Michele Mendez
Although BTS’ new album Love Yourself: Her has only been out for a short time, it has already proven to be the group’s biggest release yet, breaking numerous records.
Since its worldwide release on September 18th, both the album and its lead track have dominated the iTunes charts worldwide. According to the group’s label, Big Hit Entertainment, Love Yourself: Her topped the iTunes charts in over 73 countries, becoming the largest debut number for any South Korean artist. The album’s lead track “DNA” also quickly climbed the iTunes Top Songs Chart in 29 countries, debuting at #4 specifically in the US. Since Monday, the song has entered the Spotify Global Top 50 Playlist.
The music video for “DNA” also made history, reaching 20 million views in just 20 hours and 48 minutes, making it the fastest K-Pop video to pass this milestone. Black Pink previously held the record with their video for “As If It’s Your Last,” which accumulated 13.3 million views in 24 hours.
Apart from K-Pop, the music video for BTS’ “DNA” also joined the list of “most viewed online videos in the first 24 hours,” taking the 11th spot behind Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s remix of “Despacito” featuring Justin Bieber.
The music video itself has been highly praised by fans for its visuals, which includes a crossover between virtual reality and the universe that represents the lyric: “the two of us are connected fatefully from the beginning, and we’re together from DNA.”
“DNA” as well as “Best of Me” have received much attention, especially among US radio stations, with iHeart’s KJ 102.3 requesting both songs for their rotations.
BTS members Rap Monster, Suga, and J-Hope co-wrote the song in collaboration with The Chainsmokers’ Andrew Taggart. BTS met with the EDM duo while in the US for the Billboard Music Awards earlier this year. Online publication Your EDM called the track “one of the biggest collaborations of the year.”
Following the release of Love Yourself: Her, BTS will hold a worldwide live broadcast titled ‘BTS Comeback Show’ with Mnet on September 21, where they will perform songs from their new album for the first time.
Love Yourself: Her is now available on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon.
