It’s a lot different than the best-charting groups in Korea!
It’s undeniable that the K-Pop music genre is becoming more popular internationally, especially in the United States. Album sales have never been higher in the country, even with globally successful BTS on a hiatus from full-group activities this year. Tours in the U.S. have also been doing incredibly well, even selling out stadiums for the case of some artists!
The first half of 2023 saw plenty of great comebacks so far, and as it has become easier to get K-Pop albums in the U.S. without spending a fortune on shipping, fans have been enjoying the increased accessibility. Recently, the best-selling K-Pop artists in the United States for the first half of the year were announced, and it’s interesting to see who made it in the top 10!
NCT 127 is the only SM Entertainment artist that made it in the top 10, and they ranked at #10 in terms of pure album sales. The album that they released in 2023, Ay-Yo, has sold around 29,000 copies in the country at this time.
ENHYPEN comes in at #9, about a month after the release of their latest album, Dark Blood, which has recorded about 89,000 U.S. sales. Fellow HYBE Labels idol Jimin ranks at #8, with his debut solo album FACE making an impressive 196,000 sales.
Continuing on with BTS members, Suga/Agust D came in at #7 after the release of his most recent solo album, D-DAY. It has apparently sold around 122,000 copies, though his ranking likely also includes sales of his previous albums, Agust D and D-2, in 2023 as well.
Amazingly, BTS as a group takes the #6 position despite not releasing any albums this year! Their total album sales in the U.S. in 2023 comes from their past albums, which continue to make sales even years after they were released.
The only non-“Big Four” artist on the list, ATEEZ, comes in at #5. They released their most recent album, The World EP.2: OUTLAW, only a little over a week ago, which has recorded around 101,000 U.S. sales so far. Their past albums likely also saw a resurgence in sales along with the release of their latest album.
The #4 position goes to SEVENTEEN, whose 2023 album FML has made about 132,000 sales in the Unites States so far. #3 is taken by the only girl group to make the top 10 list — TWICE. Their latest album, Ready To Be, has made an impressive 232,000 U.S. sales, likely boosted by their incredibly successful tour!
Finally, the #2 and #1 positions both go to fourth generation artists — TXT and Stray Kids respectively. TXT released their latest album, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, back in January, and is has sold around 339,000 copies in the States. Meanwhile, Stray Kids’ latest album, ★★★★★ (5-STAR), came out only earlier this month, and has already sold about 308,000 copies. This, along with sales of their past albums, earned them the position as the top-selling artist in the U.S. for the first half of 2023!
Best selling K-Pop acts by pure albums this year so far (US):
#1 @Stray_Kids
#2 #TXT (@TXT_members)
#3 #TWICE (@JYPETWICE)
#4 #SEVENTEEN (@pledis_17)
#5 @ATEEZofficial
#6 @BTS_twt
#7 #AgustD
#8 #JIMIN
#9 @ENHYPEN_members
#10 @NCTsmtown_127— chart data (@chartdata) June 26, 2023
Here’s how K-Pop fans are reacting to the best-selling artists in the United States for the year so far.
Congratulations to all of these artists and their impressive international sales!
SOURCE: www.koreaboo.com