K-pop supergroup BTS returned to the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart with its comeback release “Arirang,” the magazine said in a preview Sunday. The septet performed a live concert in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on March 21 as part of its return. Photo courtesy of BigHit Music and Netflix
K-pop supergroup BTS returned to the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart with its comeback release Arirang, marking a major milestone following a nearly four-year hiatus.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated April 4, Billboard reported in a preview Sunday.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States across multiple metrics as measured in equivalent album units.
Arirang opened with 641,000 equivalent album units earned, marking the largest week for a group since the chart began measuring consumption by units in 2014.
Pure album sales — purchases of physical and digital copies — accounted for 532,000 units, the group’s biggest sales week ever and the highest total for any group in more than a decade.
Streaming equivalent albums, or SEAs, accounted for 95,000 units, another high mark for the septet.
The debut marks BTS’ seventh No. 1 album on the chart, following Love Yourself: Tear, Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul: Persona, Map of the Soul: 7, Be and the anthology album Proof.
Arirang, released March 20, is the group’s first full-length album since 2020 and follows the members’ completion of South Korea’s mandatory military service.
The 14-track album blends hip-hop and pop, reflecting the group’s earlier sounds while exploring new artistic directions in a return to the studio alongside producers such as Diplo, El Guincho, Mike WiLL Made-It and Ryan Tedder.
“The members were deeply involved throughout the songwriting and production process, infusing their own thoughts and identities while expressing the emotions and reflections from their journey,” BigHit said ahead of the release.
The album’s title references the traditional Korean folk song “Arirang,” long associated with themes of separation and perseverance.
BTS’ comeback has been accompanied by a major promotional push, including a concert in central Seoul livestreamed on Netflix on March 21 and an appearance last week on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The group will next embark on what BigHit describes as the largest world tour in K-pop history, spanning 34 cities and more than 80 shows. The tour, featuring a 360-degree stage design, is set to kick off April 9 at Goyang Sports Complex near Seoul.
A documentary film, BTS: The Return, showcasing the making of Arirang, premiered on Netflix on March 27.
