BTS’ “Arirang”” Tops the Billboard Top 5 for 6 Weeks in a Row… Side by Side With Michael Jackson, Where Today’s K-Pop Icon and a Pop Legend Coexist

"BTS" (BTS)’s "Arirang" and "Michael Jackson"’s "Thriller" simultaneously claimed the very top spots on the "Billboard 200" chart. The "a current icon and a pop legend", currently writing a new chapter in K-pop history, proves its overwhelming impact in the global music market as past icons transcend time and space.

BTS’ regular 5th album, “Arirang (ARIRANG),” has kicked off a sustained run after climbing to “Top 5” for six straight weeks on the U.S. Billboard main album chart, “Billboard 200.”

On the 3rd (local time), Billboard announced through a chart preview article that “Arirang” recorded an album unit figure equivalent to 56,000 copies, sliding one spot from the previous week to No. 5.

“Billboard 200” determines rankings by combining physical album sales volumes with converted figures that add together digital audio streaming and download counts into album sales figures.

Released last March, “Arirang” maintains its place firmly in the top tier even after setting a record as the first K-pop act in history to stay No. 1 for three consecutive weeks, further proving its global impact.

Meanwhile, it’s generating buzz that “Thriller,” the legendary classic album by “the King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, originally released in 1982, has made a surprise reentry onto the charts. The effect comes from the recent release in North America of the biographical film “Michael” covering his lifetime.

“Thriller,” which held No. 1 for a staggering 37 weeks throughout the 1980s, recorded 45,000 album units—an increase of 425% from the previous week during this tracking period—and shot up to No. 7 in an instant. New and old pop icons are standing side by side at the top of Billboard, drawing attention from music fans around the world.