BTS’ new release Arirang scores the sixth-largest sales week for a vinyl album in America, landing behind five Taylor Swift blockbusters. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 03: (L-R) V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attends the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
FilmMagic
BTS has always been able to sell albums like few musical acts left in the industry. The group is known for launching new projects atop multiple Billboard charts thanks to what turn out to be among the largest single-week sales sums each year.
The K-pop superstars recently dropped Arirang, the boy band’s first new album of original material in several years, following a hiatus that saw the singers serve their country in the military and produce solo efforts. Arirang was welcomed warmly and sold incredibly well across a variety of formats, as is common for BTS.
It’s not shocking to see Arirang open atop the Billboard 200 or Top Album Sales chart, but its arrival in first place on the Vinyl Albums tally – and the sum with which it starts – is quite impressive.
BTS’ Arirang Debuts at No. 1 With a Huge Starting Sum
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – MARCH 21: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) K-pop boy band BTS perform onstage during comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21, 2026 in Seoul, South Korea. The free concert is the band’s first performance in nearly four years. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji – Pool/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Arirang leads the Billboard 200, the list of the most consumed albums in the United States, with ease this week. The project debuts at No. 1 with 641,000 equivalent album units shifted. That sum includes actual purchases as well as streaming activity. More than half a million of those copies – 532,000 exactly – are purchases on physical formats and digital downloads.
BTS Collects a Third Consecutive No. 1
Of the more than 500,000 copies of Arirang that were purchased by American consumers, 208,000 were on wax. Arirang easily opens at No. 1 on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart, earning the Grammy-nominated group its third winner.
The South Korean outfit has only ever placed a trio of titles on the ranking of the bestselling vinyl albums in the U.S., and all three — Love Yourself: Her and Love Yourself: Tear before Arirang — took turns leading the way.
BTS’ Arirang Surpasses Harry Styles’ Vinyl Record
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Harry Styles performs ‘Aperture’ on stage during The BRIT Awards 2026 at Co-op Live on February 28, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Billboard notes that Arirang resets a vinyl record that Harry Styles established just a very short time ago. The latest from BTS now stands as the largest sales week on vinyl for any release by a male artist, a largely male act (bands made up primarily of men) or any group.
When Styles returned with Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., it also shot straight to No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums tally with 186,000 copies purchased on wax. That sum beat his own record of 182,000 copies sold, which he managed with Harry’s House several years prior.
BTS’ Arirang Lands Among the Biggest Vinyl Weeks Ever
Arirang claims the sixth-largest sales week for an album on vinyl since Luminate, formerly known as Nielsen, began electronically tracking music industry data in 1991. The other five releases that sit ahead of Arirang are all by Taylor Swift. Here are the five biggest sales weeks for vinyl albums in the U.S.:
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 21: EDITORIAL USE ONLY AND NO COMMERCIAL USE AT ANY TIME. NO USE IN COFFEE TABLE BOOKS OR COVER USES ON MAGAZINES AND/OR BOOKS.) Taylor Swift performs on stage during the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Wembley Stadium on June 21, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Jo Hale/Redferns)
Redferns
- No. 1 – The Life of A Showgirl – 1.334 million
- No. 2 – The Tortured Poets Department – 859,000
- No. 3 – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – 693,000
- No. 4 – Midnights – 575,000
- No. 5 – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – 268,000
BTS’ Arirang Tops Multiple Charts in America
As BTS scores its third consecutive winner on the Vinyl Albums chart, Arirang also opens at No. 1 across a number of additional tallies in America. The group scores a seventh ruler on both the Billboard 200 and the Top Album Sales ranking.
BTS lands its first appearance on the Top Streaming Albums chart, a list that did not exist when Be, the group’s most recent release before Arirang, dropped several years back. The septet has never performed nearly as well on streaming sites as it does when it comes to purchases, but it seems that Arirang was simply unstoppable. On its first trip to the Top Streaming Albums tally, BTS earns a No. 1 as Arirang debuts ahead of every other studio effort.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2026/03/31/bts-beats-a-record-harry-styles-set-less-than-a-month-ago/
