Mini album 'HYPERDRIVE' debuts at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales

Billboard 200 climbs from No. 145 to No. 31

Artist 100 jumps from No. 75 to No. 25

PLAVE [Provided by Vlast]
PLAVE [Provided by Vlast]

The best-selling album in the United States last week was the work of five animated boys — virtual idol group PLAVE. The group's fifth mini album, "HYPERDRIVE," topped Billboard's Top Album Sales chart.

According to Billboard's latest chart dated Oct. 31, released Tuesday, "HYPERDRIVE" debuted at No. 1 on both Top Album Sales, which ranks albums by pure sales, and the World Albums chart, which tracks K-pop and other world music releases. It marks the first time PLAVE has reached the top of either chart. Billboard also highlighted the group's first No. 1 in its weekly chart recap.

On the main Billboard 200 album chart, the group debuted at No. 31 — a personal best and a leap of 114 spots from the No. 145 it recorded in April with its fourth mini album, "Caligo Pt. 2," when it became the first K-pop virtual group to chart there. "HYPERDRIVE" also ranked highest among all K-pop-related albums on the Billboard 200 that week. The soundtrack to the Netflix animated series "KPop Demon Hunters" came in at No. 35, Katseye's "WILD" at No. 39 and BTS's fifth studio album "ARIRANG" at No. 46. Pop star Olivia Rodrigo held the No. 1 spot that week.

On the Artist 100, which measures an artist's overall influence, PLAVE climbed to No. 25, far surpassing the No. 75 it reached with its previous release. The group also topped the Emerging Artists chart, which spotlights rising acts. All five B-sides from the album charted on the Billboard Global charts, with the title track "Star Trace" reaching No. 32 on the Global Excl. US chart and No. 84 on the Billboard Global 200.

PLAVE debuted in March 2023 with the single "ASTERUM." Its five members — Yejun, Noah, Bambi, Eunho and Hamin — perform as animated characters whose movements and expressions are captured in real time through motion-capture technology. The debut single sold fewer than 30,000 copies in its first week.

The group's growth has been steep. Five months after debut, its first mini album sold about 204,000 copies in its opening week; the second mini album, released in February of the following year, moved roughly 569,000. In February 2025, the third mini album, "Caligo Pt. 1," became the first virtual idol release to surpass one million first-week copies, and its title track "Dash" reached No. 195 on the Billboard Global 200 — the first time a virtual group's song had charted there since K/DA's "MORE" in 2020.

"HYPERDRIVE," released digitally on Oct. 12 and physically on Oct. 13, sold 1,322,973 copies in its first week (Oct. 13–19) according to the Hanteo Chart, surpassing the 1,255,801 copies sold by its predecessor. It is the group's fourth consecutive million-selling debut week, following "Caligo Pt. 1," "PLBBUU" and "Caligo Pt. 2." All five tracks also swept the top five spots on Korean streaming platforms Melon, Genie and Bugs immediately after release.

The album marks a broadening of the group's musical range. The title track "Star Trace" is PLAVE's first foray into EDM-based dance-pop, while the album incorporates bossa nova, rock and R&B produced in collaboration with outside producer Kenji. "HYPERDRIVE" also reached No. 4 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, which tracks releases distributed outside major label networks — a notable achievement given the group's independent distribution setup.

PLAVE is currently on its first world tour, "KEEP IT MANIC." After stops in Singapore and Taipei, the group will take the stage in Macao on Saturday and Sunday, then meet US fans in Los Angeles on Nov. 14.


shee@heraldcorp.com