Seventeen’s album FML tops music industry global chart as K-pop dominates

LONDON – Seventeen’s FML was named 2023’s biggest-selling album globally on Feb 27, with the K-pop band topping the chart run by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for the first time.

London-based IFPI is a global recording industry association and represents the interests of the worldwide music industry.

FML, released in April 2023, was the most pre-ordered album in K-pop history and topped charts in South Korea and Japan, said IFPL. FML also made the top five in the United States and France.

Seventeen scooped the IFPI Global Album Award for 2023, a prize calculated according to an album’s sales across streaming, download and physical formats around the world.

The 13-member K-pop boy band’s Seventeenth Heaven record,

which came out in October,

ranked No. 8. The IFPI rankings did not provide a figure or equivalent for total albums sold.

Five of the chart’s top 10 albums were by South Korean acts, representing the best-ever Global Charts performance for K-pop, IFPI said.

“The global appeal of K-pop continues to extend and S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino continue to push the boundaries with their concepts, performances and talent,” said Mr Lewis Morrison, director of global charts and certifications at IFPI, naming Seventeen’s members.

Fellow South Korean boy band Stray Kids’ 5-Star and American country singer Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, with Taylor Swift’s Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) albums making up the rest of the top five.

Meanwhile, IFPI named Miley Cyrus’ hit Flowers as the world’s best-selling single of 2023 on Feb 26, the first time the American singer-songwriter has topped the industry chart.

The emotional disco-tinged break-up anthem – in which the singer reminds herself she can buy her own flowers after the end of a relationship – got the coveted IFPI global single award for 2023 just weeks after picking up two Grammys on Feb 4.

According to IFPI, the single had the equivalent of 2.7 billion streams on paid subscription services. Data from physical sales and digital delivery methods were used to come up with a representative figure.

“Topping the charts in so many countries simultaneously, the song – along with its message of empowerment – resonated across the world and is the definition of a truly global hit,” said Mr Morrison.

American pop star Swift, who on Feb 21 was named global recording artiste of the year for the fourth time by IFPI, took the No .7 and No. 9 spots on the singles rundown with Cruel Summer and Anti-Hero respectively.

BTS’ Jungkook nabbed the No. 10 spot with his debut single Seven. REUTERS