BTS are officially back and they haven’t even dropped the album yet. Their upcoming comeback album ARIRANG has already stormed record books, clocking over four million pre-orders in just seven days and setting
the stage for what could be one of the biggest global music releases in recent years.
According to album distributor YG Plus, ARIRANG recorded 4.06 million pre-orders as of January 22, only a week after bookings opened on January 16. With this, BTS have surpassed their own previous benchmark set by MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 in 2020, which had registered 3.42 million pre-orders in its first week before eventually crossing five million sales on the Circle Chart.
The scale of the response reflects just how eagerly fans have been waiting to see BTS return as a full group after a gap of three years. The reunion factor, combined with the anticipation around new music, has translated into record-breaking numbers at an unprecedented pace.
What makes the milestone even more striking is the timing. With nearly two months still to go before the album’s official release on March 20, 2026, industry watchers are already speculating how high the final pre-order count could climb. At its current speed, ARIRANG is not just breaking BTS’ own records but also putting global benchmarks within reach.
The excitement around the album has spilled across platforms. After BTS announced ARIRANG and confirmed an accompanying world tour on Weverse, the group’s official fan club reportedly saw its membership subscriptions triple. On Spotify, the album’s pre-save numbers crossed one million within two days, doubled to two million by the fourth day, and continue to rise steadily.
With these figures, fans are now closely watching whether BTS could challenge the record for most Spotify pre-saves, currently held by Taylor Swift’s The Life of A Showgirl, which stands at six million.
The album title ARIRANG was officially revealed on January 15 through a special announcement that struck an emotional chord with fans. Each of the seven members — Jin, RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — shared individual audio messages, marking their first collective presence in years. The reveal came shortly after BTS unveiled plans for a large-scale world tour scheduled to begin following the album’s release.
