BTS hits major chart milestones
BTS’s album 'ARIRANG' remained at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a third straight week, and the group hit 1 million US units for Platinum — the fastest for an Asian act and group in over 18 years, according to Billboard’s posts about the run (x.com). The band also had six songs simultaneously on the Hot 100 for three weeks and the 'SWIM' video reached 100 million views, showing both streaming and chart breadth (x.com).
BTS has turned its reunion album into a sustained United States chart run, holding ARIRANG at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a third straight week. (billboard.com) Billboard reported that ARIRANG earned 124,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending April 9, after opening with 641,000 units for the chart dated April 4 and then posting 187,000 in its second week. (billboard.com, billboard.com, billboard.com) That opening week gave BTS its seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, and Billboard said it was the biggest week for any album by a group since the chart began ranking by equivalent album units in December 2014. (billboard.com) Equivalent album units combine album sales, song sales and streaming into one weekly total, which is why a release can keep leading after its debut if buying and listening stay high. Billboard says Luminate compiles those numbers for the Billboard 200 each week. (billboard.com) The album run is happening alongside a broad singles showing. On the March 31 chart update, Billboard said BTS placed 13 ARIRANG tracks on the Hot 100, led by “Swim” at No. 1 and four songs in the top 40. (billboard.com) “Swim” became BTS’ seventh career No. 1 on the Hot 100 and their first since 2021, according to Billboard, extending the group’s lead for the most Hot 100 No. 1s among groups since they first topped the chart with “Dynamite” in September 2020. (billboard.com) Outside the United States, Billboard said “Swim” debuted at No. 1 on both the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, giving BTS a record-extending eighth leader on each list. It then spent a second week at No. 1 on those global charts. (billboard.com, billboard.com) The comeback also follows a long gap in full-length releases. Billboard described ARIRANG as BTS’ first studio album of new material since 2020 and said the album arrived after the group’s nearly four-year hiatus. (billboard.com, billboard.com) In the United States music business, “platinum” usually refers to 1 million certified units under the Recording Industry Association of America program, which counts albums through audited sales-and-streaming thresholds. (riaa.com, riaa.com) For BTS, the immediate picture is clear in Billboard’s weekly data: a third straight week atop the Billboard 200, a No. 1 single from the same album cycle, and a comeback release still generating enough sales and streams to stay ahead after its debut surge. (billboard.com, billboard.com)
