This is not a complete list – it is as comprehensive as possible, but not complete. There are so many Billboard charts that BTS ranks on these days, and it seems like each ranking comes with a new accomplishment. It’s really a lot for me to keep track of – I’m only one person – so I’ve tried to keep it to the highlights. This page mostly covers popular charts like the Billboard 200, the Hot 100, and several others that K-pop artists don’t typically appear on. (K-pop artists tend to be on anything that is “World” or “Global” all the time – BTS in particular – so I’ve mostly skipped those because there are way too many to note.) BTS set and/or broke a lot of their records in 2018, but I’m not going to mention every single one because they’ve gone on to break them since. If you want further details, you can read the articles I linked in my bullet point lists and/or in the source notes.
BTS’s Billboard Accomplishments in 2018
“Fake Love” / Love Yourself: Tear
- Love Yourself: Tear debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, which was the first time a K-pop artist ever topped that chart.
- “Fake Love” became the first K-pop song to debut in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 when it entered the chart at #10.
- Love Yourself: Tear was included on “The 50 Best Albums of 2018 (So Far): Critics’ Picks.”
- “Fake Love” placed #22 on “100 Best Songs of 2018: Critics’ Picks.”
- In 2020, Love Yourself: Tear became the first Korean album to spend 100 weeks on the World Albums Chart.
NOTE: All Billboard 200 rankings in the chart below refer to Love Yourself: Tear (as the chart ranks albums). All Hot 100 rankings refer to “Fake Love” (as that chart ranks songs).
| Billboard 200 Ranking (album) | Hot 100 Ranking (song) | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | #1 | #10 |
| Week 2 | #6 | #51 |
| Week 3 | #14 | #48 |
| Week 4 | #20 | #71 |
| Week 5 | #27 | #65 |
| Week 6 | #30 | #76 |
| Week 7 | #47 |
(Love Yourself: Tear continued to chart on the Billboard 200, but the Soompi summary articles I use only thoroughly cover up until this point.)
“IDOL” / Love Yourself: Answer
- Love Yourself: Answer became BTS’s second album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200.
- “IDOL” debuted at #11 on the Hot 100.
- In 2019, Love Yourself: Answer became the first Korean album to chart for a year on the Billboard 200 (in 52 nonconsecutive weeks).
- In 2020, Love Yourself: Answer became the second Korean album to be on the World Albums chart for 100 weeks.
NOTE: All Billboard 200 rankings in the chart below refer to Love Yourself: Answer (as the chart ranks albums). All Hot 100 rankings refer to “IDOL” (as that chart ranks songs).
| Billboard 200 Ranking (album) | Hot 100 Ranking (song) | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | #1 | #11 |
| Week 2 | #8 | #81 |
| Week 3 | #15 | #92 |
(Love Yourself: Answer continued to chart on the Billboard 200, but the Soompi summary articles I use only thoroughly cover up until this point.)
Other Items of Note
- “Blood Sweat & Tears” ranked #16 and “DNA” ranked #49 on “The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time: Critics’ Picks.”
- “Blood Sweat & Tears” named #67 on “The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century: Critics’ Picks.”
- BTS broke Justin’s Bieber’s record of most consecutive weeks at #1 on the Social 50. They also became the first group to reach 100 (nonconsecutive) weeks at #1, and the second artist to do so after Bieber.
- “Waste It On Me,” one of BTS’s collaborations with Steve Aoki, debuted at #89 on the Hot 100. It also ranked #39 on the Pop Songs chart.
Year End Chart Rankings (2018)
- BTS became the first Korean artist to rank on Billboard‘s Year End Billboard 200 Albums and Billboard 200 Artists charts.
| Billboard 2018 Chart | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Top Artists | #8 |
| Top Artists – Duo/Group | #2 |
| Billboard 200 | #85 (Love Yourself: Answer) #101 (Love Yourself: Tear) #150 (Love Yourself: Her) |
| Billboard 200 Artists | #21 |
| Independent Albums | #3 (Love Yourself: Tear) #4 (Love Yourself: Answer) #9 (Love Yourself: Her) |
| Independent Artists | #1 |
| Social 50 | #1 |
| World Albums | #1 (Love Yourself: Tear) #2 (Love Yourself: Answer) #3 (Love Yourself: Her) #5 (Hope World – J-Hope’s mixtape) #9 (“mono.” – RM’s mixtape) #13 (Face Yourself – Japanese album) |
| World Album Artists | #1 |
SOURCES: Billboard (1) (2) (3) (4), Soompi*
*For “Fake Love” / Love Yourself: Tear: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
*For “IDOL” / Love Yourself: Answer: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
*For Other Items of Note: (1) (2) (3) (4)
*For Year End Chart Results: (1)
Katherine Does K-POP 