BTS Crushes One Direction Record As Best Performing Group On Billboard Charts; Trails Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift For Most Weeks On Top
BTS is now officially the best performing musical group to chart on the Billboard Top 50. The K-pop group, who recently concluded the US leg of their "Wings" World Tour has overtaken the record set by One Direction by staying on the top the charts for 22 weeks.
According to a report by SBS Pop Asia, BTS' record of 22 weeks on the Billboard Top 50 chart since October 2016 is miles ahead of One Direction's 8-week reign. The Bangtan Boys have also maintained a solid hold on the first or second positions on the chart since its entry.
With the current record, BTS only falls behind Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift in overall rankings. It can be recalled that Justin Bieber's reign lasted for an amazing 161 weeks while Taylor Swift lorded it over the charts for 28 weeks. However, based on the consistency of BTS' performance and the continued buzz that it is generating worldwide because of its catchy new songs and most watched music videos, it would not be impossible to reach Taylor Swift's 28-week record.
BTS has also surpassed top acts like Miley Cyrus and Rihanna's records of 21 weeks on top of the charts. According to BTS leader Rap Monster, they owe much of their success to their legions of ARMY, the official BTS fandom around the world who help spread the message of their music by translating their interviews and music videos in different languages. He also credited the accessibility of their music through social media platforms like youtube which helps them reach more audiences around the globe.
BTS ARMY has their work cut out for them as voting officially opens today for the Top Social Artist category of the Billboard Music Awards. BTS is the only K-pop group to be nominated in the awards and the category is stacked with nominees such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes, Soompi reported. The Billboard Music Awards 2017 happens on May 22.
