BTS scores two No. 1s on Billboard charts

BTS has achieved a rare Billboard sweep, with its fifth studio album “Arirang” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and its lead single “Swim” topping the Hot 100.

Billboard reported March 30 local time that “Swim” claimed the Hot 100 crown, surpassing Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need.” The track logged 15.3 million streams, 25.8 million radio impressions and 154,000 combined digital and physical sales for the week.

The achievement marks BTS’s seventh Hot 100 No. 1, ranking the group fifth for most chart-topping singles in history. Since the Hot 100 began in 1958, only the The Beatles, The Supremes, Bee Gees and The Rolling Stones have reached more.

BTS first topped the Hot 100 in 2020 with “Dynamite,” becoming the first K-pop act to do so. The group later added “Life Goes On” and “Butter” to its list of No. 1 singles.

According to Billboard, “Swim” is the 1,190th song to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the 89th to debut at the top spot. It is also the first No. 1 song with the word “swim” in its title.

“Arirang” made a strong showing on the chart, with 13 of its 14 tracks entering the Hot 100 simultaneously, including “Swim.” “Body to Body,” the album’s opening track, ranked No. 25, followed by “Hooligan” at No. 35, “FYA” at No. 36 and “Normal” at No. 41. The only track excluded was “No. 29,” a 1-minute-38-second instrumental featuring only the bell of the Seongdeok Bell.

BTS said through its agency Big Hit Music that it was honored to reach No. 1 with an album released after a three-year, nine-month hiatus. “We hope this song has provided even a small measure of comfort and courage to listeners across borders,” the group said. Leader RM shared the news on social media, expressing “love and gratitude.”

BTS released “Arirang” on March 20 and will kick off its world tour from April 9 to 12 at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province. The group plans 82 concerts across approximately 34 cities worldwide.


사지원 4g1@donga.com