Oscar winner and R&B/hip-hop cornerstone Will Smith jumps four spots to No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart (dated Dec. 21) with “You Can Make It” featuring Fridayy and Sunday Service. The song marks each act’s first leader on the list.
During the Dec. 6-12 tracking week, the collab, which Smith co-wrote, increased by 24% in plays, according to Luminate.
“I’m so honored to have the No. 1 gospel record in the country for the first time ever in my career,” Smith tells Billboard. “‘You Can Make It’ is such a deeply personal song for me, so I am grateful that it connected with radio and my fans so much. Thank you to gospel radio for the recognition. I’m excited to bring more music to my fans in 2025!”
Smith, who starred in this year’s hit film Bad Boys: Ride or Die alongside Martin Lawrence, rules Gospel Airplay with his first entry on the chart. He has scored a pair of No. 1s as a soloist on the Billboard Hot 100: “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” in 1998, and “Wild Wild West” featuring Dru Hill and Kool Mo Dee in 1999. He broke through in the late 1980s/early ‘90s as (the latter) half of duo D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, who reached a No. 4 Hot 100 high with “Summertime” in 1991, and as the lead on NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
While Smith leads a Billboard radio ranking for the first time since 1999, when “Wild Wild West” ruled Rap Airplay for eight weeks that June-July, he spent much of the years since focusing on his film career, starring in and producing multiple hit movies. In 2022, he won the best actor Oscar for his role in King Richard.
In July, “You Can Make It” arrived at its No. 3 best on the multimetric Hot Gospel Songs chart, where it became both Smith and Fridayy’s first entry.
Source: Billboard
