BTS has once again proven their global power by going straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
According to Billboard, the title track “SWIM” from their 5th full album ARIRANG debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart dated April 4. This marks BTS’s 7th No. 1 song, showing their continued dominance on the global stage.
The achievement is especially rare, as “SWIM” became only the 89th song in history to debut directly at No. 1, placing it among just about 7% of all No. 1 songs on the chart.
BTS also set a major record among groups. Billboard shared that BTS now has the most No. 1 songs by a group in nearly 50 years, and they are currently the 5th group with the most No. 1 hits overall.
The song also showed strong performance across platforms, recording 15.3 million streams, 25.8 million radio listeners, and 154,000 sales. It ranked No. 2 on the Streaming Songs chart, No. 18 on the Radio Songs chart, and No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, marking their 13th No. 1 on that chart.
BTS shared their thoughts, saying, “After a long wait of 3 years and 9 months, we are honored to achieve Billboard No. 1,” and added, “We sincerely thank ARMY and everyone who listened to our music.”
They also explained the meaning behind the song, saying, “‘SWIM’ is about continuing forward even in difficult times,” and expressed hope that it brings “small courage and comfort to people beyond borders.”
At the same time, ARIRANG also ranked No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the first time in about 6 years that BTS has topped both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 at the same time, once again proving their worldwide influence.
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