BTS has done it again — and this time, they've rewritten Japanese music history. According to TenAsia, Oricon's 2026 Mid-Year Ranking (covering December 8, 2025 through June 7, 2026) placed BTS's fifth studio album ARIRANG at No. 1 on both the Album Ranking and the Combined Album Ranking — a double crown that comes loaded with record-breaking milestones.
Records Stacked on Records
ARIRANG moved approximately 728,000 copies during the mid-year tracking period, making it the first album by a foreign male artist to surpass 700,000 mid-year sales on the Oricon Album Ranking since Queen's compilation album Jewels did it back in 2004 — a gap of 22 years. Multiple Korean outlets including TenAsia and OSEN report that this also marks BTS becoming the first overseas artist ever to top the Oricon mid-year Album Ranking twice, having previously claimed that No. 1 spot in 2020 with their Japanese fourth studio album MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 ~THE JOURNEY~.
The wins don't stop there. On the Combined Album Ranking, ARIRANG scored approximately 922,000 points, making BTS the first overseas musician in history to reach No. 1 on that chart — and only the third artist ever, across all nationalities, to surpass 800,000 points on it. The group also landed at No. 3 on the Digital Album Ranking, adding a third chart placement to an already historic sweep.
BTS Speaks on the Milestone
In a statement shared via Oricon, BTS reflected on the release:
"ARIRANG is an album we released as a complete group after 3 years and 9 months. We are so grateful that an album we showed after such a long time has received so much love from so many people."
ARIRANG is BTS's first full-group studio album in nearly four years, arriving after members completed their mandatory South Korean military service. Based on these Oricon results, it's safe to say the wait only made ARMY in Japan — and worldwide — love it even harder.
