BTS stays at No. 1
BTS’s album ARIRANG held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for a third consecutive week, marking the longest run at No. 1 for a group in over a decade, according to coverage shared on X. (x.com) The sustained chart performance underscores continued commercial momentum behind the release. (x.com)
BTS stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a third straight week, extending *ARIRANG*’s run atop the United States albums chart. (billboard.com) Billboard reported that *ARIRANG* earned 124,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending April 9, for the chart dated April 18. The album debuted at No. 1 on the April 4 chart and held the top spot again on April 11. (billboard.com) Equivalent album units combine physical and digital album sales with streaming and track sales into one chart number. In its opening week, *ARIRANG* posted 641,000 units, including 532,000 pure album sales, according to Billboard and Luminate. (billboard.com) That opening frame gave BTS the biggest week for an album by a group since Billboard began ranking albums by equivalent units in December 2014. Billboard also said the album’s vinyl sales reached 208,000, the largest sales week for an album by a duo or group since Luminate began electronic tracking in 1991. (billboard.com) The third week at No. 1 is also a longer stay than any of BTS’s previous seven Billboard 200 leaders. After week two, Billboard noted that each of the group’s earlier No. 1 albums had spent only one week at the top. (billboard.com) Billboard said the last album by a group to spend at least three weeks at No. 1 was Mumford & Sons’ *Babel* in 2012 and 2013. That places *ARIRANG* in a chart lane no group album had reached in more than a decade. (billboard.com) The album arrived on March 20 as BTS’s first full-length release in six years, with 14 tracks. Billboard described it as the reunited group’s return after a nearly four-year hiatus from group activity. (billboard.com, billboard.com) The release has also driven BTS across Billboard’s other major charts. The single “Swim” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, and BTS returned to No. 1 on the Artist 100 for the first time since June 2022. (billboard.com, billboard.com) For now, the chart story is simple: *ARIRANG* opened huge, fell from its debut peak, and still had enough sales and streaming to keep every new release behind it for a third week. (billboard.com, billboard.com)
