BTS ARIRANG Smashes Taylor Swift's MASSIVE Record On Billboard Global 200; No 29 SILENTLY Rules Spotify In New Feat

Even as BTS continues to spread its wings across countries with its ongoing ARIRANG World Tour, the album remains strong on global charts too. That's not all. ARIRANG, which RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook released in March 2026, is posing tough competition to previous record holders, even defeating music icons. In the latest feat, ARIRANG has surpassed Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl to become the only album in history to chart all of its 14 tracks on the Billboard Global 200 for 7 consecutive weeks. Both the albums - ARIRANG and The Life of a Showgirl are considered major 2027 Grammy contenders this year, following high-selling debuts in early 2026. Grammy Awards are expected to drop their nominations in November 2026.

ARIRANG regains top spot on Billboard

In the meantime, BTS returned to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Global Excl. US chart, after the group's lead song SWIM rebounded for a five-week peak. According to the latest chart, track from the band's fifth studio album sat at No. 2 on the Global 200 after a strong April run at the top, and climbed back up two rungs to No. 30 on the Hot 100, tallying seven weeks on the main songs chart.

Despite a cyclical dip, SWIM remains a strong anchor, logging 50 million streams and 3,000 sales outside the American territories. Infact ARIRANG has extended its residency on the Billboard 200 for seven weeks now. It currently occupies the No. 7 position and had earlier peaked at No. 1 for three consecutive weeks, a first for any K-pop act.

No. 29 speaking louder than other K-pop debuts of 2026

Interestingly, No. 29 has also surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, becoming the first non-lyrical track in history to surpass the number on the platform, setting a new record with literally no lyrics at all. ARMYs across social media are taking a jibe at how No. 29 reached 100 million streams faster than all the K-pop songs released this year.

About ARIRANG's No. 29

No. 29 is a lyric-less interlude of the Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok's recorded toll from Gyeongju National Museum. It is placed right in the middle of the ARIRANG tracklist, and plays at the 7th spot, after 2.0, just before the title song SWIM. The 1 minute 37 second long track breaks the flow to change the entire gear of the entire ALBUM after its first 5 upbeat tracks. This Divine Bell, South Korea's National Treasure No. 29, is infact the most Korean thing BTS has ever done, freezing history into its work. It acts as a calming force at the midpoint, like an interval block, after all the intentional choreography-inducing hip-hop.