BTS has notched another career high with their fifth studio album, "ARIRANG".
According to Hanteo Chart on the 27th, "ARIRANG", released on the 20th, sold 4,169,464 copies in its first week. That’s far above the 3.37 million first-week sales for their fourth studio album, "MAP OF THE SOUL : 7", marking a new personal best for the group. The new album crossed 1 million sales in about 10 minutes and moved 3.98 million copies on day one alone ― the biggest single-day sales for any 2026 release so far.
The global streaming numbers are just as dominant. On Apple Music, "ARIRANG" hit No. 1 on the albums chart in 115 countries and regions, including major markets like the United States, Japan, Germany, and Mexico. It also logged the highest day-one streams of any BTS album to date, while BTS ranked as the most-streamed artist worldwide that day.
Title track "SWIM" is holding at No. 1 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart for six straight days (March 20?25).
BTS is also making waves in Japan. "ARIRANG" debuted at No. 1 on Oricon’s Weekly Combined Albums ranking, marking the group’s seventh No. 1 there. The album also swept No. 1 on the Weekly Albums and Weekly Digital Albums rankings, and it achieved the highest weekly sales of 2026 for an overseas act.
Executive produced by Bang Si-hyuk, the album dives deep into BTS’s identity and universal emotions. "SWIM" delivers a message about pushing forward through life’s waves ― a theme resonating with global listeners.
On March 24, BTS met local fans at the "Spotify X BTS: SWIMSIDE" event on the Pier 17 rooftop in New York. The crowd turned into a massive sing-along during "Body to Body" and the Arirang section, drawing a fiery response.
Meanwhile in Seoul, the "BTS THE CITY ARIRANG SEOUL" project is transforming the city into a cultural festival for fans and residents alike.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)