The milestone was reached about 137 days after the album’s 20 March release, extending an extraordinary streaming run that began when all 14 tracks entered Spotify’s global chart simultaneously. The performance makes ARIRANG the first album released in 2026 to cross 4 billion streams on the platform.
Its pace also places BTS among a small group of artists whose albums have accumulated several billion plays within months of release. While some solo releases have reached 4 billion faster, ARIRANG has established the quickest trajectory recorded for a group and for an Asian artist.
The album had already demonstrated that momentum weeks after its launch. It passed 1 billion Spotify streams in 16 days, then exceeded 3 billion in about 84 days. By late July it was approaching 3.9 billion, with daily listening remaining unusually strong for an album more than four months into its release cycle.
ARIRANG*, BTS’s fifth studio album, contains 14 tracks and runs for just over 41 minutes. Songs include “Body to Body”, “Hooligan”, “Aliens”, “FYA”, “2.0”, “No. 29”, “SWIM”, “Merry Go Round”, “NORMAL”, “Like Animals”, “they don’t know ’bout us”, “One More Night”, “Please” and closing track “Into the Sun”.
“SWIM” has emerged as one of the album’s biggest streaming drivers. By late July, the track had accumulated more than 750 million Spotify plays and was adding several million streams a day. Its sustained performance has helped keep the album’s overall totals climbing long after the initial release surge.
The scale of the comeback was evident from the opening day. ARIRANG generated about 110 million Spotify streams globally during its first 24 hours. That was the biggest first-day total for a K-pop album and the largest opening-day figure for any album released during 2026 at the time.
BTS also occupied the first 14 positions on Spotify’s global songs ranking with the album’s complete track list, underlining the depth of listening across the record rather than dependence on a single hit.
The commercial performance extended beyond streaming. ARIRANG sold about 3.98 million physical copies on its first day and more than 4.17 million during its opening week in South Korea. It also reached No. 1 across numerous international album markets and delivered BTS their seventh chart-topping album on the US Billboard 200.
The album’s US opening generated about 641,000 equivalent album units, including roughly 532,000 traditional album sales. That represented BTS’s strongest sales week in the country and one of the largest opening performances recorded by a group since Billboard adopted its album-equivalent measurement system.
The streaming milestone arrives as BTS take ARIRANG onto stadium stages around the world. Their current world tour marks the seven-member group’s full-scale return to touring following the completion of mandatory military service by RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook.
Demand has remained strong across Asia, North America and Europe. North American and European dates sold out rapidly, while concerts have generated wider spending on accommodation, restaurants, transport and fan events in host cities.
BTS played MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 1 and 2 August as the tour returned to the United States. The shows featured material from ARIRANG alongside established hits including “MIC Drop”, with tracks such as “FYA”, “Aliens”, “Please” and “Into the Sun” forming a significant part of the live production.
Follow Arabian Post
Select Arabian Post as your preferred source on Google and MSN News for trusted business news and Arab politics and updates.
