NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 21: BTS seen at the today show on February 21, 2020 in New York City. … [+] (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images)
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After just one day of sales all around the world, it became clear that no Korean album was going to beat BTS’s new release Map of the Soul: 7 by the end of the year, even though it was only released in February. The set performed so well upon arrival that by the end of the month, it had established itself not just as the most successful launch of the year, but of all time, and in the weeks since it first appeared, fans have continued to show their support, and stores everywhere have attempted to keep up with the unprecedented demand for the seven-member vocal group’s music.
According to the Gaon chart, a Korean ranking that counts how many copies of certain albums have been shipped to stores, BTS’s latest global giant is another huge win for music from the Asian country, and it outperforms every other title dropped this year.
The chart states that Map of the Soul: 7 has now shipped 4.114 million copies, an incredible sum for less than one full month of activity. The new set is now the first release from South Korea to hit the four million mark, and it’s not done shipping yet.
The second-most-shipped Korean-language title of 2020 is IZ*ONE’s BLOOM*IZ, which has also turned out to be a massive success. That album has now moved just under 400,000 copies.
The numbers show that BTS’s Map of the Soul: 7 has outshipped IZ*ONE’s BLOOM*IZ 10 times over, easily making it by far the most popular Korean album of the year. The two releases are still selling well, so those total shipment figures are sure to continue to climb in the coming weeks and months, though the rate at which they improve will certainly slow. It’s highly likely that BTS’s set will decline at a slower rate than IZ*ONE’s when it comes to stores buying more copies for consumers to pick up.
It’s important to note that the Gaon chart uses shipment data, not sales data, so the figures above don’t show how many units have actually been purchased by listeners, though Map of the Soul: 7 is by far the bestseller as well. So far, the group’s latest studio offering has reportedly sold over 3.7 million copies in South Korea alone.
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