BTS's fifth album "Arirang" (ARIRANG) sold about 4.17 million copies in its first week of release.
According to the album sales tracker Hanteo Chart on the 27th, "Arirang," released on the 20th, sold 4,169,464 copies in the week after release.
This surpasses the record set in Feb. 2020 by the fourth album "Map of the Soul: 7" (MAP OF THE SOUL : 7), which sold 3.37 million copies in its first week.
First-week sales are one of the key indicators that can gauge the cohesion of a fandom.
BTS's agency BigHit Music said, "The fifth album became a million-seller just 10 minutes after release and sold 3.98 million copies on the first day alone," adding, "In a single day, it recorded the highest sales among albums released in 2026."
It added, "The expectations of music fans around the world who were waiting for BTS have been proven by explosive numbers."
BTS's fifth album topped Apple Music's global albums chart in 115 countries and regions.
The album's title track "Swim" (SWIM) held No. 1 on the global streaming chart, and every track on the album entered the Today's Top 100: Global chart.
On the 20th, the release date, BTS was tallied as the artist with the most streams in Apple Music's history.
The fifth album also took No. 1 on Japan's Oricon charts for the Weekly Combined Albums Ranking, Weekly Albums Ranking and Weekly Digital Albums Ranking.