Advertisement
K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop
CultureMusic

BTS top US album charts, making K-pop history and showing the growing global appeal of the genre

Boy band phenomenon with the good looks, floppy haircuts and perfect dance moves have a No 1 hit with Love Yourself: Tear

2-MIN READ2-MIN
BTS perform during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 20. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP
Agence France-Presse

South Korean boy band phenomenon BTS have become the first K-pop group to rise to the top of the US album charts, a vivid illustration of the genre’s growing global appeal.

Known for their boyish good looks, floppy haircuts and meticulously choreographed dance moves, the septet have become one of South Korea’s best known and most lucrative musical exports.

Suga from K-pop giants BTS – his life, his loves and his solo works

On Sunday, they passed a new milestone – becoming the first K-pop group to top the Billboard 200 music charts, which ranks albums via sales, downloads and streams.

Advertisement

Their new album Love Yourself: Tear toppled Beerpong and Bentleys by rising hip-hop star Post Malone, whose facial tattoos are the very antithesis of BTS’ wholesome, meticulously manicured image.

“It’s the first No 1 for the seven-member group, and the first K-pop album to lead the tally,” Billboard wrote in an online report detailing the latest chart ranking.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x