ARIRANG opens with a major first week
BTS reached another milestone when ARIRANG debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated April 4, 2026. The project had first-week sales of 641,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States during the tracking week ending March 26, 2026, according to Luminate. That amount gave the group its seventh #1 album and the biggest week for any album released in 2026 so far. At the same time, the project’s main single, SWIM, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, showing a strong demand for the ARIRANG era.
BTS enters a select list of large debuts
ARIRANG also became one of the few albums in the 2020s to debut with at least 500,000 units. As of April 4, 2026, only 10 albums had reached that level since January 2020. BTS placed at #8 on that list. The record opened ahead of Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), which launched with 605,000 units on November 27, 2021, and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, which debuted with 613,000 units on September 18, 2021.
Taylor Swift still leads the highest first-week openings
Although BTS earned one of the strongest first-week debuts in the 2020s, Taylor Swift still holds most of the top spots. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) opened with 716,000 units on July 22, 2023. Midnight’s entered with 1.578 million on November 5, 2022. Meanwhile, the largest debut is The Life of a Showgirl, which opened with 4.002 million units on October 18, 2025.
Read the top 10 highest first-week openings in the 2020s below:
10. Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor’s Version)
Debut Week Chart Date: Nov. 27, 2021
Debut Week Units: 605,000
9. Drake – Certified Lover Boy
Debut Week Chart Date: Sept. 18, 2021
Debut Week Units: 613,000
8. BTS – ARIRANG
Debut Week Chart Date: April 4, 2026
Debut Week Units: 641,000
7. Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Debut Week Chart Date: July 22, 2023
Debut Week Units: 716,000
6. Adele – 30
Debut Week Chart Date: Dec. 4, 2021
Debut Week Units: 839,000
5. Taylor Swift – folklore
Debut Week Chart Date: Aug. 8, 2020
Debut Week Units: 846,000
4. Taylor Swift – Midnights
Debut Week Chart Date: Nov. 5, 2022
Debut Week Units: 1.578 million
3. Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
Debut Week Chart Date: Nov. 11, 2023
Debut Week Units: 1.653 million
2. Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Debut Week Chart Date: May 4, 2024
Debut Week Units: 2.610 million
1. Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl
Debut Week Chart Date: Oct. 18, 2025
Debut Week Units: 4.002 million
