Jung Kook of BTS Reaches 21 Million Spotify Followers and Sets New Record with “Arirang” on UK Charts for 20 Weeks

Jung Kook of BTS has surpassed 21 million followers on his personal Spotify account, achieving this milestone in the shortest time among all Asian groups and solo artists. Meanwhile, BTS’s fifth studio album, “Arirang,” has entered the UK Official Chart for 20 consecutive weeks, breaking the group’s previous record for the longest run on the chart.

Despite not releasing any new solo albums since 2023, Jung Kook maintains 16 million monthly listeners. His debut solo song, “Seven,” has stayed on Spotify’s Global Weekly Chart for 154 consecutive weeks, the longest duration ever recorded by an Asian solo artist. His first solo album, “GOLDEN,” has also remained on the chart for 142 weeks, the longest period for an album by an Asian solo artist.

In terms of streaming numbers, “Seven” has accumulated over 3.03 billion streams, becoming the first Asian artist to reach this threshold. “GOLDEN” has recorded 7.3 billion total streams, the highest figure among all studio albums by an Asian artist. Jung Kook’s entire personal Spotify account has logged 11.28 billion streams, marking the fastest achievement of its kind among Asian artists and the first milestone reached by a K-pop solo artist.

Jung Kook has also set additional records. He reached 100 million streams for three songs—“Dreamers,” “Left and Right,” and “Stay Alive”—in the shortest time of any K-pop solo artist. “Seven” held the highest weekly stream count among male artists globally on Spotify’s Global Chart, and both the time it took to reach 100 million streams and 1 billion streams were the fastest in Spotify’s history. These four records have been officially recognized by Guinness World Records.

BTS’s fifth studio album, “Arirang,” entered the UK Official Album Chart at position 43 and has stayed within the top 100 for 20 consecutive weeks, surpassing the 19-week streak achieved by their sixth mini-album, “MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA,” released in April 2019. On Spotify’s Global Weekly Album Chart, “Arirang” reached position 3 and has maintained a top-three ranking throughout the past 20 weeks. Its title track, “SWIM,” is currently in 6th place and has stayed within the top 10 for four months.