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Last week, Justin Bieber released “Yummy,” a single that blatantly rips off Ty Dolla $ign’s catalog while celebrating sexy time with his wife Hailey Bieber. It’s fine, not his best, and certainly not the kind of joint 2020 demands from its hits. Because of that, Bieber is having a hard time topping the charts with what he no doubt beliebs to be a banger because of the ongoing success of newcomer Roddy Ricch and his smash, “The Box.” (If you don’t know, you’re old—the song is everywhere these days because it is a viral TikTok hit, utilized in countless memes and dance video s. If you want to be a pop star in this day an age, blowing up on the video platform is really the only way how.)


In a Hail M ary to reclaim the top spot Bieber dominated just a few short years ago, the “Sorry” singer reposted a series of Instagram images from a fan account spelling out how to game the system and boost his streaming numbers. Literally, he was begging his fans to fuck with streaming numbers for his own gain. Bieber deleted it not long after, but the Internet never forgets:


Instructing fans to play “Yummy” on repeat while they sleep with the volume down low? Telling them to buy the same song over and over? That’s desperation. Clearly, he’d like to once again rule the popular music world, but it’s so much different now—even in the few years since “What Do You Mean?” I say let Ricch have this round. He already won, anyway.