BTS Shakes Up Latin America... Mexico and Brazil Emerge as Major K-pop Powerhouses

150,000 Seats Sold Out at Mexico Concerts
700 Million Streams in First Week of Album Release

BTS performed group choreography at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City on the 7th and from the 9th to the 10th during the 'BTS World Tour Arirang.' Provided by BigHit Music

The group BTS recently drew an audience of 150,000 at their Mexico concert as part of their world tour 'Arirang,' setting new records for both music and concert revenue.

According to Luminate, a music and entertainment data aggregator, BTS's fifth studio album 'Arirang,' released on March 20, recorded 739.1 million streams worldwide during its first week. This is the highest figure among albums released this year and marks the biggest number since Taylor Swift's 'Life of a Showgirl,' which reached 1.3 billion streams in October last year.

Looking at the streaming numbers by country, the popularity in Latin America surpassed that of Korea, the home of K-pop. The United States ranked first with 115 million streams, followed by Brazil (78.6 million) and Mexico (75.9 million) in second and third place, respectively. Korea ranked fourth with 58.3 million streams, and Japan followed with 48.2 million streams.

The enthusiasm is also strong on the online video platform YouTube. Over the 28 days from April 6 to May 3, four Latin American countries made it into the top ten nations that listened to BTS’s music the most: Brazil in third place (53.2 million views), Mexico in fourth (53.1 million views), Argentina in ninth (22.1 million views), and Peru in tenth (19.1 million views). Korea was in sixth place with 46.6 million views.

The fervor of the local fandom exploded at the concert venues. All 150,000 seats were sold out for the three-day 'Arirang' world tour concerts in Mexico City. The Los Angeles Times estimated that more than 35,000 people who could not get tickets gathered outside the stadium.

When BTS met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on May 6, about 50,000 people gathered at Zócalo Square. President Sheinbaum opened the balcony of the National Palace—an iconic site in Mexico City's historic district—for BTS. The Indian daily The Indian Express reported, "This is the first time an international musician has appeared at this symbolic venue, usually reserved for the president to address citizens during national events." The Thai daily The Nation described the scenes as reminiscent of the heyday of the Beatles in the 1960s and Michael Jackson in the 1990s.

BTS met with Claudia Sheinbaum, the President of Mexico, at the Presidential Office in Mexico City on the 6th. Photo by Big Hit Music

The economic impact is at a level that rivals legendary pop stars. The UK-based Reuters estimated that BTS’s current tour will generate total revenue of about 1.8 billion dollars (2.6811 trillion won). This is comparable to the tour revenues of Taylor Swift and Coldplay.

The Mexico City Chamber of Commerce estimated that BTS’s three concerts generated an economic impact of about 107.5 million dollars (16.01 billion won). This figure is about 83% higher than the previous record for a Mexico concert, which was approximately 58.8 million dollars (8.75 billion won) set by Taylor Swift in 2023.

Starting in October, BTS will continue their stadium tour across major Latin American cities, including Bogotá in Colombia, Lima in Peru, Santiago in Chile, Buenos Aires in Argentina, and São Paulo in Brazil. They will be the first Korean artist to perform at Estadio El Campin in Colombia and Estadio Único de La Plata in Buenos Aires. They will also hold the first-ever solo concert by a Korean artist at Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile.

HYBE stated, "We are paying close attention to the rapid growth and scalability of the Latin market," adding, "We plan to strengthen our global business axis connecting Asia, the English-speaking world, and the Spanish-speaking world, positioning the Hispanic market in the United States as a key hub."

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