[Anchor]
BTS topped the Billboard singles chart with \"Swim,\" the title track from their new album Arirang — their first full-group release in 3 years and 9 months.
Having already led the album chart, they've now claimed a major Billboard singles title as well.
They've set another record.
This is Hwa Lee.
[Reporter]
「Billboard 'Hot 100' preview」 Reunited as a full group, BTS scored their seventh No. 1 with \"Swim.\"
\"Swim,\" the lead single from BTS's new album Arirang, reached the top of Billboard's flagship singles chart, the Hot 100.
It is their seventh No. 1 since \"Dynamite\" made K-pop history as the first song from the genre to top the chart in 2020.
With this milestone, BTS now stands alongside the world's biggest acts.
Since the Hot 100 began in 1958, BTS is recorded as the act with the fifth-most No. 1 songs, following the legendary rock band the Rolling Stones.
The members called the No. 1 spot a great honor and thanked fans for their unwavering faith and support.
Built on a gentle melody and poetic lyrics, \"Swim\" conveys the determination to keep moving forward through life's waves.
In just six days after its release, \"Swim\" logged 15.3 million streams and 25.8 million radio audience impressions in the U.S., generating a strong response.
The intense interest from fans in BTS's full-group return after 3 years and 9 months appears to have driven the single's No. 1 debut.
「Im Hee-yoon / Popular music critic」 \"At least through the first week, I see both the album and single chart results as the fandom's enthusiastic welcome — essentially the greeting fans have waited nearly four years to give,\" she said.
Buoyed by that warm reception and success on major English-language charts, BTS will meet ARMY around the world when their large-scale world tour kicks off in April.
This is Hwa Lee for Yonhap News TV.
[Video editing: Kim Mi-jung]
[Graphics: Kang Sung-hoon]
[Footage provided by: Billboard, BigHit Music, Netflix, Weverse]
#BTS #BangtanSonyeondan #Arirang #Swim
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Hwa Lee (hwa@yna.co.kr)
