Jack Black’s Song ‘Steve’s Lava Chicken’

Don’t call him a one-hit wonder. Jack Black made a surprise return to the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week with another unlikely song from a video game movie: “Steve’s Lava Chicken,” a 34-second song from “A Minecraft Movie.”

The song entered the chart at 78, fueled by its popularity on TikTok, where it has been used in more than 280,000 videos. On Spotify, the song has racked up nearly 22 million streams.

“Steve’s Lava Chicken” is Black’s second Hot 100 hit from a video game-themed movie. In April 2023 his song “Peaches,” from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” peaked at 56 on the chart, according to Billboard.

What makes “Steve’s Lava Chicken” so unusual is its length: It is just 34 seconds, which Billboard said set a record as the shortest song in the chart’s 67-year history. It is nearly three minutes shorter than the average length of last year’s No. 1 hits, according to Hits Songs Deconstructed, a company that provides analysis of hit songs.

Black, a movie star known for playing quirky characters, is also a musician. He appeared in “School of Rock,” a film about a failed rock star who pretends to be a substitute teacher, and lampooned heavy metal with the comedy-rock duo Tenacious D, alongside Kyle Gass.

“A Minecraft Movie,” co-starring Black and Jason Momoa, was released more than three weeks ago and has earned nearly $380 million domestically at the box office. Warner Bros. Pictures wants to cash in on the craze — and people who want to shout “I am Steve” and “Chicken jockey.”

The studio announced that it would host a “block party” on Friday at participating theaters where fans can embrace the film by singing or meme-ing along to their favorite songs and scenes.