BTS Becomes 1st Foreign Artist Since Michael Jackson To Top Oricon's Album Sales Chart For 1st Half Of Year

BTS has just made history on the Oricon charts!

On June 19, the Japanese music chart announced that BTS had topped its album sales rankings for the first half of 2020. According to Oricon, the group’s latest album “Map of the Soul: 7” claimed No. 1 on the albums chart for the first half of the year after selling 429,000 copies in Japan. “Map of the Soul: 7” also previously topped Oricon’s daily, weekly, and monthly albums charts following its release in February.

Last year, BTS came in at No. 3 on Oricon’s albums chart for the first half of 2019 with their mini album “Map of the Soul: Persona.”

However, not only is the ranking a personal achievement for the group, but it also marks the first time in 36 years that a foreign artist has topped Oricon’s albums chart for the first half of the year. The last artist to accomplish the feat was Michael Jackson, who topped the chart in 1984 with his iconic hit “Thriller.”

Additionally, BTS is the first male artist to top the chart in three years, since veteran Japanese group SMAP last achieved the ranking in 2017.

Following the success of their latest Korean album, BTS is currently gearing up to release their fourth Japanese studio album “Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~” on July 15.

Congratulations to BTS on their impressive achievement!

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