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| BTS performs at the NBC Rock Rockefeller Center in New York, last Saturday. The band made their "Saturday Night Live" debut. Courtesy of NBC |
By Park Jin-hai
K-pop sensation BTS is almost certain to top music charts in the United States and U.K with its latest album "Map of the Soul: Persona," making K-pop history.
In an article published prior to its next listing, Sunday, Billboard said the new album is heading for the top spot on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. If that is the case, it will be the third time for the seven-member boy band to have accomplished this following "Love Yourself: Tear" last May, and "Love Yourself: Answer" in September.
Billboard predicted the album could sell between 200,000 and 225,000 album-equivalent units in the U.S. by April 18. The Billboard 200 ranks the week's 200 most popular albums of all genres.
BTS is also set to get first place in the U.K.'s Official Albums Chart as well. Saying that the album has sold over 10,000 copies so far, the music chart added that midweek sales are already more than the first week of sales of their three previous Top 20 albums combined.
This will make BTS the first K-pop group to top the Official Music Chart.
To some extent, the album's success has been expected, given the band's global popularity. But the continued triumphs still amaze many music fans.
Pre-orders for "Persona," prior to its official release Friday, reached over 3 million. The album, featuring two high-profile collaborations with pop stars, Halsey and Ed Sheeran, almost instantly rocked the world.
The music video for "Boy with Luv" became the fastest YouTube video to garner 100 million views ― doing so in less than 38 hours. The previous record was held by K-pop girl band BLACKPINK's "Kill This Love" video, which took 62 hours.
"Boy with Luv" ranked third on the Global Top 200 chart of Spotify, the world's largest music streaming service, Sunday.
The group's recent string of success has also raised rumors of a Billboard or Grammy award.
"Compared with the Billboard' Hot 100 singles chart, the Billboard 200 albums chart is more connected to actual album sales. Billboard's prediction for the album to take the No.1 spot in just three days after its release means that the album will gather greater momentum over time," said culture critic Kim Hern-sik. "BTS's success on charts like the Billboard 200, Spotify and iTunes signals that the band has now secured a universal fandom. It also brightens the possibility for the band to win world-renowned awards, say, the Billboard Music Awards and the Grammy Awards."
Meanwhile, BTS will kick off their second world tour "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself," May 4. Starting with L.A. gigs, the band will also hold concerts at the 90,000 seat iconic Wembley Stadium in London in June. The stadium, seen in the 2018 film "Bohemian Rhapsody," is the venue where Queen performed during the fundraising "Live Aid" concert in 1985.
