Korean boy group Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) became the first Korean group to debut a single at No.1 at Billboard Hot 100 singles charts with their all-English hit song, ‘Dynamite’.
BTS hit a record of 33.9 million U.S. streams and over 300,000 sales in its first week alone, according to Nielsen Music data as per reports from Reuters.
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This translates to the biggest digital sales in music within three years since Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” back in September 2017.
“It’s a difficult time, but I hope our songs can give you a little comfort and positive energy,” the group said in a Korean language on Twitter in response to South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in who congratulated the group’s achievement.
Moon praised the group stating that they are “writing a new chapter in K-pop history”, and that the song sends a positive message of hope and comfort amid the struggles of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
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Prior to BTS, the highest rank that a performer from Korea has ever ranked in the Billboard charts was PSY who ranked No. 2 with his viral hit “Gangnam Style” back in 2012.
BTS also ranked top 4 last March with their hit song “On”.
The band recently performed at the MTV Video Music Awards show for the first time. They won four trophies, including best group and best pop group.
