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    “Bigger than kpop” – Fans cheer as BTS becomes the only group and Asian act to debut at No. 1 across all Spotify Global charts

    Gossip
    Runfyers
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    Recently BTS achieved a major milestone with the release of their fifth full-length album ARIRANG on March 20, 2026. The project is their first full-group comeback in three years and nine months, following Proof (2022).

    In its first week, ARIRANG recorded 545.4 million streams on Spotify achieving the group’s biggest debut on the platform to date. With this number of streams BTS became the first and only group and Asian act to spend multiple days at No. 1 on the Spotify Global Artist Chart.

    With ARIRANG, they also became the first group and Asian act to debut simultaneously at No. 1 across all major Spotify Global charts. This includes the Global Weekly Artist, Songs and Albums charts, as well as the Global Daily Artist and Songs charts.

    Following the release and chart performance, fans took to social media to share their reactions. Many posts highlighted the scale of the achievement, with one comment writing,

    “It’s things like this that’s sets us SOO000 far apart from regular kpop groups. We are bigger than kpop. We may not have all the records(yet) but I can triple dog guarantee you, no kpop group will achieve THIS”

    It’s things like this that’s sets us SOOOOO far apart from regular kpop groups. We are bigger than kpop. We may not have all the records(yet) but I can triple dog guarantee you, no kpop group will achieve THIS

    Fans congratulated BTS expressing their pride over the group’s latest achievement.

    CONGRATULATIONS BTS RETURN OF THE KINGS #BTS_ARİRANG #BTS_SWİM #BTS

    congratulations BTS. so proud, truly deserving

    I am gonna cry… they deserve it. Arirang is such an awesome album

    Fans continued to express their thoughts and joy about the chart performance of ARIRANG.

    “For Asia, man, we paved the way” 🥱

    Nothing to see here folks. Just making History. Like Tae said ARMY is BTS! #BTS_ARİRANG

    BTS already had reached unthinkable heights before and yet they find more records to break & achievements to unlock. Like is that not crazy 🥹

    BTS’ ARIRANG dominates Spotify with record-breaking 545M debut, tops global and K-pop charts in 2026

    With the 545.4 million streams on Spotify, BTS’ ARIRANG became the largest first-week total for a K-pop release in 2026. The next highest debut was BLACKPINK’s DEADLINE with 63.2 million streams, followed by ENHYPEN’s THE SIN:VANISH with 38.5 million and Ive’s REVIVE+ with 17.5 million.

    Across all global releases in 2026, ARIRANG also ranked as the biggest first-week album debut on Spotify. It outperformed other major releases, including KISS ALL THE TIME, DISCO OCCASIONALLY with 267 million streams, OCTANE with 166 million, and THE ROMANTIC with 149 million.

    Several tracks from the album also ranked among the biggest first-week song debuts by K-pop acts on Spotify this year. SWIM led with 93.9 million streams, followed by Body to Body with 50.9 million and Hooligan with 40.5 million. Other tracks, including FYA, NORMAL, Aliens, Like Animals, 2.0, and they don’t know ’bout us, each surpassed 30 million streams in their opening week.

    Following the release of ARIRANG, BTS are preparing to return to the stage with a world tour. The tour is scheduled to begin on April 9 in South Korea and will run through 2026 and 2027.

    The current schedule outlines 82 shows across 34 cities, covering regions such as Asia, the United States, and Latin America. Additional dates and locations are expected to be announced in the coming months as the tour expands.