“Kings”: BTS ARMY laud Bangtan for ranking third amongst artists who sold the most albums over the past 30 years

BTS members pose for the shooting sketch of Map of the Soul:7 (Image via BIG HIT MUSIC)
BTS members pose for the shooting sketch of Map of the Soul:7 (Image via BIG HIT MUSIC)

It is honestly BTS’ world and we are merely living in it! The talented Bangtan members have carved another record in stone and we are extremely proud of them.

On August 2, it was revealed by Chartmasters that Bangtan ranked third among global artists who sold the most albums over the past 30 years.

First place was American rapper Eminem, followed by the queen of pop music Taylor Swift, and Bangtan took the third spot. Right behind BTS, in fourth place, is Britney Spears.

Naturally, ARMY is proud of Bangtan’s achievements, hard work, perseverance, and steady rise to stardom. Fans took to social media to congratulate members on their success. A certain ARMY named @QJeyZeee on Twitter dubbed them as “Kings,” and honestly, we cannot agree more.

ARMY agree that this solidifies their status as “Legends” in the music world.


BTS surpassed global icons like Rihanna, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, and Adele

According to the graph provided by Chartmasters, BTS debuted on June 13, 2013, and gained immense popularity in 2017 with record-breaking album sales.

Even though they debuted last among all the artists on the chart, they managed to beat various global artists such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Adele, and more in a short period.

Bangtan has sold over 100 million albums already, and their impact on pop culture and the global music scene cannot be underestimated anymore.

As their album sales continue to climb higher than any other K-pop artist in history, Bangtan's rise to fame and success has been nothing short of magical in the past few years.

This year itself, Bangtan once again reached an all-time high in K-pop album sales. Kim Ji-woo, head researcher of Gaon Charts, now known as Circle Chart, reported that both physical sales of albums and cumulative streaming numbers have increased in the past few years.

Bangtan topped the list of the number of albums sold in the first half of this year with 4.52 million copies.

On August 2, HYBE reported a total sales amount of ₩ 512.2 billion ($391 million) in the second quarter of 2022, an 83.8 percent increase from the same quarter in 2021.

HYBE also reported a total operating profit of ₩ 88.3 billion ($ 67.5 million), a whopping 215.3 percent increase from the same quarter in 2021.

All the HYBE artists - BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Seventeen, and ENHYPEN - have sold 1 million albums each.

Furthermore, the company recorded over ₩ 85 billion ($ 65 million) in sales from artists' concerts, including Bangtan's ‘'Permission To Dance - Las Vegas” and Seventeen's Seoul concert.

So far, Bangtan has released eight studio albums, seven mini-albums, six compilation albums, 12 singles albums, one soundtrack album, 17 digital singles and two repackage albums, the most recent being their anniversary anthology album Proof.


BTS’ Proof becomes the septet’s 5th album to go gold in France

On August 1, the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing announced that Bangtan's anniversary anthology album, Proof, has gone gold in France! To achieve gold certification in the country, an album must reach 50,000 units of equivalent sales.

This is the septet’s fifth album to go gold in France. In December 2019, Bangtan became the first Korean group to go gold in France after earning their first gold certification with Map of the Soul: Persona. Following that, their magnum-opus album Map of the Soul: 7, BE, and Love Yourself: Tear earned BTS their gold certification in France

In other news, Bangtan has announced the grand return of ‘Run BTS! 2022 Special Episode’ through a fun teaser video. The enjoyable variety show will return after 10 months, premiering on August 16, 2022.

Quick Links