BTS becomes 1st group to top 10 bln Spotify streams in single year

BTS, the renowned K-pop supergroup, has achieved a historic milestone by amassing 10 billion streams on Spotify within a single year, according to their record label. This marks the first time a musical group has reached this staggering figure, surpassing the achievements of solo artists such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Bad Bunny, who have previously hit the 10 billion mark.

BTS's streams on Spotify have more than doubled from 4.5 billion last year, thanks in large part to their fifth studio album, ARIRANG, which was released in March. This album has since amassed more than 5 billion streams, setting the record as the most-streamed album on Spotify among releases this year. ARIRANG holds special significance as it is the first full-group project from BTS in nearly four years, released after all its members fulfilled their mandatory military service and reunited.

The album garnered immense attention, with over 110 million streams on its first day of release on March 20. Additionally, ARIRANG became the first album from a group to top the Billboard 200, the primary U.S. albums chart, for three consecutive weeks since Mumford & Sons' Babel in 2012.