BTS’ “ARIRANG” Takes No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 for 3 Straight Weeks…A First-Ever K-Pop Milestone

The group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) made K-pop history by taking No. 1 on the U.S. “Billboard 200” for three straight weeks with its regular fifth album, “ARIRANG.”

First-ever 3-week run at No. 1 for a K-pop album According to chart preview coverage published by Billboard, a U.S. music media outlet, on the 13th (Korean time), BTS’s regular fifth album “ARIRANG” topped the main album chart “Billboard 200” (dated April 18). With this, BTS achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the first K-pop artist in history to maintain No. 1 on that chart for three consecutive weeks. Previously, the Netflix K-pop animated film “K-Pop Demon Hunters” OST had recorded two non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, but only BTS has managed to hold the top spot for three straight weeks.

Wins the title for the longest No. 1 by a group album In this week’s chart, “ARIRANG” notched a total of 124,000 album units and showcased its steady popularity. For groups worldwide, it was the first time in about 14 years that an act achieved No. 1 on the “Billboard 200” for three consecutive weeks since 2012, when the British band Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” took the crown. BTS, which entered No. 1 by pouring out new records in its debut week, proved that it was able to keep the top spot even in its third week on the chart—confirming that it has settled onto a long-term success trajectory that goes beyond mere short-term buzz.

An unshakable global syndrome Such results are the outcome of BTS’s powerful global fandom combined with mainstream appeal. In the breakdown for this week’s tally, pure album sales (physical and digital purchases) totaled 71,000 copies, SEA units—converted from streaming counts—came to 50,000 copies, and the remainder consisted of TEA units, converted from digital music downloads. With BTS beating out formidable pop stars in an intensely competitive U.S. pop market and securing a long reign, global attention is focused on what other meaningful milestones the group will set next.