K-Pop Boyband BTS Becomes Best Selling Artists Worldwide In 2020

The POP group BTS was named the best-selling artists of the year 2020 by IFPI, an organization representing the recorded music industry worldwide.

The accolade caps a stellar year for the Korean boyband, who released two chart-topping albums in 2020 – Map of the Soul: 7 and Be.

The youngsters beat Taylor Swift, who won the title last year, and fell to second place.

First-Ever Non-Western Winners

It’s the first non-Western act to win, and the first whose songs are not predominantly sung in English.

Prize is calculated according to the artist or group selling worldwide, downloads and streams, which cover all their work.

Drake came third, and The Weeknd fourth and Billie Eilish was fifth.

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, was founded in 2013 and has seven members – Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook – from all over South Korea.

The K-POP Army

They also became regular gold-standard of the K-pop scene, selling millions of records and concert tickets, while running billions of streams.

The group was the brainchild of veteran writer and producer Bang Shi Hyuk, who previously worked for entertainment company K-pop JYP, then founded Big Hit Entertainment and co-founded BTS around the group’s leader, RM.

Last year, it floated to Big Hit Entertainment in the Korean stock market – which resulted in the band members earning $ 108 million (£ 77 million).

It more than made up for their inability to tour amid the Covid pandemic. The gap in their schedule also allowed BTS to record their second album of the year, which they billed as a “letter of hope” to fans.

Dynamite – Exclusive English Record

The record contained Dynamite – the first of its kind to be recorded in English, which topped the US charts in August, after breaking one-day broadcast records in the US.

Dynamite also won BTS Grammy nominations for Best Pop Duo / Group Performance, along with well-known stars such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

Frances Moore, chief executive officer of IFPI, said: “BTS is something that happens all over the world. They have had another great year … and [they continue] to find creative and collaborative ways to share their story with the world.

“They truly show the power that music has to bring joy and happiness to people the world over.

“We would like to congratulate RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook and we are excited to see what they have in store next.”