In a little less than two months, BTS will officially return. The South Korean septet has been on a musical hiatus for several years, as the men who make up the group — RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jin, Jung Kook, V, and Jimin — fulfilled their mandatory military enlistment while simultaneously pursuing solo careers. Anticipation for the boy band’s long-awaited comeback is incredibly high, and on March 20, Arirang, the group’s tenth album, will arrive.
Pre-orders for Arirang were expected to be high, but months before the set becomes available – or before anyone has heard even one song from the project – the title may already be the bestselling project of 2026.
Arirang Preorders Reach Four Million Copies
Arirang was officially announced on January 15, and pre-sales of the album launched the following day. Just one week later, South Korean news outlets reported that Arirang had already sold just over four million copies.
BTS Can Sell Albums Like Few in the Music Business
Four million sales of an album is an enormous triumph in today’s music industry, regardless of the musical act or when the project is released. Many music lovers have changed how they consume music, and platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music have largely taken over where digital downloads and physical purchases once ruled.
A handful of names, especially those in the K-pop space, have bucked this trend, and they are known for their ability to sell hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of copies of new releases. BTS is chief among those groups, but the rapid success of Arirang is impressive, even for the seven singers.
The Tortured Poets Department Ended 2024 as the Bestselling Album
To put four million copies of an album sold into perspective, it’s worth noting that in 2024, only one release managed to reach that mark globally. Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was named the bestselling full-length in the world that year by the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) after it sold 5.6 million copies.
Only three other albums — Romance: Untold by Enhypen and a pair of efforts by South Korean group Seventeen, Spill the Feels and 17 Is Right Here — sold three million copies or more.
Arirang’s Sales Will Continue to Rise
Arirang’s first-week pre-orders sum is astounding, but it’s not altogether shocking that BTS already claims the bestselling album of 2026. The year is not even one month old, and Arirang is far and away one of the most exciting upcoming albums.
What will be thrilling to see is how Arirang stands up when 2027 rolls around and the prior year’s most successful songs and albums are ranked. Based on a look at past years, it’s possible that Arirang will end 2026 as the top-selling album globally – a feat it might manage after only seven days of availability.
Of course, the four million copies sold being reported is not the final tally for Arirang. There are still nearly two months to go in which fans can pre-order the set, and the BTS full-length will also likely sell thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of copies in the weeks following its unveiling. At that point, BTS will be promoting the project intensely, and a single will surely be surging on charts all around the world, helping keep Arirang top of mind.
