8 Of The Biggest Music Records BTS Broke In 8 Years
BTS are changing the music world forever while smashing records along the way. Here are 8 of the longest-held records they broke in eight years!
8. Adele’s iTunes Record (Number Of Years Held: 5)
In July 2020, BTS’s song “Black Swan” became the song with the most iTunes No.1s worldwide. It charted in 103 countries, breaking Adele‘s record of charting at No.1 in 102 countries with her song “Hello”. She set this record in 2015, and BTS broke it five years later.
7. PSY’s iTunes Record (Number Of Years Held: 8)
In 2012, PSY became the first Korean soloist with the most No.1s on the iTunes charts. His global hit “Gangnam Style” ranked No.1 in 86 countries and held the record for eight years.
In May 2020, V broke PSY’s record with “Sweet Night”, a solo song for the Itaewon Class OST. With No.1s in 88 countries, “Sweet Night” won V PSY’s title of the Korean soloist with the most No.1 on iTunes.
6. Michael Jackson’s IFPI Record (Number Of Years Held: 12)
In March 2021, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced that BTS was the No.1 artist on the 2020 “Global Album Sales Chart”. MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 took the top spot, followed by BE at No.2 and MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 ~ The Journey at No.8.
The last artist to chart three albums on this IFPI chart was the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, in 2009. 12 years later, BTS matched his record while setting one of their own; they are now the only artist to have ever had two albums topping this chart.
5. Winter Sonata OST (Number Of Years Held: 17)
Shortly after its release in 2019, the OST for BTS’s mobile game, BTS WORLD, became the best-selling OST in South Korea. It broke a 17-year-old record set by the OST for the K-Drama Winter Sonata in 2002.
4. The Beatles’ Billboard Record (Number Of Years Held: 22)
In 2019, BTS became the first group since The Beatles to earn three No. 1 albums on the “Billboard 200 Chart” in less than a year. The Beatles set their 22-year record with Anthology 1, Anthology 2, and Anthology 3. BTS broke The Beatles’ record in just under 11 months with MAP OF THE SOUL: Persona, LOVE YOUSELF: Tear, and LOVE YOURSELF: Answer.
3. Kim Gun Mo’s Guinness World Record (Number Of Years Held: 24)
In June 2019, BTS’s album MAP OF THE SOUL: Persona became the best-selling album in South Korean history. This Guinness World Record was previously set in 1995 by Kim Gun Mo’s Mis-Encounter (also known as Wrongful Encounter or Wrongful Meeting). It took 24 long years for any artist to come near this record, but BTS finally broke it!
2. Celine Dion’s Sale Record (Number Of Years Held: 24)
In 2019, BTS released their 10th Japanese single, “Lights/Boy With Luv”, not knowing that it would smash a historic record set by Canadian legend Celine Dion. “Lights” sold 1 million preorders, breaking Celine Dion’s 1995 record in Japan. Her song, “To Love You More” reigned queen for 24 years.
1. Michael Jackson’s Oricon Record (Number Of Years Held: 36)
Breaking one Michael Jackson record is incredible, but breaking two? That’s legendary. In 2020, BTS became the first foreign artist since Michael Jackson to top Japan’s mid-year chart for Oricon. Michael Jackson set the record in 1985 with “Thriller”, and BTS topped the chart with MAP OF THE SOUL:7 in 2020.
