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Yes, that headline is correct. Over the course of 24 hours, ARMY created a fan-generated movement that is still going and charted all of BTS’s discography on iTunes worldwide. The movement started as #BuyPERSONAoniTunes to get BTS’s Map of the Soul: Persona back on the charts. After successfully charting the album, ARMY moved on and charted all of BTS’s discography around the world.

BTS discography charts
BTS | Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage

What inspired #BuyPERSONAoniTunes?

Inspiration for the movement came after the 2019 People’s Choice Awards. After leading the polls by tens of millions of votes on social media, BTS did not win any awards at the PCAs. Because of the lead BTS held on social media, ARMY felt it was unlikely other artists had more fans vote in the online polls.

BTS fans also found a clause in the rules for the PCAs dictating that NBC Universal has the final say over the winner of each category. This led some fans to believe the awards show was rigged against BTS and BTS’s nominations were used solely to draw in viewers. After the disappointing results, ARMY wanted to bring attention back to BTS’s music.

In just a few hours, fans spontaneously came up with the idea to chart BTS’s EP Map of the Soul: Persona. Around the world, ARMY donated funds to help fans purchase the album. #BuyPERSONAoniTunes became ARMY’s way of turning a negative situation into something positive to help BTS.

BTS’s ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’ reached the No.2 spot on iTunes

BTS released their EP Map of the Soul: Persona in April 2019. The album debuted at No.1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and reached the No.1 spot on the iTunes chart in over 80 countries. Seven months after its initial release, Map of the Soul: Persona climbed 1,090 spots to reach the No.2 spot on the U.S. iTunes Top Albums chart. This accomplishment is a direct result of BTS fans’ #BuyPERSONAoniTunes movement.

The album also reached the No.2 spot on the iTunes Top Albums chart in the U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Latvia, Mongolia, and Italy. Map of the Soul: Persona re-peaked at the No.1 spot in 47 different countries. The EP peaked at No.1 in Ireland, making it BTS’s first No.1 iTunes hit in Ireland. With all of this, Map of the Soul: Persona re-peaked at No.1 on the Worldwide iTunes Album chart.

All of BTS’s discography charted on iTunes

ARMY did not stop there. As Map of the Soul: Persona climbed in the charts, fans began to chart other albums from BTS’s discography. All of BTS’s discography simultaneously charted on the U.S. iTunes Top Albums chart. This meant 21 albums including EPs, full-length albums, BTS’s Korean discography, Japanese albums, and mixtapes charted simultaneously.

In the U.S., RM’s mixtape mono peaked at No.4. J-Hope’s mixtape Hopeworld peaked at No.16, and Suga’s mixtape Agust D peaked at No.19. Several BTS albums also broke into the top 200 spots on the U.S. iTunes Top Albums chart.

On the Worldwide iTunes Album chart, mono reached the No.2 spot behind Map of the Soul: Persona. Hope World charted at No.11 and Agust D charted at No.13. BTS’s album Love Yourself: Answer reached the No.28 spot and Love Yourself: Tear reached the No.40 spot. Wings, Love Yourself: Her, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, Dark & Wild, and The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2 broke into the top 200 spots.

Some of BTS’s discography is still rising in the charts

The #BuyPERSONAoniTunes hashtag trended at No.1 worldwide on Twitter with over 1 million tweets. Even a day after the movement started, albums and songs are still rising on iTunes charts across the world. This kind of movement is something normally seen with a BTS comeback as fans chart albums and new fans discover BTS.

Instead of a new album, this charting occurred because of fans’ dedication to the artists they love. It was spontaneous yet organized, and showed just how much ARMY cares about BTS’s success. When BTS does release a new album, it will be interesting to see the impact it has.

“armys said we having our own comeback since bts wont cooperate,” a fan tweeted.

“y’all making an album released in april chart high again on itunes… with a project that wasn’t throughly planned….. like truly next comeback we are going to see how many fans bts gained but from the looks of it we basically doubled,” wrote a Twitter user.

“with all these things happening lately, the world better be prepared with how much the next bts comeback will shake it to its core because armys are all geared and pumped up, bts are finally working in their studios after a long break and literally no one is ready for them,” one fan tweeted.

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