Sayart.net
Jason Yim, yimjongho1969@gmail.com
K-Pop boy group BTS' RM is enjoying explosive popularity with his first official solo album "Indigo."
"Indigo," which enjoys worldwide popularity, rose to third place on the Billboard main album chart "Billboard 200" on the 26th (U.S. time). Now there are only two steps left to the top of the chart.
 |
| ▲RM is aiming to top the Billboard chart with his solo album "Indigo". / Courtesy of Big Hit Music |
RM's album "Indigo," which was released for the first time on the 2nd of this month, is receiving positive responses mainly from BTS' fandom,“A.R.M.Y”, including the title song "Wild Flower".
RM has been working on the album since early 2019. Big Hit Music, his agency, said, "Indigo's album is a diary-like album that contains RM's worries and thoughts."
If RM's "Indigo" topped the Billboard 200, it would create a new history of "the first ever conquest of this chart" for a Korean solo artist.
Billboard said in an article on the preview of this week's charts Monday (U.S. time) that RM became the first BTS member with an album charted in the top 10 on Billboard 200 chart.
J-Hope is the first BTS' member to make a name on the Billboard 200 chart with a solo album. J-Hope once reached the Billboard 200 chart with the album "Jack In The Box". RM is the second BTS member to reach the Billboard 200 chart.
"Billboard 200" is a chart that aggregates the ranking of total album consumption by adding traditional album sales, such as physical albums, the number of streaming times converted into album sales (SEA) and the number of digital music downloads converted into album sales.
Indigo debuted at No. 15 on "Billboard 200" on the 17th of this month, and was briefly pushed out of the charts the following week. Then, with the recent release of physical CDs, album sales increased significantly, making it back to third place on the "Billboard 200".
With the growing popularity of K-Pop, attempts by Korean solo artists to conquer the "Billboard 200" are continuing. In particular, major members of K-Pop groups, including BTS, Black Pink, NCT Dream, and TWICE, have released solo albums one after another and are continuing their efforts to conquer the Billboard charts.
 |
| ▲RM's solo album "Indigo" title image / Courtesy of Big Hit Music |
Prior to RM, Nayeon of girl group TWICE reached No. 2007 on the Billboard chart with her first solo album "IM NAYEON" in July, drawing attention from TWICE fans as well as the music industry around the world.
On Billboard's other main chart, "Hot 100," Psy ranked second for seven consecutive weeks with "Gangnam Style" in September 2012, holding the highest record for a Korean singer. Psy is Korea's leading solo artist who caused the K-Pop craze in the world music industry.
Who will release a solo album next after RM and Jin among BTS members and excite BTS' fandom “A.R.M.Y”?
