Bobbi Storm debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s streaming with “We Can’t Forget Him” on the Hot Gospel Songs chart on December 9 based on airplay and sales.
This comes after her near-flight kick-out and being called out for “entitlement” while announcing her Grammy nominations on a plane.
The recently created controversy was made public on November 10, when Bobbi Storm uploaded a since-deleted video of herself singing “We Can’t Forget Him” on a Delta Air Lines aircraft to Instagram.
A flight attendant motioned for her to sit down and threatened to cancel the trip if she did not comply with her instructions. Storm sat down, declared that she was “up for two Grammys,” and softly sang her hit song.
“We Can’t Forget Him” is the Detroit native’s first entry on Hot Gospel Songs. It also becomes the chart’s first No.1 in more than a year since DJ Khaled’s Use This Gospel (Remix) featuring Kanye West and Eminem in September 2022.
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Since Queen Naija released War Cry in December 2018, no female act’s song has debuted as the No.1 song on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart, which is based on sales, airplay, and streaming.
However, according to Luminate, We Can’t Forget Him received 108,000 official U.S. streams and 6.3 million radio airplay listeners between November 24 and November 30. It remains at its peak of No.14 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (up 1% in plays); on Rhythmic Airplay, it is ranked No. 28 (up 6%).
Interestingly, the song samples I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near), a 1982 Billboard Hot 100 hit that peaked at No.4 for Michael McDonald.
“We Can’t Forget Him” was co-written by Alonza Wilmore Allen, Stefanee Bobbi Morrison, and Kasey Rashel Sims. Warren Griffin, Nathaniel Hale, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stroller are also given credit.
Storm is not nominated for any individual awards, but she is a featured vocalist on two tracks on Maverick City Music’s The Maverick Way, which was nominated for best gospel album at the 2024 Grammy Awards. The album dominated for three weeks after making its debut at No.1 on the Top Gospel Albums chart in November. However, Storm’s Holy Mixes, her debut solo album, is set to be out early next year.