BTS Achieves 9 Billion Spotify Streams This Year, Setting Asia's All-Time Record ... Shattering Own 7-Year-Old Record [K-EYES]

*This content was translated by AI.

Nine Years Since 'DNA' Release... BTS Sets Another Major Record on Spotify Today

All 149 Tracks by the Group Surpass 100 Million Cumulative Streams on Spotify

On the ninth anniversary of BTS's debut song "DNA," the group achieved another major milestone on Spotify.

BTS (Jin, Jimin, Jungkook, V, RM, J-Hope, Suga) became the first Asian artist in history to reach 9 billion streams on Spotify within one year.

In 2026 alone, BTS recorded a cumulative total of 9.04368153 billion streams on Spotify. This marks a new all-time record for the highest number of annual streams by an Asian artist.

This figure surpasses their previous self-held record of 8.65 billion set in 2021, having already broken that mark earlier this month with 8.68 billion on the 4th, and reaching the 9th-billion milestone just two weeks later. Prior to this achievement, all 149 of their tracks individually surpassed 100 million cumulative streams on Spotify, earning them the unique title of being the only group in Spotify history—and the sole Asian artist—to accomplish this feat.

Coincidentally, September 18, the date this record was announced, marks exactly nine years since the release of BTS's representative song "DNA" and their fifth mini-album "Love Yourself: Her." Released on September 18, 2017, "Love Yourself: Her" debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first K-pop album to enter the chart's top 10. The title track "DNA" reached No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking BTS's first entry onto that chart. On the U.S. iTunes Song Chart, it climbed as high as No. 4, setting a record at the time for the highest position achieved by any K-pop group song on that chart.

The "DNA" music video also set groundbreaking records upon its release. It surpassed 10 million views on YouTube within just eight hours of being posted, breaking the previous shortest-time record for a K-pop music video held by BLACKPINK's "As If It's Your Last" (then 17 hours). Within 24 hours, it reached 21 million views, becoming the first K-pop group music video to exceed 20 million views in a single day.

On social media, these two milestones sparked continued reactions from fans. On X (formerly Twitter), one fan reminisced about nine years ago, saying, "Taehyung made me a fan during the 'DNA' and 'Mic Drop' era," while another wrote, "'DNA' was my first BTS comeback. I already miss that time."

A music media account also encouraged fan participation to commemorate the ninth anniversary by asking them to share their favorite track from "Love Yourself: Her." Another fan cheered on the next goal, stating, "9 billion streams on the 9th anniversary—let's aim for 10 billion!" The official World Music Awards account also officially congratulated the group, announcing that BTS had become the first Asian artist to surpass 9 billion annual streams on Spotify.

Continuing to write great history by breaking their own records, BTS is set to continue their "Arirang" world tour with upcoming performances in Latin America and Australia, beginning with their appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 18–19.

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*This content was translated by AI.