BTS Overcomes Language Barriers... Popularity Comparable to the Bee Gees (Comprehensive)

New Song 'Life Goes On' Debuts at No. 1 on Hot 100... First Korean-Language Song in 62-Year Chart History
Dominates Both Main Billboard Charts... Three Songs at No. 1 on 'Hot 100' in 3 Months

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) has reached the top of the main US Billboard singles chart with a Korean-language song.

Billboard reported on the 30th of last month (local time) that their new song "Life Goes On," the title track of their new mini-album "BE" released on the 20th of last month, ranked number one on this week's "Hot 100" singles chart. They simultaneously dominated the two main Billboard charts, following the album chart "Billboard 200."

"Life Goes On" features almost all lyrics in Korean except for the chorus. This is the first time in the 62-year history of the chart that a Korean-language song has topped the "Hot 100." It is also the first non-English song to debut at the top spot in its first week of release. The last time a non-English song reached number one on the "Hot 100" was after the Latin pop wave in 2017 with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Spanish-language song "Despacito." Previous records include the 1987 band Los Lobos' "La Bamba" and the 1996 group Los del R?o's "Macarena," which are considered rare cases.

BTS first topped the "Hot 100" in August with their English single "Dynamite," becoming the first Korean artist to do so. In October, they featured on the remix version of "Savage Love" by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo, achieving the same success. Including "Life Goes On," they have held the number one spot on the "Hot 100" three times in just over three months. This is the first time in 42 years since the Australian rock band Bee Gees consecutively hit with three songs from the "Saturday Night Fever" OST (How Deep Is Your Love, Stayin' Alive, Night Fever) from December 1977 to March 1978.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This achievement can be interpreted as a sign that BTS has rapidly established a popularity base in the US beyond their strong fandom. The "Hot 100" is a key chart in the US music market that reflects popular appeal. Rankings are based on a combination of streaming performance, digital sales, and radio airplay. "Life Goes On" was streamed 14.9 million times and sold 150,000 units (129,000 downloads and 20,000 physical singles) in the US from the 20th to the 26th of last month. On radio, it was exposed to 410,000 listeners from the 23rd to the 29th of last month. Although radio airplay was low due to the Korean language, digital sales were overwhelmingly high.

In this chart, "Dynamite," now in its 14th week since release, jumped from 14th to 3rd place. BTS wrote on Twitter, "We are so grateful for being number one, but having two of our songs in the top three is truly amazing. We will do our best to bring you even better albums." They added, "As always, it's all thanks to ARMY," expressing their gratitude to their fans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.