Even BTS' Bell-Only Track No.29 Cleared 200 Million Streams as ARIRANG Tops 5 Billion

BTS' fifth studio album ARIRANG has passed 5 billion cumulative streams on Spotify, label BigHit Music said on the 14th. That is the most of any album released this year, roughly 2 billion ahead of the runner-up, Olivia Rodrigo's third album.

The label put the number in context: new albums from global pop stars such as Bruno Mars and Harry Styles, released around the same time, have landed between about 1 billion and 2 billion streams. The ceiling here is not just high, it is a different tier.

The depth of the tracklist matters as much as the total. Title track SWIM is closing in on 1 billion streams by itself, and all 14 songs on the album have crossed 200 million. That includes No.29, a track made up solely of the sound of the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, a historic Korean temple bell. A bell recording matching the album's songs on streaming is the kind of early indicator that says listeners are taking the record as a whole, not just the single.

A fast start that has held

ARIRANG is the group's first full-group release in three years and nine months. It passed 110 million total plays on its first day, March 20, and went on to spend three straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. No group album had done that since Mumford & Sons' Babel in 2012.

The momentum has carried into the autumn. The Hooligan music video, released in April, crossed 100 million YouTube views at around 6:40 a.m. on the 14th. It is the third video from the album to reach that mark, after SWIM and 2.0.

Hooligan is an alternative hip-hop track that opened the group's world tour, built around the clash of blades, heavy 808 bass and choreography for all seven members. It peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album is also still charting. On the Billboard 200 dated October 17, ARIRANG sits at No. 43, its 29th consecutive week on the chart. Expect that streak to pass 30 weeks, given the tour is still running.