BTS Become First Korean Act To Score A UK No. 1 Album
The album sold 26,500 copies, 68% of which were physical sales, reports the Official Charts Company.
Fresh off their history making SNL performance, K-pop sensations BTS have become the first Southern Korean act to notch a No. 1 album on the UK charts with Map of The Soul: Persona.
The album sold 26,500 copies, 68% of which were physical sales, reports the Official Charts Company.
Just last year, the 7-piece pop unit also became the first Korean pop band to enter the Top 40 UK singles chart with their song ‘Idol’.
Map of The Soul: Persona is the group’s fourth release to enter the UK Top 40, following their three-part Love Yourself series of records.
Comprised of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook, BTS broke out on the global stage, landing on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world list, and selling out stadiums nationwide.
Since forming in 2013, they’ve successfully crossed over stateside and the rest of the world, an impressive feat for a group that sings primarily in Korean. They’ve made huge inroads for K-pop, becoming the first Korean group to present at the Grammys and were nominated for their album, Love Yourself: Tear.
They also became the first Korean outfit to perform on Saturday Night Live, where they performed their newest single ‘Boy With Luv’, featuring Halsey. The boys will return to the stage with Halsey in tow to perform the song on the upcoming Billboard Music Awards on 1 May, where they will be competing for Best Duo/Group.
Since releasing the hotly-anticipated collab single, ‘Boy With Luv’, the music video made Youtube history as the site’s biggest ever first-day debut from a music video. It’s also been recognized by the Guinness World Records for setting not one or two, but three world records.
“’Boy With Luv’” is said to have achieved the titles of “most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours,” “most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours,” and “most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group,” reads the statement from Guinness. The video earned 74.6 million views on the video streaming platform within the first day of its release.
BTS will be returning to the UK in June when they will play two sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium.
Visit their official site for touring details.
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