Summary of this article
The K-pop boy band – J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Suga and V – released their first studio album ARIRANG in six years this March.
Billboard chart numbers have now been revealed, with ARIRANG debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200.
BTS has now secured their seventh chart-topper in the US.
BTS released their fifth studio album, ARIRANG, on March 20, 2026. It marked their first group comeback in nearly six years, following their previous studio album BE (2020). ARIRANG, the 14-track comeback album, arrived nearly four years after the K-pop band's military hiatus. The album has now debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, earning the band their seventh chart-topper in the United States.
BTS Arirang debuts Billboard 200
ARIRANG topped the Billboard Hot 200 for the seventh time, the K-pop band's major milestone on the charts.
The album debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 200 chart dated April 4. The septet's (J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Suga and V) other albums that topped the chart include Love Yourself: Tear, Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul: Persona, Map of the Soul: 7, BE, and Proof.
BTS Arirang first week sales and Billboard performance explained
According to Billboard, the album earned 641,000 album units, which is the “largest week for an album by a group since the chart began measuring by units in December 2014.”
Out of 641,000, 532,000 are based on sales of physical and digital albums, giving BTS their biggest sales week ever and taking the album to number 1 on the Top Album Sales chart. Streaming also played a major role in the feat, with 95,000 units coming from South East Asia (SEA).
BTS now has the biggest week for an album by units earned since Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl in 2025. The band has joined Swift, Adele, and Drake as the only artists to debut with over 600,000 units on the Billboard 200.
The physical sales (516,000) boosted ARIRANG’s first-week sales number, supported by 17 vinyl variants and nine CD editions, which came with collectable merchandise, including photocards, posters and stickers. Vinyl contributed 208,000 units, making it the group's biggest vinyl sales week and the largest for any group.
BTS' Billboard report followed days after ARIRANG was named Spotify’s most-streamed K-pop album, with 110 million global streams on the first day of its release.
