. “BOOMBAYAH” became seemingly more preferred by Western audiences, as the track debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart and even entered charts in France and Finland. Meanwhile, BP’s native South Korea loved “Whistle” with the track going to No. 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart.
The song has become a mainstay in BLACKPINK’s setlist and remains one of the group’s most-viewed music videos to date, with more than 1.8 billion views on YouTube.
But Wednesday wasn’t even the first cross-platform crossover moment for “BOOMBAYAH.” The track was previously featured in the premiere episode of Wu Assassins (which premiered on Netflix in 2019) and in the Despicable Me 4 film (which topped the U.S. box office when it was released last year). Fans can also dance along to the track on the Just Dance 2022 video game.
Still, no doubt this Wednesday sync could score the track even more recognition and perhaps kick off a resurgence for more YouTube views and potential chart activity.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbenjamin/2025/09/10/blackpinks-boombayah-tops-shazam-viral-chart-after-wednesday-sync/
