The release of BTS's fifth studio album 'Arirang' has overwhelmingly commandeered both domestic and international weekly music charts.
Data from the album sales monitoring platform Hanteo Chart, reported on the 30th, indicates that BTS's latest work, 'Arirang,' secured the top position in the weekly global chart and album chart for the period of March 23-29. The album achieved the number one spot on the charts within three days of its release on March 20 and sustained this leading position for two consecutive weeks.
BTS group image [Photo=Big Hit Music]
Billboard, the American music media, previewed in an article dated the 30th, that 'Arirang' had attained the summit of the 'Billboard 200' main album chart (issue dated April 4). The album entered this chart with 641,000 album units, representing the most robust weekly performance for a group album since the establishment of unit tracking in December 2014. Among these, 532,000 units were derived from pure album sales, encompassing both physical and digital transactions, setting a new benchmark for the highest weekly sales for a group album in more than a decade.
BTS's global chart dominance extends beyond album sales. They have topped the weekly rankings of Spotify, a leading global audio and music streaming platform, within the tracking period of March 20-26. This includes dominating categories such as 'Weekly Top Albums', 'Weekly Top Songs', and 'Weekly Top Artists' globally. The album's lead single, 'SWIM', claimed the number one position on the 'Weekly Top Songs Global', and all 14 tracks from the album were positioned within the top 30.
The track 'SWIM' retained its leading position on Spotify's 'Daily Top Songs Global' and Apple Music's 'Top 100 Global' charts for an extended period, specifically 9 days (March 20-28) and 7 days (March 23-29), respectively. Significantly, all album tracks were present in the most recent chart rankings on both streaming platforms. Even ten days post-release, every track continues to enjoy substantial global popularity, underscoring the widespread appeal among music enthusiasts.
Concurrently, BTS is slated to perform at the 'BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG'' at the Goyang Sports Complex Main Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on April 9, 11, and 12. Their itinerary further includes stadium concerts in South America, covering Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, scheduled for October. The entirety of their 46 performances, spanning Goyang, North America, Europe, and Tokyo, Japan, have sold out in advance, exemplifying their formidable ticket-selling power.