{"id":322478,"date":"2026-03-10T13:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/322478\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:11:16","slug":"k-pop-kept-breaking-records-without-bts-now-the-benchmark-is-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/322478\/","title":{"rendered":"K-pop kept breaking records without BTS. Now the benchmark is back."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A <\/p>\n

A poster for BTS’s \u2033Arirang\u2033 performance livestream [NETFLIX]<\/p>\n

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It is safe to say that BTS redefined what K-pop is capable of. The history of the seven-piece superstar has been marked by relentless new highs and unprecedented milestones, from global recognition to record-shattering chart performances.
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In the group\u2019s three-year absence, however, the K-pop landscape has continued to evolve.
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BTS, which used to set new records only to break them with its next release, no longer stands unchallenged in every corner of K-pop\u2019s hall of fame. Instead, it returns to an industry it propelled onto the global stage \u2014 as a formidable contender set out to reclaim its throne in certain areas. Acts such as Blackpink, Seventeen and Stray Kids have built on the septet\u2019s global footsteps, expanding the boundaries of what a K-pop act can achieve and rewriting records once thought untouchable.
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\"BTS <\/p>\n

BTS appears at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. [AP\/YONHAP]<\/p>\n

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Now, BTS is poised to make history once again with its upcoming fifth full-length album, \u201cArirang.\u201d The question is not whether it will break new records \u2014 but which ones will fall in its wake.
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Here\u2019s a look back at the numbers that defined the past three years of K-pop, from the new milestones reached, the records rewritten, and the industry\u2019s growth \u2014 or stagnation \u2014 as told through the numbers.
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\"A <\/p>\n

A promotional display for BTS’s new album, \u2033Arirang,\u2033 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District, central Seoul on Jan. 22 [NEWS1]<\/p>\n

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\nAlbum sales at unthinkable highs
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When BTS made history as the first Korean act ever to sell 1 million album copies in the first week of the release with \u201cLove Yourself: Tear\u201d (2018), few expected the number would soon double to 2 million copies with \u201cMap of the Soul: Persona\u201d (2019), and then triple to 3 million with \u201cMap of the Soul: 7\u201d (2020).
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\u201cMap of the Soul: 7,\u201d the group\u2019s fourth full-length album, recorded 3.38 million first-week sales, according to Hanteo Chart, one of the most widely cited K-pop chart performance trackers run by Hanteo Global.
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Then came the Covid-19 pandemic.
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\"BTS <\/p>\n

BTS 4th LP \u2033Map of the Soul: 7\u2033 (2020) [BIGHIT MUSIC]<\/p>\n

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With tours indefinitely suspended and the global K-pop audience growing amid lockdowns, purchasing power became increasingly concentrated on physical albums, amplifying an already accelerating market.
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The surge peaked in 2023, when BTS members began to pursue solo careers after Jin’s enlistment in December 2022 and younger groups began rising on the horizon amid K-pop’s expanding global presence.
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Seventeen\u2019s \u201cFML\u201d (2023) became the first K-pop album to surpass 4 million copies in first-week sales alone. Stray Kids followed with \u201c5-Star\u201d (2023), selling more than 4.6 million copies. Later that year, Seventeen once again broke the ceiling with \u201cSeventeenth Heaven\u201d (2023), which moved 5.09 million copies, an unprecedented all-time high.
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Since 2024, however, overall physical album sales have entered a noticeable decline, often attributed to a natural market correction following the post-pandemic surge, compounded by growing concerns of environmental impact and increasingly aggressive sales tactics that inflated sales figures.
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\"Seventeen <\/p>\n

