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BTS
says Billboard No. 1 'great honor,' hopes music offered 'courage and comfort'
The Korea Times by Yonhap - K-pop
supergroup BTS said Tuesday it was deeply honored to top the U.S. Billboard
charts with its new album, "Arirang," adding it hoped the album and
its lead track, "Swim," provided listeners around the world with
"courage and comfort."
Billboard said in a preview of this
week's Hot 100 main singles chart that "Swim" became the band's
seventh No. 1 song on the chart, following the album's debut at No. 1 on the
Billboard 200 chart. The dual triumph marks BTS' first simultaneous No. 1s on
both charts in six years since "Be" in 2020.
In a statement released through its
agency, BigHit Music, the septet said the success of its fifth studio album,
unveiled after a hiatus of three years and nine months, was "a great
honor" that it owed to its fans.
"We deeply thank ARMY, who have
always shown us unwavering love and support, as well as everyone who listened
to our music and shared their hearts with us," the group said, referring
to the name of its global fandom.
The group added it had worked hard to
capture "universal emotions" that many could relate to while
preparing the new album.
Describing "Swim" as "a
song that encourages perseverance through difficulty," it said it hoped
the track "offered a bit of courage and comfort beyond borders" to
its listeners.
"Thank you for the constant faith
and support, and we will continue to make music with sincerity," the group
said.
BTS released "Arirang" earlier
this month, marking its first group project since 2022, when its members began
fulfilling mandatory military service in Korea.
