BTS, NCT Dream, Stray Kids have 2021’s bestselling K-pop albums, and Exo member Baekhyun is top solo artist
- BTS’ English-language single album Butter had sold more than 2.95 million copies as of November
- NCT Dream’s Hot Sauce, NCT 127’s Sticker and Seventeen’s Attacca also sold more than 2 million copies, with Baekhyun’s Bambi selling one million
K-pop acts increasingly hit new milestones for album sales each year, and 2021 was no different, with numerous outfits selling millions of copies.
Gaon Chart, which is run by the Korea Music Content Association, reported in July that more than 26 million albums were sold by South Korean artists. Based on Gaon’s figures, 10 albums released in 2021, all by boy bands, sold over 1 million copies each.
Of those 10, four sold more than 2 million copies each. The bestselling album of 2021 from any South Korean artist is, to the shock of absolutely nobody, a release from superstar hitmakers BTS.
The group’s English-language album, Butter made history as the top K-pop album of 2021. By the end of November, Butter had recorded over 2.95 million copies sold according to Gaon, and is likely to have sold more than 3 million by early 2022.
Other albums that sold over 2 million copies in 2021 were NCT Dream’s Hot Sauce, NCT 127’s Sticker, and Seventeen’s Attacca.