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CHART BEAT

BTS Make Chart History as 'Map Of The Soul: Persona' Bows at No. 1 In Australia

4/22/2019 by Lars Brandle

Will Heath/NBC
Musical guest BTS performs "Boy With Luv" in Studio 8H on Saturday Night Live April 13, 2019.

BTS bag another piece of chart history, this time in Australia where the septet becomes the first K-pop act to hit No. 1 on the national albums chart.

The Korean pop superstars bow at the penthouse of the ARIA Albums Chart with Map Of The Soul: Persona, which also rules the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The EP is the first chart leader for the genre Down Under, and it’s the seven-member outfit’s fourth top ten on the survey, after Love Yourself: Her (No. 8, September 2017); Love Yourself: Tear (No. 6, May 2018) and Love Yourself: Answer’(No. 9, September 2018). 

The boy band’s impact can also be felt on Australia’s singles chart this week where the Halsey-assisted "Boy With Luv," already a record-setter on YouTube, debuts at No. 10. The Map Of The Soul track is the fourth to appear in the ARIA Top 50 for BTS, and it’s easily their best performance yet, outmuscling the No. 35 peak for “Idol” from September 2018.

With BTS snatching top spot, Billie Eilish’s chart reign with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? comes to an end after two weeks, as it slips one place, while Khalid’s sophomore album Free Spirit dips 2-3 and ARIA Hall of Famers The Seekers start at No. 4 with Farewell, recorded live in Melbourne during the veteran folk-pop act’s Golden Jubilee tour in 2013. It’s the Seekers’ first entry on the ARIA Albums Chart since their retrospective The Golden Jubilee Album hit No. 10 in December 2012. Rounding out the top 5 this week is Queen’s Greatest Hits compilation juggernaut.
 
This week sees a handful of top 20 debuts on the albums chart as Norah Jones’ seventh studio set Begin Again starts at No. 14; The Chemical Brothers’ ninth studio effort No Geography bows at No. 17 and  Anderson .Paak’s Ventura begins its journey at No. 19.

There’s a new leader on the ARIA Singles Chart this week as Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” climbs 2-1 in its fourth week. The track benefits from the viral “Yeehaw Challenge” meme and a recently–released remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.

Finally, the late Swedish EDM star Avicii enters the singles survey at No. 11 with SOS, a posthumous recording featuring Aloe Blacc and the first release from a forthcoming album release, Tim.

Avicii and Aloe Blacc previous collaborated on the single “Wake Me Up” which ruled the chart for six consecutive weeks back in 2013, drawing it level with Roxette’s “The Look” as the longest No. 1 in ARIA Charts history for a Swedish artist.