Proof debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 list, for 25 June, becoming the sixth album by K-pop supergroup BTS to top the charts.
The septet got their first No.1 album on Billboard 200 in 2018, with Love Yourself: Tear. It was followed over the years by Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul: Persona, Map of the Soul: 7 and BE. The group is now the first and only Korean music act to have topped the Billboard charts with six different albums.
More about Proof and its record-setting run
The numbers that got BTS the top slot again
According to Luminate, the data company behind Billboard’s charts, Proof earned 314,000 equivalent album units in the US, during the week ending 16 June. Of these, album sales recorded the highest share at 266,000.
Billboard reports that Proof recorded the best week for an album by a group, in terms of units earned and album sales. The only album which recorded higher figures in the two categories in 2022 is Harry’s House by Harry Styles.
Album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA) together make up units. Besides album sales, Proof recorded 36,000 SEA units and 12,000 TEA units.
Proof is the third mostly or all non-English language album to hit No.1 on Billboard 200 in 2022, and the 15th overall.
Other records set by Proof
Proof is an anthology album consisting of three CDs. There are three all-new tracks among a collection of the Grammy-nominated group’s past tracks.
The album was released on 10 June, on audio streaming platforms Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Play. The same day, BTS dropped the music video of “Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment),” the first of the three new tracks, on their official YouTube channel.
It sold over two million copies on the day of its release, and all of its tracks debuted in top rankings on Spotify’s daily Global Top 200 chart.
“Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” broke BTS’ own record for the highest first-day streams by any Korean-language song released on Spotify.
The streaming album version of Proof has 35 tracks available for digital download. There are 48 tracks in the CDs, including 13 exclusive tracks — most of which are demo recordings.
A break to focus on solo
Four days after the release of the album, the seven-member group announced that they are taking a break. The announcement came during a pre-taped Festa Dinner involving the seven — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook.
Hybe, the management agency of the group, said that the members will be focusing on their solo careers.
(Main and Featured image credit: BTS_official/@bts_bighit/Twitter)
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
