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| Members of K-pop band BTS gesture at Lotte Hotel in central Seoul on Thursday during a press conference for their third album "Love Yourself: Tear." They met with reporters days after they won the Billboard Top Social Artist Award on May 20. Their third album topped the Billboard 200 albums chart on Monday, 10 days after its release. / Yonhap |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
K-pop boy band BTS achieved what every Korean singer has longed for. Their new album "Love Yourself: Tear" topped the Billboard 200 album chart, over a week after its May 18 release.
BTS became the first Korean act in 100 years of Korean popular music history to rise atop the U.S. mainstream chart that ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, based on traditional album sales and streaming equivalents.
"Love Yourself: Tear" has sold 135,000, including 100,000 in traditional album sales, in the United States.
BTS to the top of the Billboard music chart came a week after the K-pop group won the Billboard Top Social Artist Awards for the second year in a row.
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Their dream has come true. Earlier its member Suga said "the bigger the better" is his answer when asked what the group ultimately wanted to achieve as singers. (Winning the Top Social Artist Award for the second time) "was a wonderful experience," he said during a press conference at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. "We're touched."
Last week, he remained cautious about the speculation that BTS' new album could make the Billboard top.
"It remains to be seen whether we can make it or not," he said last week. "Honestly, we're like half excited and half worried about the results. Once we make it, our next goal will be winning Billboard 100 and 200 charts. We'd like to go for Grammy Awards too and hopefully become the world's best singers."
The K-pop singer who can best be compared to BTS is Psy.
Psy made the Billboard chart for his global sensation "Gangnam Style" music video which went viral in 2012. Psy came in second on the Billboard Hot 100 albums chart in 2012. His song stayed there for seven weeks. His records have remained unbroken for years as no other Korean singers made the Billboard top 10, until BTS.
Despite the sensational climb, Psy failed to make the Billboard chart again as his follow-up songs didn't get much attention from global fans.
Unlike Psy, BTS have proven their popularity is durable.
Before the "Love Yourself: Tear" album, BTS made the Billboard 200 albums chart five times. They first made the cut for Billboard in December 2015 when their "In the Mood for Love Part II" ranked 171st. Their song "In the Mood for Love Young Forever" ranked 107th in May 2016, followed by "Wings" marking 26th. BTS's "Love Yourself: Her" cruised into the Billboard top 7 last year and stayed on the chart for 30 consecutive weeks. BTS has consistently broken their own records and rewritten K-pop history.
