Credit : Amy Sussman/Getty
BTS has officially captured a third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with their comeback album Arirang. The set earned 124,000 equivalent album units in the US for the week ending April 9, successfully fending off competition from Morgan Wallen and Ye. This achievement marks the most weeks at No. 1 for any album by a group in over a decade, a milestone that underscores the group’s unwavering commercial power following their mandatory military hiatus.
Breaking a Decade Old Record
The last group to achieve a three week run at the top of the charts was Mumford and Sons with Babel in late 2012. While solo artists like Taylor Swift have dominated the No. 1 spot in recent years, BTS’s performance signals a major resurgence for groups on the global stage. Arirang has maintained its position through a balanced mix of traditional album sales (71,000 units) and massive streaming numbers, with over 52 million on demand streams in the last tracking week alone.
A Global Strategy in Motion
The longevity of Arirang is a direct result of HYBE’s meticulous rollout strategy, which survived an early leak to deliver consistent engagement. The album’s hold at the top of the charts coincides with the ramp up for the Arirang World Tour, which begins its North American leg in Tampa later this month. Industry analysts note that Arirang is the first album since Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl to rack up its first three weeks at the summit, placing BTS in a rare tier of historical chart performance.
Quiet Competition in the Top 10
In a week defined by the absence of major new debuts, BTS faced pressure from veteran chart toppers. Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem climbed to No. 2, while Ye’s Bully fell to No. 3 in its second week. Despite the 34 percent drop in units from the previous week, the sheer volume of Arirang’s physical sales and streaming stickiness has allowed it to remain the definitive record of the spring season.
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