Shortly after being granted an early release from prison, Tekashi 6ix9ine (real name Daniel Hernandez) dropped a single to commemorate his return to the free world. The track, curiously called “Gooba,” went viral almost immediately; in 24 hours, the accompanying visuals were viewed a record-breaking number of times. However, Hernandez claims that the commercial success of the comeback single has been stifled on the Billboard charts thanks to the machinations of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s teams.
Two weeks ago, Grande and Bieber released their quarantine-inspired duet "Stuck With U." The song shot to the top of the Billboard music charts, climbing over the viral Megan thee Stallion and Beyoncé collaboration as well as Doja Cat's "Say So" remix with Nicki Minaj. While it makes sense that the song is doing so well on the charts — Bieber and Grande's respective fanbases are extremely devoted — Hernandez believes that their top spot on Billboard was not earned but purchased.
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"I want the world to know that Billboard is a lie," he stated matter-of-factly in an Instagram video yesterday. "You can buy number ones on Billboard!"
The rapper's IG post claimed that the pop stars had purchased 30,000 units of their charity single at the last minute to make sure that it would gain the number one spot. And to make sure that Grande and Bieber stayed at the top, Hernandez alleged, Billboard had inaccurately counted "Gooba" streams and sales, and that's the reason that the song is currently third on the chart.
Bieber was quick to respond to the allegations, logging into Instagram to refute the claims. "[6ix9ine] says his streams don't count," the singer wrote on his story. "Yes they do, but he is counting the global streams and this is a domestic chart so only domestic streams count."
The response continued, addressing Hernandez's accusations of buying units en masse to boost the song's ranking. Bieber clarified that no such thing had been done and asked the rapper to not "discredit our fanbase with false info."
Grande also a similar statement on Instagram, and her post echoed her collaborator's sentiments — and threw in some excellent shade Hernandez's way.
"to anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week or who is spending their time racking their brain thinking of as many ways as they can to discredit hardworking women (and only the women for some reason.....), i ask u to take a moment to humble yourself," she wrote in a lengthy post captioning a screenshot of the Billboard Top 10.
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"be grateful you’re even here," Grande continued. "that people want to listen to u at all. it’s a blessed position to be in."
Having been accused of being shiesty, Billboard made sure to set the record straight by releasing an in-depth article explaining how it calculates the Top 10. According to Billboard, there was no illicit measure enacted to push Grande and Bieber's duet to the top of the charts; the rankings were calculated, as always, by looking specific streams and sales data collected by Nielsen Music/MRC Data. According to that data, "Stuck With U" sold 108,000, and “Gooba” only sold 24,000 — hence Hernandez's lower spot on the chart.
Though he's definitely still pressed about not nabbing the number one spot, Hernandez is already planning his next move. "Don't worry we going #1 next time @billboard," he posted on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself with six credit cards in hand.