BTS make chart history in Australia
BTS has made chart history in Australia and the US with Map Of The Soul: Persona.
The EP debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart this week, becoming the K-Pop seven piece’s first chart-topper in this country.
It also becomes the first release sung in an Asian language to hit #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
It’s their fourth appearance on the chart, following Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’ (#8 in Sept. ’17), Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ (#6 in May ’18) and Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ (#9 in Sept ’18).
One track from the EP, the Halsey-featured ‘Boy With Luv’, debuted on this week’s singles chart at #10.
It’s the best performer of their four Top 50 entries, their highest charter so far being the #35 peak for ‘Idol’ from September 2018.
In the US Map Of The Soul: Persona has become their third #1 on the album chart, and their best first-week seller in America so far with 230,000 equivalent album units.
Their first was Love Yourself: Tear from last June and their second was Love Yourself: Answer from last September.
They are one of the rare acts to have notched up three chart-topping albums within a span of 12 months.
According to Billboard, only four other acts have achieved that feat.
Future did it in six months and three weeks between August 8 2015, and February 27 2016, with DS2, What a Time To Be Alive (with Drake) and Evol.
The cast of TV series Glee did that in a month and three weeks between May 8, 2010 and June 26, 2010, with Glee: The Music — The Power of Madonna, Glee: The Music, Volume 3 — Showstoppers and Glee: The Music — Journey to Regionals.
In the mid-90s, The Beatles’ Anthology 1, Anthology 2 and Anthology 3 all debuted at #1 between Dec. 9, 1995 and Nov. 16, 1996).
In the ‘60s, The Monkees did that with More Of The Monkees (Feb. 11, 1967), Headquarters (June 24, 1967) and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones LTD (Dec. 2, 1967) in just nine months and three weeks.