BTS achieved the group's best performance on global charts with "Arirang" (ARIRANG).
According to the U.K. Official Charts released on the 28th, BTS's fifth full-length album "Arirang" topped the U.K. "Official Albums Top 100" chart (for March 27–April 2). This is the group's third No. 1 overall, following the mini album 6 "MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA" and the fourth full-length album "MAP OF THE SOUL : 7". It also topped the "Official Vinyl Albums Chart," proving a solid foothold in the U.K. music market.
The title track "SWIM" also landed at No. 2 on the "Official Singles Top 100" the same day. This is the group's best result, surpassing the No. 3 peaks set by "Dynamite" in 2020 and "Butter" in 2021. Album tracks "Body to Body" (No. 28) and "FYA" (No. 39) also entered the chart.
On the 27th, the global audio and music streaming platform Spotify's weekly charts (tracking period: March 20–26) also showed remarkable results. BTS swept the global charts for "Weekly Top Albums," "Weekly Top Songs," and "Weekly Top Artists." All 14 tracks on the record entered the upper ranks of the "Weekly Top Songs Global," and the title track "SWIM" achieved 82,268,468 weekly streams. This is the highest weekly play count among all songs released in 2026. Album tracks "Body to Body" (No. 2), "Hooligan" (No. 4), "FYA" (No. 5), "NORMAL" (No. 6), "Aliens" (No. 7), "Like Animals" (No. 8), "2.0" (No. 9), and "they don't know 'bout us" (No. 10) all settled within the top 10. In addition, "Merry Go Round" (No. 12), "One More Night" (No. 14), "Please" (No. 16), "Into the Sun" (No. 20), and even "No. 29" (No. 22), which includes the bell sound of the Seongdeokdaewang Sinjong, densely filled the chart's upper ranks with every track.
BTS set a co-record for longest chart run by entering the "Weekly Top Artists Global" for 232 consecutive weeks the same day. Global pop stars such as Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish, and Justin Bieber share the same record with BTS. In addition, "SWIM" held the top spot on the "Daily Top Songs Global" for seven consecutive days (for the period of the 20th–26th).
The "Arirang" craze continued on Australian and French charts as well. According to the Australian ARIA released on the 27th, the new release simultaneously reached No. 1 on both the "Top 50 Albums" and the "Vinyl Albums" chart, marking the best performance among Korean artists this year. BTS has had a total of seven records enter the "Top 10," and this is their third time at No. 1, following "Map Of The Soul : 7" (2020) and "Proof" (2022). "SWIM" placed No. 4 on the "Top 50 Singles" chart. Four songs charted, including "Body to Body" (No. 26), "Hooligan" (No. 46), and "FYA" (No. 48), demonstrating a dominant position in the global music market. It also topped the "Top Albums" chart (for March 20–26) announced by the French record association (SNEP).
Meanwhile, BTS released the remix album "KEEP SWIMMING" on the 27th and continued the comeback momentum. The album includes a total of nine tracks, including seven remixes arranged based on each of the seven members' musical orientations.
[OSEN]