JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
A movie star has just set an all-time record on the Billboard pop charts. NPR's Stephen Thompson has the report.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: The actor Jack Black is also a veteran singer. He's even hit the Billboard charts with his band, Tenacious D. But he's far better known for his work in movies, especially popular kids' films like "Kung Fu Panda," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and now "A Minecraft Movie." This week, his life as a singer and his life as an actor have dovetailed, as Jack Black has just set an all-time record on the Billboard Hot 100 - he has recorded the shortest song ever to hit the chart.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STEVE'S LAVA CHICKEN")
JACK BLACK: (Singing) La-la-la-lava, ch-ch-ch-chicken. Steve's lava chicken, yeah, it's tasty as hell.
THOMPSON: That's "Steve's Lava Chicken," which Jack Black cowrote with "A Minecraft Movie's" director, Jared Hess. It enters this week's Billboard singles chart at No.78. We only had time to play an excerpt - we're very busy - but the complete song runs all of 34 seconds. Fortunately, for those with more patience than that, there's an official remix that stretches "Steve's Lava Chicken" to nearly a minute and a half.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STEVE'S LAVA CHICKEN (EXTENDED VERSION)")
BLACK: Welcome to the stash. Steve's lava chicken.
THOMPSON: The previous record for shortest song in the history of the pop charts belonged to the rapper Kid Cudi. In 2020, his 37-second instrumental song "Beautiful Trip" peaked on the Hot 100 at No.100. Now, this isn't the first time Jack Black has hit the charts with a song from a kids' film. Two years ago, while playing Bowser in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," he charted with a song of forbidden love and desire called "Peaches."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEACHES")
BLACK: (Singing) Peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches. Peaches, peaches, peaches...
THOMPSON: "Peaches" became a viral hit as it peaked at No.56. It also picked up a fair bit of Oscar buzz, though it failed to make the cut for a Best Original Song nomination. Still, Jack Black shouldn't lose all hope for the awards future of "Steve's Lava Chicken." After all, that 34-second song has just hit the charts, and there's no rule that says it's too short to win an Oscar. Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STEVE'S LAVA CHICKEN")
BLACK: (Singing) La-la-la-lava, ch-ch-ch-chicken. Steve's lava chicken, yeah, it's tasty as hell. Ooh, mamacita, now you're ringing the bell. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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