Seventeen 11th EP \u2033Seventeenth Heaven\u2033 (2023) [PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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In this stagnated market, BTS\u2019s \u201cArirang\u201d already logged 4.06 million preorders within a week of opening orders. While susceptible to external factors such as logistics, the final tally is highly likely to surpass the group\u2019s previous record set by \u201cMap of the Soul: 7,\u201d and may once again cross the 4 million threshold \u2014 or even the 5 million mark \u2014 despite the changed landscape.
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\u201cI believe the [first-week sales] figure will likely surpass 4 million, and possibly reach 5 million,\u201d Hanteo Global CEO Kwak Young-ho told the Korea JoongAng Daily.
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While acknowledging economic headwinds and market fragmentation, Kwak noted that the comeback\u2019s significance as the group\u2019s first military release would likely further amplify demand. \u00a0
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\u201cOf course, there might be many variables and whether a new record is set should not determine how we celebrate BTS,\u201d he said. \u201cBut from an industry perspective, reaching 4 to 5 million is certainly within range.\u201d
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\nK-pop moves stadiums
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One of the landmark moments of K-pop\u2019s global ascent came in 2019, when BTS headlined London\u2019s Wembley Stadium, becoming the first K-pop act to do so and drawing roughly 110,000 fans over two shows. \u00a0
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The Wembley concert was part of BTS\u2019s \u201cLove Yourself\u201d tour, which included both the original tour that spanned 12 countries from August 2018 through April 2019 as well as the subsequent stadium tour, \u201cLove Yourself: Speak Yourself,\u201d which spanned 20 shows in eight countries from May through October 2019.
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\"BTS <\/p>\n

BTS performs during its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour held at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1, 2019 [BIGHIT MUSIC]<\/p>\n

\"BTS <\/p>\n

BTS performs during its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour held at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1, 2019 [BIGHIT MUSIC]<\/p>\n

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This was BTS\u2019s last full-fledged world tour, as the \u201cMap of the Soul\u201d tour, initially scheduled to run in 2020, was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the \u201cPermission to Dance on Stage\u201d stadium tour took place only in two countries, Korea and the United States.
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Independent market tracker Touring Data estimated BTS\u2019s \u201cLove Yourself\u201d tour series, spanning 62 shows, grossed $246.5 million in total. BigHit Music tallied the total attendance at 2.06 million.
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Since then, new benchmarks have been set.
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The highest-grossing K-pop tour ever, according to Touring Data, was Blackpink\u2019s \u201cBorn Pink\u201d tour, spanning 66 shows across 23 regions from October 2022 through September 2023. The market tracker estimated the tour series grossed $331.8 million, with a total of 1.82 million tickets sold.
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\"Blackpnk <\/p>\n

Blackpnk performs during its “Born Pink” world tour held at the Stade de France stadium in Paris on July 15, 2023. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Stray Kids\u2019 \u201cdominATE\u201d tour reportedly sold more than 2 million tickets across 56 shows. Touring Data estimated the tour sold 1.98 million tickets and grossed\u00a0$263.3 million, both figures not including two additional encore shows in the 30,000-seat Incheon Asiad Main Stadium held in October last year. JYP Entertainment did not disclose attendance for the “dominATE” tour.
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\"Stray <\/p>\n

Stray Kids performs during its \u201cdominATE: celebrATE\u201d encore concerts, the finale of its \u201cdominATE\u201d world tour, held on Oct. 18 and 19 at Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]<\/p>\n

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And then comes BTS again.
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The group\u2019s \u201cArirang\u201d tour is already billed as K-pop\u2019s largest yet, with at least 82 shows across 34 stops. IBK Investment & Securities expected the tour to gross
\n 2.7 trillion won ($1.87 billion) in revenue<\/a>, including concert merchandise sales throughout 2027 with total attendance of more than 5 million \u2014 which means it will easily eclipse any previous records set by K-pop acts.
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Billboard dominance remains intact
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In 2019, Billboard noted that BTS scored its third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 in less than a year with \u201cMap of the Soul: Persona,\u201d which made BTS the first group to achieve the feat at such a pace since the Beatles. \u00a0
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The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums in the United States based on multimetric consumption, including physical sales, track-equivalent albums and streaming-equivalent albums.
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With the addition of \u201cMap of the Soul: 7,\u201d \u201cBE\u201d (2020), and the anthology album \u201cProof\u201d (2022), the group boasts a total of six Billboard 200 chart-toppers.
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And then Stray Kids recently made headlines by debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with eight consecutive releases, from its sixth EP \u201cOddinary\u201d (2022) through the fourth full-length album \u201cKarma\u201d (2025) and special release \u201cDo It\u201d (2025).
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\"Stray <\/p>\n

