'ARIRANG' Holds the Top of the Billboard 200

BTS's new album 'ARIRANG' has made history by spending a second consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. According to industry reports, Billboard officially announced on April 5 (local time) that the album retained the top spot after debuting at No. 1 last week with the biggest opening week ever recorded by a Korean artist.

This marks the first time any album by a Korean artist has spent more than one week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, which ranks the most popular albums in the United States.

The Numbers Behind 'ARIRANG'

According to music analytics firm Luminate (formerly Nielsen Music), 'ARIRANG' earned 187,000 equivalent album units during the tracking week ending April 2. The breakdown includes 114,000 traditional album sales, 8,000 track equivalent album (TEA) units, and 65,000 streaming equivalent album (SEA) units — translating to 68.49 million on-demand audio streams in its second week.

The album also remained No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart for a second straight week, cementing its dominance in both physical and digital retail markets across the U.S.

Another Chapter in K-Pop's Billboard History

Korean artists began breaking into the Billboard 200 in earnest in the late 2010s. BTS first reached No. 1 in 2018 with 'LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear'', signaling K-pop's arrival in the American mainstream. Yet sustaining that position beyond a single week had always remained an elusive milestone.

'ARIRANG' shattered that barrier. Following last week's record-breaking debut, the album's second week at the top confirms that K-pop's commercial power is not a one-week phenomenon — it is a sustained, global force.