BTS 'Arirang' nine weeks top three

BTS’s “Arirang” spent a ninth straight week inside Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global top three in the chart released on May 23, according to Korean entertainment outlets citing Spotify’s latest weekly rankings. The album ranked No. 2 for the May 15-21 tracking period after sitting at No. 1 the previous week, extending a run that has kept it near the top of Spotify’s global album chart since release. The latest update adds another week to a streak that has been documented across successive Korean media reports tied to Spotify’s weekly chart rolls. The result keeps BTS among the most durable acts on Spotify’s album rankings in late May. ### Which Spotify chart moved this week? Spotify’s “Weekly Top Albums Global” chart is the ranking at issue in the latest update, with “Arirang” placed at No. 2 for the May 15-21 tracking window. Chosun Ilbo’s English edition, citing Spotify’s latest chart, reported on May 23 that the album secured a ninth consecutive week in the top three. STARNEWS and other Korean outlets have tracked the same run in prior weeks. On May 16, STARNEWS reported that “Arirang” had returned to No. 1 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global chart for the May 8-14 period. ### How does the nine-week streak line up week to week? STARNEWS reported on May 2 that “Arirang” ranked No. 2 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global chart for April 24-30, which it described as the album’s sixth straight week in the top tier. (chosun.com) That means the album had already built a long run by early May before adding the May 8-14 and May 15-21 frames. (starnewskorea.com) A STARNEWS report published on April 25 said Big Hit Music announced “Arirang” had spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global chart for the April 17-23 period. Taken together with the later May 2, May 16 and May 23 reports, the sequence supports the current nine-week top-three total. ### Did the album fall, or is this still a strong week? (starnewskorea.com) No. 2 still leaves “Arirang” inside Spotify’s top three, and the immediate comparison point is a No. 1 finish the week before. The shift is a one-place move on the weekly chart rather than an exit from the leading group. Sports Khan, citing Spotify’s May 8-14 chart, said “Arirang” had reached No. 1 while the title track “SWIM” ranked No. 3 on Weekly Top Songs Global. (starnewskorea.com) That report also said the album’s full track list had continued charting, underscoring that the run has been driven by more than a single-song spike. ### What else has been moving around the album? “SWIM,” the album’s title track, has been part of the same chart story in recent weeks. (starnewskorea.com) STARNEWS reported on May 16 that the song was No. 3 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Global chart for May 8-14, while earlier coverage on May 2 said it had climbed to No. 2 for April 24-30. Sedaily’s English report on April 25 also tied Spotify momentum to other markets, saying “Arirang” was charting on the U.K. (sports.khan.co.kr) Official Albums Top 100 at the time. That places the Spotify run within a wider stretch of international chart activity around the album. ### What should readers watch next? The next marker will be Spotify’s following weekly chart update after the May 15-21 period. (starnewskorea.com) If “Arirang” remains in the top three on that next release, the album will reach a 10th consecutive week in the upper tier of Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global chart. (chosun.com) (en.sedaily.com)