SEOUL, March 31 (AJP) - BTS has topped the Billboard Hot 100, the weekly top 100 song chart compiled by the prominent American music and entertainment magazine, on Monday (local time) with the band's new song "Swim," released on March 20. While BTS reached its seventh No. 1 on Billboard's most popular song chart, the seven-member band also dominated other global rankings across major Billboard charts.
According to Billboard, "Swim" debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, driven by a combined performance of streaming, radio airplay and digital sales in the United States. The latest result places BTS among the top five groups with the most Hot 100 No. 1 hits in history, trailing legendary bands such as The Beatles, The Supremes, Bee Gees and The Rolling Stones.
The track’s debut extends BTS’ Hot 100 leadership streak that began with “Dynamite” in 2020, followed by successive chart-toppers including "Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)," "Life Goes On," "Butter," "Permission to Dance" and "My Universe."
The group’s latest achievement comes in tandem with strong album performance. The band's new album "Arirang" entered at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the weekly top 200 albums chart, completing a simultaneous sweep of Billboard’s two primary charts. This achievement is widely regarded as a key indicator of both consumption scale and market impact in the U.S. music industry.
Beyond the U.S., BTS delivered an unprecedented showing on global charts. "Swim" debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200, the weekly top 200 global song chart, and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S., the weekly popular song chart based on digital sales and streamings, becoming the group’s eighth leader on each ranking and extending its own record for the most No. 1 songs on the charts.
Tracks from BTS' album "Arirang" occupied the entire top nine positions on the Global 200, matching the record set by American pop-singer Taylor Swift, while BTS became the first act to monopolize the top 10 and top 13 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart. The concentration of entries underscores the scale of coordinated global streaming and purchasing activity following the album’s release.
"Swim" led the performance with 108.8 million streams and 221,000 units sold worldwide in the tracking week ending March 26, according to data compiled by Luminate. Eight additional tracks from the album followed in sequence on the Global 200, each surpassing 40 million streams, reflecting unusually high depth of consumption across the full album rather than a single-track concentration.
The official Hot 100 chart is set for release Tuesday, with market attention focused on how many additional tracks from “Arirang” will enter the ranking, potentially extending BTS’ multi-chart dominance further.
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