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 broke a lot of their records in 2019, but I’m not going to mention every single one because they’ve gone on to break them in 2020. 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 2019
“Boy With Luv” / Map of the Soul: Persona
- “Boy With Luv” debuted at #35 on the Pop Songs (Radio Airplay) chart. It eventually peaked at #22, which set a record for highest ranking by a Korean group at the time. (BTS has since broken this).
- Map of the Soul: Persona debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, the third BTS album to do so.
- It also remained in the Top 10 for 4 weeks, making it the first Korean album to do so.
- “Boy With Luv” debuted at #8 on the Hot 100, which made BTS the first Korean group to have more than one song that made it to the Top 10.
- “Make It Right” also debuted at #95, which made BTS the first Korean artist to have more than one song on the Hot 100 simultaneously.
- “Boy With Luv” remained in the Top 40 for 3 weeks, making BTS the first Korean group to stay within the Top 40 for 3 weeks in a row.
- BTS became the first group to place #1 on the Artist 100 for five weeks (non-consecutively).
- “Boy With Luv” ranked #20 on Billboard’s “The 50 Best Songs of 2019 (So Far): Staff Picks.”
- Map of the Soul: Persona was on the Billboard 200 for at least 27 (nonconsecutive) weeks in 2019, and shot up 69 spots to #67 one week in November – possibly because of BTS winning several awards at the People’s Choice Awards around the same time.
- “Boy With Luv” placed #37 on Billboard‘s “The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List.”
NOTE: All Billboard 200 rankings in the chart below refer to Map of the Soul: Persona (as the chart ranks albums). All Hot 100 and Pop Songs rankings refer to “Boy With Luv” (as those charts rank songs).
| Billboard 200 Ranking (album) | Hot 100 Ranking (song) | Pop Songs (song) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | #1 | #8 | #35 |
| Week 2 | #3 | #40 | #29 |
| Week 3 | #7 | #40 | #27 |
| Week 4 | #8 | #51 | #22 |
| Week 5 | #17 | #61 | #24 |
| Week 6 | #21 | #71 | #24 |
| Week 7 | #26 | #81 | #24 |
| Week 8 | #31 | #90 | #24 |
| Week 9 | #40 |
(Map of the Soul: Persona continued to chart on the Billboard 200 throughout the rest of the year, but the Soompi summary articles I use only thoroughly cover up until this point.)
Other Items of Note
- BTS set a record on the Social 50 chart for most consecutive weeks at #1. They had remained in first place since July 29, 2017 and hit 100 consecutive weeks in mid 2019. They eventually ended up spending the entire year at #1.
- The BTS World OST debuted at #72 on the Billboard 200, and BTS became the first Korean artist to have 3 albums on the Billboard 200 at the same time. (Map of the Soul: Persona was at #65 in its 12th week, and Love Yourself: Answer was at #112 in its 44th week.)
- The BTS World OST debuted on Billboard’s Top Soundtracks Chart at #6, which was the first time a K-pop soundtrack was on the chart.
- BTS became the first artist ever to sweep the Top 4 spots of the World Albums chart with the BTS World OST, Map of the Soul: Persona, Love Yourself: Tear, and Love Yourself: Answer.
- “Make it Right” originally debuted at #95 on the Hot 100. Their re-released version featuring Lauv re-entered the Hot 100 at #76.
- Love Yourself: Answer became the first Korean album to chart for a year on the Billboard 200 (in 52 nonconsecutive weeks).
Year End Chart Rankings (2019)
| Billboard 2019 Chart | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Top Artists | #15 |
| Top Artists – Duo/Group | #2 |
| Billboard 200 | #51 (Map of the Soul: Persona) #118 (Love Yourself: Answer) |
| Billboard 200 Artists | #26 |
| Billboard 200 Artists – Group | #4 |
| Independent Artists | #1 |
| Top Album Sales | #6 (Map of the Soul: Persona) |
| Top Album Sales Artists | #3 |
| Top Current Albums | #6 (Map of the Soul: Persona) #43 (Love Yourself: Answer) #51 (Love Yourself: Tear) #96 (BTS World OST) #132 (Love Yourself: Her) |
| Social 50 Artists | #1 |
| World Albums | #1 (Map of the Soul: Persona) #3 (Love Yourself: Answer) #4 (Love Yourself: Tear) #6 (BTS World OST) #8 (Love Yourself: Her) |
| World Albums Artists | #1 |
| World Digital Song Sales | #2 (“Boy With Luv”) #4 (“Make it Right”) #10 (“Dream Glow”) #13 (“Mic Drop (Remix)”) #14 (“IDOL” feat. Nicki Minaj) #15 (“Fake Love”) #18 (“A Brand New Day”) #19 (“Heartbeat”) #20 (“Chicken Noodle Soup”), J-Hope feat. Becky G #23 (“All Night”) #24 (“Lights”) #25 (“Mikrokosmos”) |
| World Digital Song Sales Artists | #1 |
Decade End Charts and Lists
- BTS ranked #45 on Billboard‘s Top Tourist Artists of the 2010s, and they were the only K-pop artist on the list.
- BTS ranked #4 on Billboard‘s Decade End Social 50 Artists.
- “I Need U” was included on “The 100 Songs that Defined the Decade.”
- “Blood Sweat & Tears” ranked #69 on “The 100 Greatest MVs of the 2010s: Staff Picks.”
SOURCES: Billboard (1) (2) (3) (4), Soompi*
*For “Boy With Luv” / Map of the Soul: Persona: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15)
*For other items of note: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
*For year end chart rankings: (1)
*For decade end charts and lists: (1)
Katherine Does K-POP 