BTS’ ‘Arirang’ Seizes No. 1 on Both Billboard Main Charts at the Same Time

BTS end a three-year-and-nine-month hiatus; the title track ‘SWIM’ goes straight to No. 1 on the Hot 100, while all 13 songs enter at once—an astonishing record

Global supergroup BTS made new K-pop history with their new studio album, their fifth full-length release, 'ARIRANG', simultaneously claiming the top spot on both of the US Billboard’s main charts. Out of 14 tracks on the album, they delivered an overwhelming performance by having 13 songs enter the main singles chart, Billboard Hot 100, all at the same time.

According to Billboard’s announcement on 31st (local time), the title track 'SWIM' topped the 'Hot 100' as soon as it entered. With this, BTS produced their seventh overall 'Hot 100' No. 1 song. This is a record-level achievement on the same scale as the fifth such milestone in Billboard group history—following the likes of The Beatles, The Supremes, Bee Gees, and The Rolling Stones.

This week’s 'Hot 100' chart features a total of 13 tracks, including No. 1 'SWIM', as well as 'BODY TO BODY' (No. 25) and 'Hooligan' (No. 35), among others. The cumulative number of BTS tracks that have entered the 'Hot 100' has risen to 40 songs in total, as they once again set a new record for the most cumulative entries by any K-pop artist.

In particular, the interlude track 'Number Twenty Nine (No. 29)', which sampled the bell’s sound from National Treasure No. 29 Seongdeok Daewang Shin Jong, unfortunately failed to qualify for the chart despite strong sales, due to the absence of lyrics and the short running time.

On the main album chart, 'Billboard 200', 'ARIRANG' also rose to the top. This simultaneous sweep of both charts is a great feat in six years since the 2020 album 'BE'. Released after a three-year-and-nine-month hiatus, the album recorded 641,000 album-equivalent units, achieving the remarkable feat of the highest weekly sales for a group album in the past decade.

Their dominance on the global charts is just as unparalleled. On the 'Billboard Global 200' chart, they took every position from No. 1 through No. 9 exclusively, setting a record that even matched Taylor Swift’s benchmark and topped it with a truly unprecedented feat. Furthermore, on the 'Global' chart excluding the United States, for the first time in history they swept all ranks from No. 1 to No. 10, once again proving their global standing.