K-Pop group BTS have been named the best-selling artists of 2020 by the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the organisation that represents the global recorded music industry. The boyband pushed Taylor Swift, who topped the list last year, into second place. Drake came third, with The Weeknd fourth and Billie Eilish at number five.
The septet is the first non-Western act to win the title, and the first whose songs are not predominantly sung in English. The award is calculated according to an artist or group’s worldwide sales, downloads and streams, covering their whole body of work, reported BBC.
The global phenomenon came close to winning the award in 2018, when they finished second, and again in 2019, coming in seventh.
Despite the pandemic, the group continued to perform exceptionally last year, releasing two chart-topping albums in 2020 – Map of the Soul: 7 and BE. In April 2020, they hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Map of the Soul: 7, their fourth No. 1 in less than two years.
“BTS are a global phenomenon. They have had another outstanding year, releasing three albums, and continually finding creative and engaging ways to share their story with the world. They truly show the power that music has to bring joy and happiness to people the world over,” IFPI CEO Frances Moore commented.
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, were formed in 2013 and consists of seven members – Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook – who come from all over South Korea. The group was the brainchild of veteran writer and producer Bang Shi Hyuk, who formed Big Hit Entertainment and put BTS together around group leader, RM.
Last year, he floated Big Hit Entertainment on the Korean stock market – resulting in the band members receiving a $108 million (£77 million) windfall. It more than made up for their inability to tour amid the Covid pandemic. The gap in their schedule also allowed BTS to record their second album of the year, which they billed as a “letter of hope” to fans.
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