BLACKPINK, 4th K-pop Group to Achieve No.1
First Girl Group to Top Billboard 200 in 14 Years Since 'Danity Kane'
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Girl group BLACKPINK has set a new record as the first K-pop girl group to top the main album chart 'Billboard 200' in the United States.
According to the Billboard chart preview article on the 25th (local time), BLACKPINK's second full-length album 'BORN PINK,' released on the 16th, recorded album sales equivalent to 102,000 copies and ranked number one on the 'Billboard 200.'
This is the first record for a K-pop female artist album and the first number one for a female group on Billboard in 14 years. The last female group to top the chart was the American group Danity Kane in April 2008 with 'Welcome to the Dollhouse.'
Among all K-pop artists, this is the fourth achievement following BTS, SuperM, and Stray Kids. The previous three groups are all boy groups.
BLACKPINK became the second K-pop girl group to enter the top 5 of the 'Billboard 200.' Previously, their first full-length album 'THE ALBUM,' released in October 2020, ranked second, which was the highest position for a K-pop girl group on the 'Billboard 200' before 'BORN PINK' reached number one.
Additionally, BLACKPINK has placed a total of four albums on the chart, including 'BORN PINK.' BLACKPINK first entered the 'Billboard 200' at number 40 with their mini-album 'SQUARE UP,' released in June 2018. Then, in April 2019, they ranked 24th with 'Kill This Love.'
The 'Billboard 200' ranks album consumption by combining traditional album sales such as physical albums, SEA (streaming equivalent albums), which converts streaming counts into album sales, and TEA (track equivalent albums), which converts digital track downloads into album sales.
BLACKPINK's 'BORN PINK' was counted as 75,500 physical albums, 25,000 SEA, and 1,500 TEA.
The 75,500 physical album sales are the seventh highest this year, and BLACKPINK also topped the Billboard 'Top Album Sales' chart this week.
BLACKPINK's record is the third time a K-pop album has topped the 'Billboard 200' this year, following BTS's 'Proof' and Stray Kids' 'ODDINARY.'
Billboard analyzed the difference, stating, "Unlike the other two K-pop albums that topped the 'Billboard 200' this year, which are mostly in Korean, 'BORN PINK' is mostly in English."
Since debuting in 2016 with 'Whistle' and 'Boombayah,' BLACKPINK has established themselves as a top-tier girl group by consecutively hitting with songs like 'As If It's Your Last,' 'Kill This Love,' 'DDU-DU DDU-DU,' and 'Love Sick Girls.'
Moreover, BLACKPINK also topped the UK Official Albums Chart this week with 'BORN PINK,' becoming the second K-pop artist after BTS to achieve number one on that chart. BLACKPINK and BTS are the only K-pop groups to simultaneously hold the top spots on the main album charts of the world's two major pop markets.
Following their number one on the 'Billboard 200,' BLACKPINK is also expected to enter the upper ranks of this week's Billboard main singles chart 'Hot 100,' which is set to be announced the next day. Their pre-release single 'Pink Venom' entered the 'Hot 100' at number 22. BLACKPINK's previous highest position on the 'Hot 100' was number 13 with 'Ice Cream' from their first full-length album, which is the highest rank ever for a K-pop girl group on that chart.
Meanwhile, boy group NCT 127 also attracted attention by ranking third on the 'Billboard 200' this week, following BLACKPINK's 'BORN PINK' and Latin pop artist Bad Bunny's 'Un Verano Sin Ti.'
NCT 127, who ranked third with their fourth full-length album '2 Baddies,' released on the same day as 'BORN PINK,' recorded album sales equivalent to 58,500 copies, of which 55,500 were physical album sales. SEA was counted as 3,000. It is rare for K-pop groups to simultaneously appear in the top 3 of the 'Billboard 200.'
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