BTS becomes 1st group to top 10 bil. Spotify streams in single year

The Korea Times - Oct 16, 2026

K-pop superband BTS has become the first group in the world to accumulate 10 billion streams on Spotify in a single year, the group's label said Friday. While solo acts such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Bad Bunny have achieved the milestone, it marks the first time for a group to top 10 billion streams on Spotify, according to BigHit Music. BTS saw Spotify streams for its songs more than double from 4.5 billion last year, driven by its fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," released in March. The album alone has racked up more than 5 billion streams since its release, becoming the most-streamed album on Spotify among albums released this year. "ARIRANG" has attracted major attention for being the first full-group project from the global K-pop sensation in nearly four years, released after all its members completed their mandatory military service and reunited. It surpassed 110 million streams on its release day on March 20. It also became the first album from a group to top the Billboard 200, the main U.S. albums chart, for three consecutive weeks since Mumford & Sons' "Babel" in 2012.

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Ex-lawmaker referred to prosecution over daughter's hiring at university

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