BTS have become the first K-pop act to top the US Billboard 200 albums chart for two consecutive weeks as their latest album Arirang held on to the No 1 spot in its second week.
Arirang is the first studio album released since the K-pop group, composed of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, went on hiatus in 2022 so the members could complete South Korea’s mandatory military service.
The album was released on 20 March, with a free outdoor concert held the next day at Seoul’s historic Gwanghwamun Square. The concert was live-streamed on Netflix, and was followed a week later by a documentary that tracked BTS’s return to the studio and preparations for the concert.
According to Billboard, Arirang remained at No 1 on the main albums chart with 187,000 equivalent album units, though it dropped 71 per cent from its opening week, when it had 641,000. Of this debut figure, 532,000 units came from pure album sales, marking the largest sales week for any album since Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl, which launched with over four million units last year.
However, it was still the biggest sales week seen for an album by a group in more than a decade, since One Direction’s Midnight Memories sold 547,000 in 2013, reported Variety.
This is BTS’ seventh No 1 album on the Billboard 200, and were also the first Korean act to top the chart, first achieving the milestone in 2018 with Love Yourself: Tear.
Arirang also recorded around 110 million streams on Spotify on its first day, with all of its tracks charting simultaneously on its global chart.
Ye’s Bully also released this week, but was unable to push Arirang off the top spot and opened at No 2, followed by Melanie Martinez’s Hades at No 3.
In the UK, Arirang debuted at No 1 on the Official Albums Chart, while its lead single “Swim” reached No 2, marking the group’s highest-ever position on the UK Singles Chart.
In Australia, the album opened at No 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained there in its second week. Their previous studio album, 2020’s Map Of The Soul: 7 also spent two weeks at the No 1 spot on the ARIA chart.
The group also released the surprise hidden track “Come Over,” on Friday that is only available on the deluxe vinyl version of Arirang.
The Gwanghwamun concert marks the beginning of BTS’s return to large-scale touring. Thousands of fans attended the concert, with many flying in from all over the world to watch on screens, despite not having tickets.
They are set to start their world tour with shows at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi from 9 to 12 April before setting off on a 82-concert tour covering 34 cities around the world until March 2027.
BTS bags another UK number one album following comeback
Six things we learned from Netflix’s BTS documentary
Seoul prepared for 260,000 at BTS comeback gig – but city says only 48,000 showed up
Inside London’s immersive new David Bowie exhibition at Lightroom
Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorships of Wireless Festival amid Kanye West backlash
Chloe Bailey sparks backlash after attending Kanye West show
