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[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook hits Spotify milestone in record time

By Hwang You-mee

Published : April 1, 2024 - 16:47

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(Credit: Big Hit Music) (Credit: Big Hit Music)

Jungkook of BTS has reached 1.5 billion streams on Spotify with solo single “Seven (feat. Latto)” as of March 29.

He is the first K-pop solo act to achieve the feat and did so in the shortest time for an Asian artist in the history of the platform, at 259 days. It is only bested by Harry Styles’ “As It Was” and Justin Bieber and The Kid Laroi’s collaboration, “Stay.”

He has earned three Guinness World Records so far with the single: hitting 1 billion streams in the shortest time as well as being the most-streamed in a week and amassing 100 million streams in the shortest time for a solo male artist.

“Seven” debuted atop Billboard’s Hot 100 and spent 15 weeks on the chart. It hit UK’s Official top 100 chart at No. 3 and stayed 14 weeks in total, a record streak for a K-pop solo artist.

Illit sets sales record with debut album

(Credit: Belift Lab) (Credit: Belift Lab)

Girl group Illit broke first-week sales record for a debut album from a K-pop girl group, said agency Belift Lab on Monday.

The debut EP from the group, “Super Real Me,” sold more than 380,000 copies in the first week after its release, dethroning NewJeans that had logged 311,000.

The quintet made Spotify’s daily top songs global chart on the day of its debut with “Magnetic,” which fronted the mini album, a first for a K-pop female group. It also ranked No. 190 on its weekly top songs global chart, entering the chart in shortest time for a K-pop band.

Meanwhile at home, the lead single entered Melon’s top 100 the day after its release and made the top 10 on all major charts.

Ive to hit Tokyo Dome

(Credit: Starship Entertainment) (Credit: Starship Entertainment)

Ive will go live at Tokyo Dome for the first time in September, announced agency Starship Entertainment on Monday.

The six-member act will go encore in Tokyo Sept. 4-5 for its first international tour, “Show What I Have.” The tour saw it make it into K-Arena Yokohama, a first for a K-pop singer, in November last year and all tickets for six concerts in Japan sold out totaling at 78,000 tickets sold.

The encore concert is a way to repay the support of fans who also let it place its debut single in Japan, “Eleven,” atop Oricon’s daily single ranking and its first album in Japan, “Wave,” at No. 1 on Oricon’s daily and weekly album rankings.

Meanwhile, the group returned Sunday from New York after visiting six cities in the US. It will resume its tour in Paris in June.

SHINee’s Taemin signs with Big Planet Made

(Credit: Big Planet Made Enter) (Credit: Big Planet Made Enter)

Taemin of SHINee recently joined Big Planet Made Entertainment, said the company, Monday.

The new agency promised to support the “main dancer of SHINee and solo artist” fully across the music spectrum, uploading a new profile picture.

He debuted in 2008 as the youngest member of the band and has cemented himself as a solo artist as well since 2014. He was the first member of the band to bring out a solo album.

His contract with SM Entertainment expired as of March but the label will continue to handle the band’s activities.

The artist held a solo concert at Budokan in Japan earlier this month and the three-day gig sold 30,000 tickets in total. His latest and fourth solo, EP “Guilty,” was No. 1 on the iTunes top albums chart in 38 regions.