Will Smith’s “You Can Make It” lands in the Billboard charts

Bexx Francois

Will Smith’s first Christian/Gospel single “You Can Make It” featuring Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir will be released on Billboard‘s charts (from July 13).

Released on June 28, the track debuted at No. 3 on the Hot Gospel Songs chart (streaming, airplay and sales) and peaked at No. 23 on the multi-metric Hot Christian Songs stats. According to Luminate, the song reached 726,000 radio listeners, was officially streamed 665,000 times in the U.S. and sold 1,000 copies by July 4.

The film star and rapper appears in the rankings for the first time. His latest film, Bad Boys: Ride or Diealso starring Martin Lawrence, premiered on June 7.

“I was really talking to myself,” says Smith Billboard of the song he co-wrote. “Seeing that so many people share this intention gives me a clear North Star for this next chapter of my creative life.”

Smith and the Sunday Service Choir performed “You Can Make It” live for the first time on June 30 at the 2024 BET Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, accompanied by Kirk Franklin and Chandler Moore.

Like Smith, R&B/hip-hop artist Fridayy makes it into the top 10 on Hot Gospel Songs for the first time, while Sunday Service Choir adds a spot in the top 10 for the third time. The track also lands in the top 10 on Gospel Digital Song Sales (No. 3), Christian Digital Song Sales (No. 6) and Gospel Streaming Songs (No. 10), as well as No. 28 on Gospel Airplay.

Smith had two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as a soloist: “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” in 1998 and “Wild Wild West” with Dru Hill and Kool Mo Dee in 1999. He broke through in the late 1980s/early 1990s as the (second) half of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, which reached number 4 on the Hot 100 with “Summertime” in 1991, and as the lead singer of NBC’s pop culture cornerstone The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Smith, who won an Oscar for best actor for his role in the 2022 film King Richardwho has taken home four Grammy Awards, is reportedly working on a full Christian/Gospel album.