The Carter sisters are doing it for themselves… with the help of Mama Beyoncé.

By
Lester Fabian Brathwaite

Published on April 9, 2024 07:10PM EDT

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Sibling rivalry often makes for great pop dynasties. Michael and Janet. Beyoncé and Solange. Blue and Rumi.

Okay, that last pair can’t even drive yet, and one of them hasn’t even entered middle school, but the seeds have been planted. The gardener: their mother — and, really, the mother — Beyoncé, whose song “Protector,” featuring Rumi, has entered the Billboard Hot 100, making Blue Ivy’s baby sister the youngest female artist to make the chart in history. A record previously held by Blue herself.

Blue Ivy, 12, first broke the record in 2019 after appearing on “Brown Skin Girl,” off the Beyoncé-helmed soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift, which peaked at No. 76 on the Hot 100 when Blue was just 7 years old. The overachiever was also credited with contributing lyrics and vocals to the track.

Rumi Carter and Blue Ivy Carter.KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY; KEVIN WINTER/GETTY

“Protector” debuted this week at No. 42, with Rumi at a ripe 6 years and 9 months, just as Cowboy Carter topped Billboard‘s Country Albums chart and the Billboard 200. Sir Carter’s twin kicks off the song by asking Mama Bey, “Mom, can I hear the lullaby, please?”

Still, the record for youngest person to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 still belongs to French chanteur Jordy Lemoine, who was only this many — 4 years — old when his bop “Dur dur d’être bébé!” (“It’s Hard to Be a Baby”) peaked at No. 58 in 1993.

Of course, Blue Ivy is a veteran at recording at this point, having been featured on Beyoncé’s “Blue,” off her 2013 self-titled album, when she was 1. Meanwhile, just two days after her birth, dad Jay-Z featured her on his 2012 track “Glory,” making his eldest the youngest person to appear on any Billboard chart (it didn’t make the Hot 100 but entered the Rap Songs and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts).

But the Sisters Carter better watch their backs, ’cause Hazel Monét is coming for them. Victoria Monét’s daughter, at 2, became the youngest person nominated for a Grammy for her vocal contributions to mom’s “Hollywood,” off her acclaimed 2023 album, Jaguar II.