BTS’ ‘ARIRANG’ tops Billboard 200 for third straight week, a K-pop first

그룹 방탄소년단(BTS)의 정규 5집 '아리랑(ARIRANG)'이 K팝 사상 처음으로 미국 빌보드 메인 앨범 차트에서 3주 연속 1위를 기록했다.

Billboard said in a chart preview article on April 12 (local time) that BTS’ fifth full-length album, “ARIRANG,” remained No. 1 on the main albums chart, the Billboard 200, for a third straight week. The group held off Morgan Wallen’s “I’m The Problem” and Kanye West’s “BULLY.”

It is the first time a K-pop act has led the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks. Among groups, it is the biggest run since Mumford & Sons’ “Babel,” which logged five nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2012-2013. It is also the first album since Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” last year to debut at No. 1 and stay there for three straight weeks.

For the latest tracking period, “ARIRANG” posted 124,000 equivalent album units, Billboard said. That total included 71,000 in album sales, 50,000 in streaming equivalent albums (SEA) and 3,000 in track equivalent albums (TEA). Driven by strong physical sales, it also ranked No. 1 for a third week on the Top Album Sales chart.

“ARIRANG,” described as reflecting the group’s identity, contains 14 tracks, including the title song “SWIM.” “SWIM,” which ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s main singles chart, the Hot 100, last week, is expected to remain near the top this week, according to the report.

BTS also held “BTS World Tour ARIRANG in Goyang” from April 9 to 12 at the main stadium of Goyang Sports Complex in Goyang, south of Seoul. The three-day run drew about 132,000 fans, marking the group’s first solo tour in about four years since 2022’s “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage.”