BTS claim 7th No. 1 album on US Billboard 200 chart with Arirang
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BTS performing during the BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang concert in Seoul, South Korea, on March 21, 2026.
PHOTO: EPA
NEW YORK – BTS’ latest album has debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200 for the week of April 4, marking the K-pop boy band’s seventh No. 1 on the chart.
Billboard said in a chart preview on March 29 that Arirang opened with 641,000 equivalent album units earned, making it the biggest week for an album by a group since the chart began measuring by units in December 2014.
Out of that figure, 532,000 came from sales of physical and digital albums, which gave BTS the largest sales week for an album by a group in more than a decade.
BTS’ previous No. 1s on the chart were Love Yourself: Tear (2018), Love Yourself: Answer (2018), Map Of The Soul: Persona (2019), Map Of The Soul: 7 (2020), Be (2020) and Proof (2022).
The septet also topped the British music charts on March 27, with their comeback album and its lead single Swim both going straight to No. 1.
BTS, which went on hiatus in 2022 so the members could complete South Korea’s mandatory military service, released their 10th studio album Arirang on March 20. Their record label said it sold nearly four million copies on its first day.
Arirang topped the British albums chart as well as the vinyl albums charts, the Official Charts Company said in a statement.
The group – made up of Jimin, Jungkook, Suga, RM, V, Jin and J-Hope – also topped the British singles chart for the first time with Swim.
Arirang also topped albums charts in Australia and Germany on March 27.
As part of their comeback, BTS performed to tens of thousands of fans in Seoul on March 21 in their first concert in more than three years. The authorities shut down the city’s historic downtown, though the turnout was far smaller than expected.
The hour-long outdoor concert in Gwanghwamun Square was streamed live on Netflix and drew 18.4 million viewers worldwide, the streaming platform said. The broadcast ranked among Netflix’s weekly Top 10 in 80 countries and topped the chart in 24 countries, it added.
BTS, which kick off a global tour starting April, made their debut in 2013 and helped turn K-pop music into a global phenomenon with their upbeat songs and dances, building a huge and loyal fan base around the world. REUTERS