Stray Kids members pose at a press conference at Conrad Seoul in western Seoul on Aug. 22, 2025. [YONHAP] <\/p>\n

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The boy band became the first act in the chart\u2019s history to have its first six entries all debut at No. 1 in 2024, and then extended the streak to eight, the most No. 1 albums among groups since 2000.
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Among groups overall, The Beatles leads with 19 Billboard 200 chart-toppers, followed by The Rolling Stones with nine. Stray Kids currently holds eight, and BTS is widely expected to secure its seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with \u201cArirang.\u201d
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On the other hand, BTS\u2019s dominance remains unmatched among K-pop acts on the Billboard Hot 100 single chart, one of the most widely cited barometers of a song’s popularity in the United States.
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\"BTS <\/p>\n

BTS members pose for photos ahead of a press conference to introduce its new single \u2033Butter\u2033 in Seoul on May 21, 2021. [AP\/YONHAP] <\/p>\n

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The group has five non-English Hot 100 top 10s \u2014 \u201cFake Love\u201d (2018), \u201cBoy With Luv\u201d (2019), \u201cOn\u201d (2020), \u201cLife Goes On\u201d (2020), and \u201cMy Universe\u201d (2021), a collaboration with Coldplay \u2014, by far the highest tally for a K-pop act, followed by Psy who has two top 10 entries with \u201cGangnam Style\u201d (2012) and \u201cGentleman\u201d (2013). BTS ranks second in the number of all non-English top 10s, only after Bad Bunny. \u00a0
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\u201cLife Goes On,\u201d in particular, became the first Korean-language track ever to debut at No. 1. \u00a0
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And of course, BTS\u2019s English-language tracks \u201cDynamite\u201d (2020), \u201cButter\u201d (2021) and \u201cPermission to Dance\u201d (2021) all debuted No. 1 on the chart. \u201cButter\u201d topped the chart for 10 weeks, a record that has yet to be surpassed by any K-pop song or act, as \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d (2025) soundtrack \u201cGolden\u201d stayed at the top spot for eight weeks in total.
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Meanwhile, Blackpink\u2019s Ros\u00e9 also made history with \u201cAPT.,\u201d her 2024 collaboration with Bruno Mars, which became the longest-charting K-pop hit with a 45-week run, surpassing the previous record of 33 weeks set by BTS\u2019s Jimin.
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\"Rose <\/p>\n

Rose speaks after receiving the International Song Of The Year award for \u2033APT.\u2033 (2024) at a ceremony in Manchester, Britain, on Feb. 28. The Blackpink member released the hit along with U.S. pop star Bruno Mars. [SCREEN CAPTURE]<\/p>\n

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\nWill BTS reinvigorate the scene?
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In the absence of BTS, the K-pop industry reached a new commercial peak, before showing signs of a downturn amid the persistent concerns of stagnation.
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According to Korea Customs Service, music album exports rose 3.4 percent on-year in revenue to $301.7 million last year, a record high, with Japan, China and the United States as the three biggest importers.
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Yet total domestic album sales have declined for two consecutive years, according to Circle Chart data. After peaking at 115.8 million copies in 2023, sales fell to 93.3 million in 2024 and dropped to 86.4 million last year. \u00a0
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\"BTS <\/p>\n

BTS performed “Butter” in front of Sungnyemun in 2021. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]<\/p>\n

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Some analysts cautiously expect a rebound this year.
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\u201cAs BTS and Blackpink, juggernauts of K-pop\u2019s global rise, are making comebacks this year, the market expectations have been growing,\u201d noted Circle Chart analyst Kim Jin-woo. Beyond the direct sales of the two top-tier groups, Kim also pointed to a potential \u201ctrickle-down\u201d effect for junior groups, projecting that the total physical album sales could rebound toward the 100 million mark this year.\u00a0\u00a0
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With a handful of days counting down to BTS’s comeback, it looks like the group will once again raise the ceiling. The numbers that seemed unreachable are now the baseline \u2014 and another chapter of history is already in the making. <\/p>\n

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A poster for BTS’s \u2033Arirang\u2033 performance livestream [NETFLIX] \u00a0 It is safe to say that BTS redefined what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-322478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}