BTS and Halsey's 'Boy With Luv' becomes highest Billboard Hot 100 debut for K-pop group

BTS‘ journey to world domination just hit another milestone.

“Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey, the lead single from the Korean boy band’s new album Map of the Soul: Persona, debuted at no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This makes it not only BTS’ highest-charting single, but the highest-charting song by a K-pop group ever. (Group, not artist — Psy’s ubiquitous “Gangnam Style” peaked at no. 2 in 2012.)

A second BTS song, “Make It Right,” also made the chart, making them the first K-pop group to score at least two simultaneously-charting hits.

BTS landed in the top 10 for the first time in 2018 with the song “Fake Love,” which peaked at no. 10.

“Boy With Luv” has been steamrolling records since its release. Its music video racked up more than 74 million views in 24 hours on YouTube – the most for a 24-hour period – and became the fastest video to reach 100 million views, taking both titles from fellow K-pop group Blackpink. Earlier this month, BTS also became the first Asian act to pass 5 billion streams on Spotify and the first Korean act to perform on SNL, and were named among Time’s 100 Most Influential People. Suffice it to say, they’re having a good year.

Lil Nas X held down the top spot on the Hot 100 for a third week with “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.

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