K-pop's BTS first all-South Korean act to top US singles charts with ‘Dynamite’
- The announcement came hours after they beat Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift for the Best Pop award at MTV’s Video Music Awards
- PSY reached number two on the charts in 2012 with ‘Gangnam Style’
K-pop sensation BTS has become the first all-South Korean act to rule the top US singles chart, industry tracker Billboard announced on August 31, 2020, with their English-language "Dynamite" hitting number one. Photo: AFPK-pop sensation BTS has become the first all-South Korean act to rule the top US singles chart, industry tracker Billboard announced Monday, with their English-language Dynamite hitting number one.
It is another milestone cementing the seven-member boy band’s global dominance, coming hours after BTS beat American heavyweights including Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift to score the Best Pop award at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards.
The first BTS single sung completely in English, Dynamite was released August 21 and tallied 33.9 million US streams in just a week, with 300,000 units sold.
In securing the top spot, the song unseats Cardi B’s raunchy hit WAP featuring fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, which held the number one spot for two consecutive weeks.
The South’s President Moon Jae-in congratulated the group, calling their latest achievement “truly amazing”.
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“It is a splendid feat that further raises pride in K-pop,” Moon said in a statement.
The milestone is “all the more meaningful” as the song was composed to comfort those affected by Covid-19 worldwide, he added.
South Korean soloist PSY reached number two for seven weeks in the fall of 2012 with his viral dance juggernaut Gangnam Style.