BTS 'Arirang' Sweeps Japan's Oricon First-Half Year-End Rankings

*This content was translated by AI.

BTS (BTS·RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook) topped the 'Album Ranking' and 'Combined Album Ranking' of Oricon's 'First-Half Rankings 2026' with their fifth full-length album 'Arirang' (ARIRANG). BTS is the only foreign artist to have achieved a second all-time No. 1 in the 'Album Ranking'.

Oricon released the 'First-Half Rankings 2026' on the 25th, covering the period from December 8, 2025, to June 7, 2026. Following their first-half 'Album Ranking' No. 1 with their fourth Japanese full-length album 'MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 ~THE JOURNEY~' in 2020, BTS secured their second No. 1 on the same chart this time.

'Arirang' sold approximately 728,000 copies. This marks the first time since 2004, when rock band Queen's compilation album 'Jewels' sold over 700,000 copies in the first half of the year, that a foreign male artist has achieved such sales figures in the 'Album Ranking'.

BTS is also the first foreign musician to top the 'Combined Album Ranking' for the first half of the year. Until now, only albums by Japanese groups King & Prince and Snow Man had exceeded 800,000 points on this chart. With 922,000 points, BTS became the third artist in history to surpass the 800,000-point mark. The album also ranked third on the 'Digital Album Ranking'.

BTS stated, "'Arirang' is our first album released as a complete group in three years and nine months. It is an honor and a joy that this album, which showcases 'BTS today' after a long hiatus, has received so much love." They added, "We are grateful to everyone who has always loved and supported BTS and our music."

Meanwhile, 'Arirang' was also included in lists of the 'Best Albums of the First Half of 2026' selected by numerous foreign media outlets. U.S. music specialty magazine Billboard, on the 23rd (local time), stated, "The result of BTS returning after a hiatus speaks for itself," and mentioned track titles such as 'Body to Body', 'Hooligan', 'Like Animals', and 'Into the Sun'. Regarding the title track 'SWIM', Billboard noted, "It is a major hit that reached the top of Billboard's main song chart, the 'Hot 100', and is likely to become a classic that remains on the team's representative song list for a long time." U.S. publications Rolling Stone, Complex, and Consequence, as well as the UK's NME, also selected 'Arirang' as one of the best albums of the first half of the year.

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*This content was translated by AI.