BTS Can't Be Stopped on the Charts, 'SWIM' Rules Digital Sales Again Despite Slipping to No. 2

BTS's comeback single 'SWIM' has slipped one rung on the Billboard Hot 100, landing at No. 2 this week, but the group's grip on digital sales shows no signs of loosening. According to Billboard's chart preview published Monday (local time), 'SWIM' recorded 67,000 downloads in the tracking week, a 29% dip from the prior week yet still enough to claim the No. 1 spot on the Digital Song Sales chart for the second week in a row.

The song was unseated from the top of the Hot 100 by Ella Langley's country track 'Choosin' Texas,' which had already held the No. 1 position before 'SWIM' was released and has now reclaimed it. The Hot 100 combines streaming data, radio airplay, and sales figures to rank the most popular songs in the United States each week.

'SWIM' is the title track of BTS's fifth full-length album ARIRANG, which the group released last month alongside a high-profile comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. The album itself has been an even bigger story: ARIRANG topped the Billboard 200 for a second consecutive week, making BTS the first K-pop act ever to hold the No. 1 position on the main albums chart for two weeks in a row.

The comeback marks the end of a years-long hiatus forced by South Korea's mandatory military service requirement. All seven BTS members enlisted between December 2022 and 2024, with the last members completing their service or being released from active duty by June 2025. Their return to music, and the remarkable commercial performance that has followed, suggests the time away did little to cool demand for the group among global fans.