▲ This photo, provided by Big Hit Music, shows members of BTS. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

▲ This photo, provided by Big Hit Music, shows members of TXT. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) – The K-pop boom has evidently fueled a surge in the number of physical albums sold in the U.S. According to last year’s annual report on the U.S. music market released by Billboard and Luminate, a provider of music sales data formerly known as MRC Data, released on Wednesday, a total of 7 K-pop albums were listed in the “TOP 10 SELLING CD ALBUMS OF 2022 IN U.S.”

The K-pop sensation BTS’s anthology album “Proof” sold a whopping 413 thousand copies in the U.S. last year, ranking No.2 in the chart. Followed by “minisode 2: Thursday’s Child” of the group TOMORROW X TOGETHER, also known as TXT, ranking third on the chart. The album had a total of 227 thousand copies in circulation.

The eight-member boy band Stray Kids' “ODDINARY” made it to the fifth with 204 thousand copies sold, and South Korean girl group TWICE’s “BETWEEN 1&2” ranked No.5 by selling 199 thousand copies. Stray Kids also had another album, “MAXIDENT,” in the chart as No.7, followed by ENHYPEN’s “MANIFESTO: DAY 1” at No.8, and NCT 127’s “2 Baddies” ranking at No.10.

Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” topped the chart, as it was estimated to have surpassed 640 thousand copies sold.

Billboard, along with its year-end list of best-selling CDs unveiled, explained, “K-pop groups have various ways in how they release and sell digital albums,” adding, “Many K-pop albums are exquisitely packaged with the group’s original merchandise (goods).”

Another year-end list combining both best-selling physical album sales and digital sales in the U.S. has also been announced. In this chart, “Proof” of BTS ranked No.3 with 422 thousand copies sold, along with “minisode 2: Thursday’s Child” ranking at No.10 by selling 229 thousand copies.

 

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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