After what appeared to be a tight race with Post Malone and his recent chart-topper, K-pop powerhouse vocal group BTS have started their new full-length Love Yourself: Tear at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and in doing so, have made history and proven themselves to be an unlikely force in the largest music market in the world.
Love Yourself: Tear kicks off at the peak on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart (which measures the 200 most popular records in the U.S. every week) thanks to 135,000 equivalent units. Of that sum, 100,000 were actual sales, while much of the rest comes from streaming activity.
BTS is now the only K-pop act to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and while there are several acts and solo artists who have placed on the important tally, none have come close to achieving what the vocal group just managed, and they have a good chance of holding this distinction for years to come.
Love Yourself: Tear is the band’s first leader in the United States and their second top 10-charter. The boy band made history last year when they debuted their EP Love Yourself: Her at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first K-pop act to break into the highest region on the tally. In addition to both editions of Love Yourself, BTS has also placed five other collections on the listing, though none of them have come close to rising as high as their most recent two Korean releases.
Unlike the 2017 success story that was Love Yourself: Her, Love Yourself: Tear has yet to send a single onto the Hot 100 songs ranking, though when that chart refreshes in just a matter of hours, that could change. Their last EP helped BTS score their first Top 40 hit with “Mic Drop,” which was a collaboration with EDM superstar Steve Aoki.
