BTS have claimed their seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, as Arirang debuted at the top with the strongest weekly sales for a group in more than a decade.
The album opened with 641,000 equivalent units, including 532,000 pure sales, marking one of the biggest debuts in recent years. It is the largest opening week for any album since Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl achieved more than four million units last year.
In terms of pure sales, Arirang delivered the highest weekly total since the same release, while becoming the biggest sales week by a group since One Direction’s Midnight Memories in 2013.
Vinyl Sales Boost Performance
A significant share of the album’s success came from vinyl, with 208,000 copies sold across multiple editions. This places it among the largest vinyl sales weeks in the modern era.
The achievement adds to BTS’ previous chart-topping albums, including Love Yourself ‘Tear’, Map of the Soul: 7 and Proof.
Return After Military Service
The release marks a major milestone for the group following the completion of mandatory military service by its members — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook.
To celebrate, BTS staged a concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, which was streamed on Netflix alongside a feature-length documentary tied to the album.
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