BTS makes K-pop history with first platinum certification in Italy

'Arirang' tops gold in France, Spain and Japan before conquering Italy

BTS performs during their world tour "Arirang" in Paris, France, in July. [Big Hit Music]

BTS's fifth studio album "Arirang" has become the first K-pop release to earn a platinum certification in Italy, extending the album's certification map eight months after its release — following earlier milestones in France, Spain and Japan.

According to the group's agency Big Hit Music, Italy's music industry association FIMI awarded "Arirang" a platinum certification Monday (local time). The certification goes to albums that surpass 50,000 cumulative units, calculated from physical sales, digital downloads and streaming figures. It comes roughly six months after the album received a gold certification in April, which requires more than 25,000 units.

Italy had long been a tough market for BTS — even a gold certification proved elusive for years. Five previous albums, "LOVE YOURSELF 'Answer'," "MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA," "MAP OF THE SOUL: 7," "BE" and "Proof," all stopped at gold. "Arirang," the sixth BTS album to be certified in Italy, is the first to go further.

Certifications across other major European markets came in quick succession. France's music association SNEP awarded "Arirang" a gold certification just six days after its release, then upgraded it to platinum — equivalent to 100,000 units — on April 27, roughly a month later. "MAP OF THE SOUL: 7" and "Proof" each took one year and two months to reach the same milestone. Spain's music sales body EPDM also granted a gold certification, representing more than 20,000 units. In Japan, the Recording Industry Association of Japan awarded the album a triple platinum after it surpassed 750,000 cumulative shipments within 11 days of release, while South Korea's Circle Chart certified it quadruple million for sales exceeding 4 million copies.

The album continues its run on the US Billboard charts. "Arirang" sits at No. 57 on the Billboard 200 in the latest main album chart dated Nov. 7, marking 32 consecutive weeks on the chart. It stands at No. 25 on the Top Album Sales chart, which tracks physical sales. Released March 20, "Arirang" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 units in its first week — the highest weekly figure for a group album since Billboard introduced unit tracking in 2014. The album held the top spot for three consecutive weeks, setting a record as the first K-pop album to stay at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three straight weeks.

The title track SWIM has also maintained steady momentum. SWIM debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 immediately after release, becoming BTS's seventh No. 1 single on the chart. This week it sits at No. 33 on the Global 200 and No. 13 on the Global Excl. US chart. It also re-entered the Adult Contemporary chart, which reflects radio airplay, at No. 29.

Streaming records have continued to pile up. As of Oct. 16, BTS became the first group in the world to surpass 10 billion annual streams on Spotify. "Arirang" crossed 5 billion cumulative streams on Oct. 14, and SWIM became the first song released in 2026 to surpass 1 billion streams on Oct. 24.

The group's live record is still being written. BTS wrapped up the South American leg of the BTS World Tour "Arirang" with shows at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 28 and Oct. 30-31. All 14 shows across five cities — from Bogotá, Colombia, to São Paulo — sold out, drawing 853,000 fans. The earlier North American leg spanned 31 shows in 12 cities and drew about 1.92 million people. Billboard Boxscore reported that the tour's cumulative revenue surpassed $500 million as of late September, making BTS only the seventh act to cross that threshold with a single tour — the previous six were all rock bands. BTS will next perform in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, this month before heading to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta for 15 shows across five Southeast Asian cities next month.

shee@heraldcorp.com